As the working world continues to adjust to life post-pandemic, the legal profession, like numerous business sectors, has had to adapt to COVID challenges and operate within the ‘new normal’, with the legal landscape changing significantly due to the rise in remote working practices.
At the forefront of the legal profession’s latest developments is Senate House Chambers, which provides specialist representation and advice in all aspects of family law. Whilst numerous organisations initially struggled to navigate the unprecedented challenges that coronavirus created, Senate House Chambers hit the ground running due to the innovative pre-pandemic practices that it already had in place.
As a chambers, Senate House converted to a completely paperless practice some years before COVID hit. This forward-thinking move was to acknowledge the huge environmental and cost impacts of printing material and, more importantly, to secure and protect the confidential information about the extremely vulnerable people involved in family law cases.
When the legal system initially went into lockdown because the Family Court didn’t have the infrastructure in terms of technology, Senate House was in a position to pivot quicker than others and hit the ground running because of the electronic working measures already in place.
In a bid to support and protect the justice system, the leading regional chambers provided vital training sessions to other legal professionals including solicitors, members of the judiciary and other barristers’ chambers on how to utilise available technology to conduct hearings. These developments likely show why Senate House Chambers has been acknowledged by the profession, because it has worked hard to get ahead of the curve, long before everyone had to get used to a completely remote working lifestyle.
The legal system has continued to evolve significantly over the past two years. Remote working has become the norm, with court hearings being conducted via video link and, used properly, Senate House Chambers believes that the lockdown learnings could help to tackle the significant backlog of current cases.
Due to the pandemic-accelerated catastrophic breakdown in families across the country, the courts are overrun with a high volume of cases in the family justice system, which is struggling to cope. The lessons learned in lockdown, including the efficiency of remote hearings, in appropriate cases, helps to manage that backlog.
Post-pandemic, the chambers has emerged with its staff maintaining a focus on mental health and wellbeing. Senate House has received recognition for its proactive pioneering approach to the wellbeing of its team of legal experts.
This industry acknowledgement is in addition to its prestigious professional achievements, including its Chambers of the Year Award in the Family Law Awards and recognition rankings in The Legal 500. The innovative chambers has also been highlighted by Wellbeing at the Bar for its extensive efforts to support its staff, who are often exposed to potentially traumatic and damaging material through their work.
Senate House created a new approach by developing health and wellbeing policies aimed at minimising the adverse impact on its members’ mental health and by funding confidential support from a qualified counsellor for all to access at any time.
Family lawyers are exposed to some very difficult material, and it is inconceivable that any individual can constantly digest such information on a daily basis and then function normally. At times, it can envelop every corner of the mind and Senate House wanted to address those issues.
Commenting on the policy, Practice Director Lauren Coupar-Evans said:
“As pioneers, our wellbeing policies have become a benchmark for other chambers to develop their own systems and procedures to help people with wellbeing. Historically, court rooms could be challenging environments, so proactively addressing wellbeing demonstrates a huge sea change in terms of attitudes within the profession.”
The chambers’ focus on the wellbeing of its team also includes funding free classes for staff with ALTR Life yoga, sharing monthly playlists and the setting up of a designated wellbeing committee, who organise monthly social events for colleagues to enjoy. This innovative approach to wellbeing extends well beyond the workplace and into the wider community, and Senate House Chambers recently announced its nominated charity for the year will be KidsAid, which supports traumatised children and young people.
For more information about Senate House Chambers go to www.senatehousechambers.com