Corporate social responsibility

Education and work experience

We are keenly aware of the importance of access opportunities and of our responsibility within the legal profession (and particularly at the Bar) to help create these. We know that inviting people in to Gatehouse Chambers to spend time with barristers, pupils and staff can make a real impact on people’s career choices and will assist them in building up an essential network of contacts for the future.

You can see the process to apply for work experience here.

As noted in the introduction above, we take real pleasure in collaborating with others to achieve these goals, and partner organisations include:

The four Inns of Court in their range of educational programmes, including the Pegasus programme and Pathways to Law
Bridging the Bar
1,000 Black Interns
Combar Mentoring
Tower Hamlets Education & Business Partnership
Through the Looking Glass
Social Mobility Foundation

University placement scheme

A scheme that we are particularly proud of is our industry year student placement scheme that has been running for 11 years.

The scheme is advertised openly at the beginning of each year for a placement that starts in Summer. As London Living Wage employers, we have been attracting excellent applicants. We have been particularly targeting students from non-Russell Group universities. Our students return to university after a year at Gatehouse Chambers to complete their university degree, watched proudly by their ex-Gatehouse Chambers colleagues who are willing them success.

More recently, we have run the placement programme alongside New Manor Law, offering students the opportunity to work in a barristers’ chambers as well as a niche law firm.

The testimonials below from our three most recent students (from the the University of Bath, University of Kent, Sheffield Hallam and Northampton Universities) reflects how effective this scheme is:

“This placement scheme has allowed me to gain insight into the inner workings of a boutique law firm and the daily operations of a barristers’ chambers. It has been a truly unique and rewarding experience. Working within a small team at Newmanor Law has given me a great deal of autonomy and ownership over my day-to-day tasks, and the client-facing role at Gatehouse Chambers has developed my interpersonal skills. No two days are the same in this role, so agility and initiative are paramount. Belonging to two remarkable teams has emphasised to me the importance of being surrounded by supportive and encouraging people, and I feel extremely lucky to have worked alongside them.” Cosette

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working at Gatehouse Chambers this past year. I have learned many transferable skills from working as part of the both the Marketing and IT teams. As a Business and IT student, working as Marketing and IT Assistant at Gatehouse Chambers has been the perfect place to put into practice my academic knowledge. Through working as part of smaller teams, I have had a hands-on, on-the-job approach to both Marketing and IT. Working in a hybrid role, I have been able to learn how IT and Marketing work together on branding and online communications. Working as part of the Marketing team, I have gained experience and skills in events, PR, client relationship management and online digital marketing which included managing the Gatehouse Chambers’ website, newsletters and social media presences. As well as this, I have been able to learn how to run a busy podcast series which included being involved with all aspects from recording, editing and uploading followed by advertisement. As part of the IT department, I have gained experience in a number of server support matters – diagnosing and solving an array of different IT issues through learning on-the-job. Gatehouse Chambers has been a brilliant first step into my professional career and I have enjoyed working as part of a friendly, supporting and welcoming team.” Raisha

“Gatehouse Chambers is a great place to work. The past year has shown me the importance of being able to implement my academic and theoretical knowledge from university into a professional working environment. Working at Gatehouse Chambers as a marketing and event student has allowed me to develop a wide range of skills that I know will be transferable throughout my career; the hands on approach of using digital marketing, social media, CRM, managing the website, organising events and finding solutions to many IT problems, are all key aspects of the business that contribute to the great market strategy and staff ethos. Gatehouse Chambers is a place where individuals come together with different skill sets, aspirations and attitudes. Being part of a smaller team has given me a unique hands on approach, which has enabled me to learn independently and be more creative from both a marketing and IT perspective. I have enjoyed being a part of such a fun and supportive team -everyone at Gatehouse Chambers is so friendly and share a passion for what they do.” Tia

“As a marketing student I have been able to apply theory into practice every day. It is fast-paced and different. I have lots to do with the barristers and clients and I help host events, including the work experience programme. I am encouraged to develop my own ideas by being an integral part of a supportive team. Being here has given me a work ethic and a proper understanding of a professional service environment. I will always remember Gatehouse Chambers as the starting point in my life and career and it opened my eyes of what I can achieve. I’ve been so lucky, and encouraged by inspirational, successful people.” Yasmin

Recognising that we have spent many years working on these initiatives, and that many people have experienced Gatehouse Chambers one way or another, we created the Gatehouse Chambers Alumni Club to keep in touch and to continue to help, track and support the progress of people’s lives and careers.

Gatehouse Chambers Art Programme

The Gatehouse Chambers Art Programme supports new graduate artists and is about to go into its fourth year. The related “Room Five Project” is a smaller programme that exhibits other practitioners for shorter periods, working with charities, art collectives and individuals.

The main Programme features a rotating exhibition of graduate art, selected each year from BA and MA shows. The artists are given a fixed financial award in exchange for letting us show their work. We also build some events around the work. We benefit hugely by having fresh exciting art on our walls, produced by a new generation, which provides food for thought for our members, staff, clients and other visitors. And we get to give a small something back to those embarking on a challenging career. Our current artists are listed below and you will see some of their work on this page.

The Room Five Project features shorter exhibitions in (unimaginatively) our meeting room five. In the first few months of 2025 we showed prints by the Castillo Collective, a group of printmakers who met in adult education. Our next artists will be Nikol Dehaan and Stuart Peaty, who we came to via the charity Accumulate. Accumulate uses creativity to improve the wellbeing of people affected by homelessness and you can read more about them here: https://accumulate.org.uk/.

