Ep 60: David Grief (former Senior Clerk, Essex Court Chambers) - Building the Careers of Barristers & Judges

David Grief is the CEO of David Grief International Consultancy
Pte & former Senior Clerk at Essex Court Chambers - known as
one of the UK's most prominent commercial sets with a
multimillion-pound turnover. 


Described in a recent TIMES article as a “giant among clerks”,
David has spent over 40 plus years managing barristers’ chambers
including at Gray’s Inn Chambers, 17 Old Buildings, Lincoln’s Inn
and finally, as Senior Clerk and Head of Administration at Essex
Court Chambers. 


But what does a barristers’ clerk actually do?


This might be a bit of a struggle to understand if you’re
unfamiliar with how the UK legal system works and indeed even for
practicing lawyers. Unless you’ve worked in chambers in London
before, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what they do!


But the short of it is this: barristers’ clerks are traditionally
referred to as “the Law’s Middleman” and are known to “make or
break” a barrister’s career. They manage the diaries of their
barristers in chambers, the client relationships, the
negotiations and collecting of fees and general running of
chambers. They are also a barrister’s therapist, marriage
counsellor, discipline master, agent, debt collector and some
might even say, ‘pimp’!


Much has been written about the clerking world but less so in the
modern day and in this episode, David peels back the layers.


He shares how he first got into the world of clerking, his love
of flying, how he manages and grows his relationships with
instructing solicitors and barristers, and how he has moulded the
careers of his barristers, helping them become silks and even
getting onto the bench.


Some of the barristers he used to clerk for include the former
Chief Justice of England & Wales and other barristers who
have gone on to sit at the UK Supreme Court, International Court
of Justice and Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.


David also shares his plans in helping to develop the legal
industry in Singapore and his plans moving forward with the
establishment of his new consultancy - David Grief International
Consultancy Pte. 


Highlights:


4:46 Being passionate about flying

8:30 His interviews to become a junior clerk

9:45 Clerking before the age of the Internet

11:46 What a barristers’ clerk actually does

17:19 Knowing the breaking points of a barrister

19:40 Collection of fees

22:49 Going through the 1974 UK Miners’ Strike & 3-Day
Work Week

24:47 Building relationships with instructing solicitors

30:02 Being the only clerk with a license to fly

35:18 Working with barristers

37:06 Direct access

38:53 Managing situations when a barrister cops out

43:09 Identifying barristers with star quality & when
they’re ready to take the silk

48:17 People who have most influenced David’s career

50:47 Joining Essex Court Chambers

57:05 Why David moved to Singapore

1:01:32 Challenges in establishing Singapore’s first pure
chambers practice 

1:04:41 Innovations that David anticipates happening in the
legal sector

1:06:26 “Don’t ask, don’t get”






Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/60  


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