Stephenson: Solicitors at the forefront of our thinking
A new chambers specialising in employment law has opened in London, bidding to break free from the old hierarchical order found in traditional sets.
Parity launched on 7 April, with a four-man team and offices in the landmark Shard building.
The joint heads are David Stephenson and Paras Gorasia, who are joined by barrister Amritpal Bachu. The team built their practices over the last two decades at 1 Mitre Court Buildings, 42 Bedford Row, Old Square Chambers and Doughty Street.
The new set is managed by senior clerk Callum Stebbing.
Mr Stephenson told Legal Futures: “I first met Paras back in Bar school 20 years ago. We are like-minded and have always kept in touch. The idea behind creating ‘something different’ goes back to our journey from Bar school through to today. We are setting out to break down the barriers that exist between barristers and clients. We are freeing ourselves from the shackles of the hierarchy model and designing a new set based on equality and genuine collaboration between like-minded barristers, solicitors and clerks.”
“At Parity there is no difference between barristers and solicitors. I don’t see myself as any better than the solicitors I work with, and vice versa. This is good for client service, it’s good for flexibility and it enables true collaboration.”
Mr Stebbing said: “Traditional sets can often be rigid and less accessible. A barrister can be seen as an individual who is not accessible, or is in a different class, and that can make approaching them and dealing with them uncomfortable, whether that be for a clerk, a client or a member of the public. Through collaboration, we are decreasing that gap.”
“Collaboration is about making the client feel more comfortable. We can be clearer with our clients, and more personable. We don’t have to fall in line with chambers policy. Collaboration leads to better client service; more transparency on fees, more commercial awareness, and not a one size fits all approach. That’s what collaboration means. It’s not just about collaboration internally, with no hierachies. It’s about working with our clients in a way that means we are helping them to help their clients.”
Mr Stephenson said: “Traditional chambers grow organically. Parity is different because it’s built by design. We want to provide a service that is designed around our clients – our solicitors. That is at the forefront of our thinking. We’ve now got the flexibility to accommodate any individual’s needs, whether it’s via a solicitor or via direct public access. Sometimes with direct public access, depending on the nature of the claim, I can refer people to a solicitor who I work with and that’s an example of a collaborative approach.”
“Collaboration is about using the best mechanisms and means to get the best results for each client, and that may be me doing it via direct public access, it may be through a union, or I can refer to a solicitor who has particular expertise or is in a particular geographical location. This is something we’ve always practiced but now is the time to take it to the market.”
Parity is launching with a strong client base, many from the world of sport, which the founders say removes the risk of creating new chambers, with a new identity.
Mr Stebbing said: “Paras and David are very reputable and experienced within the employment world, and they are both on the cusp of a potential silk application.”
The team will continue to specialise in employment law, discrimination and whistleblowing.
Mr Stephenson said: “I’ve always had this thing about being a dabbler or an expert. We are employment experts. That belief in expertise is what has driven me and Paras over the years.”
Parity’s identity is based on its new approach to working culture, recruitment and growth.
Mr Stephenson said: “The Bar is unique. We are all self-employed and all independent, but that doesn’t mean you can’t collaborate or work as a team, all rowing in the same direction.”
“At Parity, we’re all on the same page. We think as one. That’s rare in my experience. In traditional chambers, you get situations where something is a priority for a few people, but not the whole team, and that can cause friction. If you are all on the same page it makes everything you do so much easier.”
The team is not planning to expand to thirty or forty members. Mr Stephenson said Parity is focused on “careful and selective growth”.
“I always bring things back to sport. Recruitment at Parity will be like the NFL draft. It’s not about recruiting for recruiting’s sake. It’s about getting the right player. Because traditional chambers grow organically, they don’t bring in specific people, with the same shared values. The ethos and values you have is the glue that holds a chambers together. When those values are watered down, it fractures. So recruitment is not about bringing in people who just want to make money. It’s about finding people who share the same values. If you get those fundamentals right, the rest will follow.”
The team compare their decision to set up as pure employment specialists with the growing number of boutique law firms being created by partners from larger firms.
Mr Stephenson said: “We’ve all stepped away from leading sets. That speaks volumes. We have been to the mountain top, as it were, but we couldn’t find what we are now sharing with clients through Parity.”
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