In his own words: Keith Barrett

In every issue, we hear from a CILEX member about how they started out and their career journey. Keith Barrett tells his story.

Personal injury specialist Keith Barrett recently became one of the first Chartered Legal Executives to be made a full equity partner at a top 25 UK firm, Fieldfisher.

Brought up in Dublin, Keith used to spend his school summer holidays temping in London. It was whilst working in the post room of a trade union law firm aged 19 that he discovered the CILEX route into law and was offered a job and funding to study part time at a City-based college. Eventually he moved to Leigh Day, developing his own personal injury caseload, before joining Irwin Mitchell.

In 2018, he was awarded the inaugural lifetime achievement award at the CILEX Awards and is a CILEX Companion.

"When I found out about CILEX I had already been offered a place at university to study for a degree in environmental science, but when the firm I was temping with offered to take me on full time and support me through a CILEX qualification, I decided it was too good an opportunity to miss. I turned down my university place and took them up on their offer. I have never looked back.

The firm closed not long after I joined, but I was now set on a legal career, so I moved to personal injury firm Leigh Day, which was happy to continue funding my part-time study at the University of Westminster. There I started working as a court clerk, taking documents back and forth to the courts, as well as helping out one of the fee-earners who offered to train me to become a personal injury fee-earner.

I wanted to be a personal injury specialist and to run my own caseload, so in 1997, aged 26 and close to qualifying as a Fellow, I approached Irwin Mitchell, which had recently opened a London office. I got the job and found myself with my own office and 90 of my own files to be getting on with.

Moving up the ranks

I was now a fee-earner at one of the largest PI firms in the country – something I could never have achieved without both my CILEX qualifications and the specialist experience I had accumulated in my early 20s. I worked hard and progressed up the ranks, from legal executive to associate and then associate director. In 2009, when Chartered Legal Executives were first permitted to become partners, I became Irwin Mitchell’s first CILEX partner.

I stayed at the firm for 20 years, growing my practice in high-value personal injury claims, specialising in claims arising from road traffic collisions, accidents in the workplace, accidents in public places and aviation crashes. During my time at Irwin Mitchell, I represented a large number of the victims of the 7/7 London bombings on a pro bono basis.

Although I had fallen into personal injury law more or less by accident, it suited me as a natural ‘people person’. I enjoyed being able to help clients turn their lives round, securing them access to rehabilitation and working towards recovering the maximum amount of compensation for them following serious injury.

In 2018, I moved to Fieldfisher. It’s a large full-service international law firm which also has a leading serious personal injury, industrial disease and clinical negligence practice.

A seat at the table

In May this year, after five years at the firm, Fieldfisher made me a full equity partner. I am now an owner of the business, have a financial stake in its success and my remuneration is based on the profitability of the firm, not just a fixed share. “I am now an owner of the business, have a financial stake in its success and my remuneration is based on the profitability of the firm” I also get more of a say in the direction and strategy of the firm, with increased voting rights on important decisions.

Although I had been a partner since my Irwin Mitchell days, becoming a full equity partner was hugely important to me. It’s recognition of what I have achieved and I’m proud to be the first Chartered Legal Executive to make it to the firm’s top partnership level.

I hope it shows what can be achieved by CILEX members with enough hard work and determination – I’d love to see more of our members getting to the very top of the profession alongside their solicitor colleagues.

Next generation 

I want to see CILEX members who have reached the top acting as ambassadors for CILEX. On-the-job training and education have always been very important to me – I wouldn’t be where I am today without CILEX. As a manager, I have always tried to educate and inspire my teams, encouraging them down the CILEX route. I have spoken at university and school career days and sat on CILEX Council for 12 years, much of which was spent getting involved in education and training.

Since moving to Fieldfisher, I have taken on responsibility for the personal injury and clinical negligence teams' training and we are seeing an increasing number of CILEX practitioners at the firm.

I know that there are CILEX members who have faced poor treatment in the workplace, so I want members to know that there are plenty of firms like mine out there that treat CILEX members like any other lawyer, appreciate the specialist skills and experience they have and are willing to pay them the same salaries and give them the same opportunities as solicitors.

If you are underappreciated, consider looking elsewhere and be proud of your CILEX qualification. Be proud to wear the badge. Be proud of your nationally recognised legal qualification. It means you deserve the same opportunities as your colleagues.