As clerks and chambers staff you’re often the first point of contact for barristers and clients navigating high-pressure, burn out and emotionally charged situations. This means you can be regularly exposed to distressing experiences and the weight of others’ trauma – often without any training or space to process it.
This interactive training – offers you practical strategies to recognise and respond to moments of overwhelm and trauma – both in yourself and colleagues in chambers.
During this half-day session, you’ll discover how trauma impacts memory, behaviour, communication and wellbeing and, crucially, you will gain tools for self-care, resilience and trauma-informed support.
Delivered by two former barristers and trauma specialists Rebecca Norris and Camilla Wells, this small-group training combines lived legal experience with cutting-edge knowledge from neuroscience and trauma practice.
About the course
You sit at the heart of chambers life – carrying the crucial responsibilities of balancing client relationships, supporting barristers and navigating the pressures of fast-paced, often emotionally charged, work. Behind the logistics, you are frequently exposed to difficult conversations, distressing material and the emotional weight of navigating others’ experiences and managing people – whether barristers, clients or colleagues. Over time, this can take its toll. Understanding these dynamics and their impact is vital for everyone working in chambers.
Vicarious trauma is a significant issue for barristers, clerks and chambers staff. You are the first point of contact for barristers and clients, often fielding emails, calls and conversations full of heightened emotions.
Developed with clerks’ insights and delivered by former barristers and trauma specialists, this interactive training combines lived legal experience with cutting-edge knowledge from neuroscience, somatic psychology and trauma practice. You’ll leave with practical tools to recognise, understand and respond skilfully to the impact of heightened emotions- in yourself, and in your work with colleaguesand clients.
Why attend?
- Optimise your resilience: Learn how to identify and manage the impact of vicarious trauma, stress and burnout
- Support your barristers and teams: Develop the confidence and language to have better conversations about difficult topics
- Enhance client care: Understand how trauma and distress can shape communication, memory, and behaviour, so you can respond with skill and empathy
- Future-proof your career: Trauma-informed approaches are increasingly being recognised as a core competency across the legal sector
Whether you’re new to chambers or highly experienced, this course will give you practical tools you can use immediately, as well as reassurance that you’re not alone in facing these challenges
What the course covers
Navigating self-care and vicarious trauma
- Spotting the signs (including the less obvious ones) of distress and trauma in yourself and others, including real life examples
- Introducing the neuroscience behind effective self-care and support for others in relation to overwhelm and trauma (including vicarious trauma)
- Strategies to resource yourself before, during and after difficult interactions
- Knowing when and how to signpost for additional support
Trauma-informed communication and client care
- Exploring the foundations of trauma-informed practice, including understanding how trauma can affect memory, behaviour and communication
- Building your confidence in trauma-informed communication skills to provide effective support in the moment
- Providing empathetic support whilst maintaining professional boundaries within the chambers environment
Format
- Online delivery: One half-day session (9am to 1pm)
- Date: Wednesday 28 January 2026
- Group size: Limited to 25 participants to allow for meaningful discussion, interaction and tailored support
Who is it suitable for?
This course is designed for:
- Clerks
- Practice managers
- Chambers staff
If you support barristers and work closely with professional and lay clients, including direct access clients. It is relevant across all practice areas.
Price
£330 (plus VAT)
Book
Before you book
Please read our terms and conditions and privacy statement before booking.
All Bar Council online training is held on the Zoom videoconferencing platform. Please ensure you read our Zoom statement before booking.
Due to changes in VAT regulations effective from 1 January 2025, we will no longer be offering online events to attendees based outside of the United Kingdom (UK). As a result, this event is only available to individuals and organisations that are based within the UK. By booking this online event you are confirming that you are based within the UK.
About Trauma Informed Law
Trauma Informed Law was founded by barristers Rebecca Norris and Camilla Wells, who together bring over 35 years of legal practice and more than 20 years of specialist experience in trauma and distress.
Their legal backgrounds span family, crime (including white collar), commercial, contentious regulatory and financial services litigation, giving them a deep understanding of the different pressures clerks and barristers face across practice areas.
Alongside them, their multidisciplinary team brings expertise in neuroscience, psychotherapy, somatic psychology and trauma-specialist coaching.
Rebecca and Camilla have worked with leading chambers, law firms, professional bodies and regulators to embed trauma-informed practice across the sector – combining lived legal experience with evidence-based tools designed for the realities of practice.
“Camilla and Rebecca were absolutely fantastic. Their familiarity with the unique chambers environment meant they could make their content entirely relatable, capturing the imagination of our audience who are exposed to vicarious trauma on almost a daily basis. We received excellent feedback on the session and it was real food for thought.”
– The Institute of Barristers’ Clerks
Book your place this half-day course