Congratulations on reaching your third work anniversary with Kenworthy’s! How does it feel to reach this milestone?

I’m feeling really proud! It’s genuinely amazing, I remember my first case so clearly, it seems as if it were only five minutes ago. I know I am only three years in now, but somehow, it feels like I’ve been working as a Barrister my whole life!

What is your favourite thing about Kenworthy’s Chambers?

Kenworthy’s is a supportive set with down-to-earth staff and members. The Civil Clerks Mike Jones and Alessandro Saporita-Clark have been brilliant with me. They give everyone in the team a fair share of work and I feel as though the fatherly figure of Mike is always pushing us to do our best work and I’m really grateful to him for how well he’s looked after me since I joined.

What have been the main differences changing career - from being a Solicitor to working at the bar? 

One of the biggest differences as a Barrister is that you must think on your feet. You may think that a case is straight forward only to be thrown a massive curveball in court. You have to adapt and think quickly. 

As a Solicitor, you typically spend your days in the office working on files and gathering evidence. Solicitors tend to work set hours but as a Barrister you can do case preparation whenever you want. I love the more flexible hours because I can spend more time with my family.

What does a typical day of work as a Barrister entail?

It largely depends on whether I am in court or not. 

If I am in court and it is a local trial, I will take my children to school and then get myself to court between 9:00am and 9:30am. If the hearing isn’t local, I must get up earlier to travel. I will then be engaged in a conference with the client or chat with my opponent about the case. Typically, we will sit in court until anywhere from 13:00pm to 16:00pm. After this, I get to go home where I will complete some admin, let my instructing Solicitor know the outcome, and complete written work or notes from cases that I worked on earlier in the week. 

If I am not in court, I will typically be found doing paperwork. As a Personal Injury Barrister, I often work on advices on quantum or liability. Then there might be attendance notes on hearings from earlier in the week that need to be written, in addition to communicating with my instructing Solicitors. Occasionally on days where I am not in court, I will host a client conference, usually virtually.

Having worked at Kenworthy’s Chambers for three years, what have been your top three work highlights? 

I was asked to advise on the value of a case for a client who had suffered a bad hand injury. Before I was on the case, he was offered £60,000. The Solicitors required me to finalise the particulars of claim and the client’s schedule of loss, setting out everything being claimed for. 

I organised a conference, where I was able to pick out the problems we would face and detail what additional evidence was needed to get the best possible outcome to the case. As a Personal Injury Barrister, I must know what the Judge is looking for. I am particularly proud of this case because it ended up settling for twice what the insurer had initially offered. 

My second work highlight is an early success story beating an intervention defence. It was a fast-track Credit Hire case in Nottingham where I was instructed by Winn Solicitors. 

The case had an intervention letter in which the insurer offered to arrange a hire car at no cost to the claimant. For an intervention letter to be valid it must set out the full cost to the insurer, including insurance and any add-ons. 

I successfully argued that the intervention letter was not compliant because it didn’t set out the true costs to the insurer of the replacement vehicle. The claimant was then awarded the full credit hire rate, which resulted in her beating her part 36 offer to settle. The insurer had to pay several thousand pounds extra in penalty interest. 

My third work highlight is where I was asked to advise in conference on a Personal Injury claim. The claimant had an accident involving an industrial roller shutter that injured their head and arm, impacting their ability to work. 

The client really wanted the claim to be over and as such was keen to settle, however, I made all parties aware that the insurer had made a low-ball offer. Then, following a conference, I was able to persuade the client to persevere with the claim and we gathered more medical evidence. This proved highly worthwhile as the case settled for double the insurer’s original offer. 

The Civil Clerks have been impressed with the volume of hearings they have booked in your work diary over the last three years! How many hearings would you estimate you have attended since joining Kenworthy’s Chambers?

I average around 15 hearings per month, so that would put me at over 500 in my first three years of work as a Barrister!

What is the best part of your job as a Barrister?

I think being a barrister is genuinely the best job in the world! I can’t really describe it. I just love everything about it! 

Working in a Solicitors firm can be very target driven, but being a Barrister I can set my own goals, and I feel rewarded with each case because I am working for myself. I love being able to manage my own destiny - with the Clerks’ assistance in managing my diary! I value the flexibility, the freedom, and being my own boss. 

What advice would you give someone thinking about starting a career at the bar?

If you are seriously considering a career at the bar, go for it! I think it is the best job in the world. My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner! 

I toyed with the idea of transferring to the bar for many years, then, after COVID-19, I decided to go for it even though I was leaving a secure job with a good salary. 

After meeting Practice Manager Maria Rushworth and visiting chambers, I had the feeling Kenworthy’s Chambers would be the place for me. The subsequent interview went very well, and I have never looked back since.

Thanks for your time, Jason.

Jason Harwood joined Kenworthy’s chambers in 2022 strengthening both our Credit Hire and Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Team. He specialises in complex Credit Hire cases, Personal Injury and serious injury cases. 

Kenworthy’s Personal Injury Barristers provide claimants and defendants advocacy, formal advice, and occasionally a quick bit of advice on the phone to assist with everything from slips, trips, and falls to fatal accidents. If you have a Personal Injury case you need representation or advice for, call our Civil Clerks Michael Jones and Alessandro Saporita-Clark on 0161 832 4036, email Mike@kenworthys.co.uk, Alessandro@kenworthys.co.uk, or fill out our contact form.