2024-25 Gatehouse Art Programme artists:

Charitable giving

The barristers and staff at Gatehouse Chambers regularly organise, participate and donate in fund-raising events for a range of charitable causes. We also like to support others in their charitable activities, and often work together with our clients on their own CSR programmes and fundraising.

Recognising that meeting room space in the centre of London is such a premium, Gatehouse Chambers is delighted to work with charitable organisations to donate its seminar and meeting room space free of charge, when availability allows.

There are a number of events in the CSR and legal calendar at which groups of Gatehouse Chambers colleagues participate together, including baking cakes, hosting quizzes and bingo nights, swimming, jumping out of planes, playing ping pong the doing the 10K London Legal Walk organised by the London Legal Support Trust.

Finally, our CSR activities are led from the top. PJ Kirby KC has made fame on several occasions by running a 70-seater pop up restaurant for guests to dine his own 6-course culinary extravaganza, all funds in aid of the Save the Children Billable Hour Appeal.

Pro bono

Our barristers provide pro bono (free) advice to those who cannot afford legal representation through schemes run by organisations such as the Bar Advocate scheme, ELAAS, CLIPS and FRU. We have strong links to organisations that provide free representation, including charities and Citizens Advice Bureaux.

Sometimes a barrister will agree to take a case on a pro bono basis either at the start or for the entirety of a case. Sometimes clients will be able to get funding once the case has started. These decisions are for individual barristers to make with our support.

Advocate – the Bar Pro Bono Unit

Advocate is a charity which helps to find pro bono legal assistance from volunteer barristers for those who cannot afford to pay and Gatehouse Chambers barristers act as case assessors and as advocates for them. Our members are regularly featured in the Pro Bono Recognition List , which recognises barristers who have given 25 or more hours pro bono legal assistance in the previous calendar year.

Gatehouse Chambers’ current Bar Advocate Champion is Catherine Piercy KC. Patrick Sarson won Advocate’s Pro Bono Chambers’ Professional of the Year 2021.

Chancery Bar Litigant in Person Support Scheme (CLIPS)

CLIPS is a scheme run by the Chancery Bar Association, the Royal Courts of Justice Advice Bureau and the Bar Pro Bono Unit. Barristers at Gatehouse Chambers volunteer for the scheme where one or two barristers make themselves available each applications day outside Court 10 to help litigants in person.

Free Representation Unit (FRU)

FRU is one of the oldest free legal representation organisations since 1972, providing legal advice, case preparation and advocacy in tribunal cases for those who could not otherwise obtain legal support. Gatehouse Chambers barristers who take part provide advisory and advocacy services in employment tribunals (and the Employment Appeal Tribunal) and in benefit appeals.

Personal Support Unit (PSU)

The PSU provides practical and emotional support to people who are representing themselves in court (litigants in person). Gatehouse Chambers has worked in partnership with the PSU for many years, to support the key role it plays in supporting vulnerable self-representing litigants at court.

Employment Lawyers Appeals Advice Scheme (ELAAS)

Members of Gatehouse Chambers’ employment team give free advocacy as part of the ELAAS rota in the Employment Appeal Tribunal as part of the scheme.

Environmental commitment

Gatehouse Chambers is sincere about reducing our impact on the environment and our Environmental Sustainability Policy commits us to doing whatever is practicable to achieve this. We have also signed up to the Greener Litigation Pledge.

Our Green Team takes the lead in new initiatives and our Environment Road Map records what we are doing and what we plan to do.

Building management and energy use

We are lucky enough to occupy a modern building, recently refurbished and designed with a BREEAM rating in mind. We have the benefit of:

LED lighting in all areas, motion-controlled.
Insulating glazing.
A modern HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Cooling) system with a high level of control so that it’s only on where and when it’s needed.

We also:

Monitor electricity and water use via meter readings and analyse usage over time.
Have a planned maintenance contract in place to make sure machinery runs as efficiently and safely as possible and lasts for as long as possible.
Use cleaners who use environmentally-friendly products and are themselves a high-achiever in ESG and a certified B Corp.
Deep clean carpets and fixtures to keep materials in use for as long as possible.

Waste management

Our confidential waste is recycled after shredding and we recycle printer cartridges, batteries, pens and electrical equipment. Business waste and general recycling is processed by Veolia, which provides a zero-to-landfill service.
We donate unwanted furniture and fittings. One 2024 donation of excess new items from our fit-out, IT equipment and office supplies (care of CollectEco) represented value of £3,688 to charities, diverted 377kg of waste from landfill and avoided 2,639kg of CO2. We donate used books via The Book Rescuers.
We provide ‘proper’ crockery and cutlery to prevent use of single-use items.
Our catering operation is waste and environmentally efficient (another B Corp supplier) and we are careful about minimising food waste.

Purchasing and contracting

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol divides business emissions into three ‘scopes’. ‘Scope 3’ emissions are emissions we’re responsible for indirectly via purchased goods and services, waste disposal, employee commuting, leased assets and investments. They make up a large part of the carbon footprint of an organisation like ours and environmental performance is a key consideration when we tender for services.

This is recorded in our Procurement Policy, which covers all ethical aspects of the supply chain, including buying locally where we can.

If you have any queries, please contact our Facilities Manager, Ellie Seaward.

Greener Litigation Pledge

Gatehouse Chambers is a proud signatory of the Greener Litigation Pledge: an initiative launched to reduce the environmental impact of dispute resolution. Amanda Illing sits on the steering committee.