Assembly of a litigation team bespoke for each client and their family

I am a unique barrister in the legal market in that I have had my own private clients since day 1 of becoming a 'baby barrister'. As a result, I delegate much work to senior members of the bar as I don't like to be too busy. We call this 'instructing up'. Kings Counsel (or senior counsel) will be instructed up for one or all of the following purposes: complex statement of claim drafting, and background guidance.

​I remain in control of overall strategy. 

In light of continuing feedback from my clients between 2019 and 2023, I have made a few changes as to whom and how I will instruct up the bar in 2023 and beyond. It is clear a new generation of legal consumers want a closer relationship between a client and their barrister. In order to meet this expectation, I expect all Kings Counsel and Senior Counsel I instruct up to, to have the following attributes:

Hi, before we start working together, read this page. K. Thanks.

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1. You must be able to type and respond to urgent emails from clients i.e. you are not totally reliant on a secretary to type for you. 

2. You must be willing to communicate via messaging apps like Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp if my clients wish to use these platforms as their primary method of communication with their counsel. These messaging systems are generally encrypted end to end messaging systems. 

3. You will be respectful of my clients' culture, sexual orientation, religious belief, and ethics.

4. You will be able to open your mind up to new ways of doing things. 

5. You appreciate the importance of diversity and inclusion among a litigation team in relation to ethnicity, neurodivergency, and work styles in particular. 

6. You understand the importance of social media to some clients in terms of feeling engaged with lawyers and in terms of communicating and getting to know their barrister. Some of the biggest cases that have come to me to date have come from TikTok.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to senior counsel and kings counsel I have referred work to in 2021 and 2022 who, at my direction and persistent urging, have altered their practice style after at least 25 to 40 years of practice. My clients and I appreciate this change. I look forward to bringing your wisdom and experience together with my innovative ideas and fresh energy. 

Yours Faithfully
​Jessica Matheson

16 May 2023