Firm News
Taking a break from Law - BabyBarista, Tim Kevan, on LawNewsUK
Barrister and writer Tim Kevan tells us how he came to take a break from the Bar to write for Harry Potter’s publisher and go surfing
(image copyright: Jay Stirzaker)
Back in early 2007 I had been practising as a barrister at 1 Temple Gardens (now Temple Garden Chambers) for some nine years and was enjoying the life of a common law practitioner based in London. But I’d always dreamt of living by the sea and the surf and maybe even writing a novel. I just couldn’t quite see how it could be done. At that time I’d just finished co-writing a motivational book entitled Why Lawyers Should Surf with Dr Michelle Tempest, a book which encourages people to look for inspiration outside of law and used surfing and the power of the ocean as metaphors for living the day to day.
Next I wanted to sit down and write a legal thriller. But instead what popped out was a legal comedy about a fictional young barrister doing pupillage. I called him BabyBarista which was a play on words based on his first impression being that his coffee-making skills were probably as important to that year as any forensic legal abilities he may have. It’s a strange thing to say but I discovered that this bold, irreverent and mischievous voice along with a collection of colourful characters had simply jumped into my head and the words started pouring onto the page.
I wrote it as a blog and was hopeful it might raise a few smiles but in my wildest dreams I hadn’t imagined quite the extraordinary set of circumstances which then unfolded. First The Lawyer Magazine commented “If this is a fictional account it is genius”. I then emailed a few publishers and started getting interest as well as taking on a literary agent who had approached me direct. In the meantime, I was approached by The Times who offered to host the blog and finally, I got a book deal with Bloomsbury Publishing of Harry Potter fame - all within the space of less than three months.
Since that hectic start, it’s been a long haul. I’ve finally taken a break from the Bar and moved to North Devon where not only have I been able to go surfing a little more frequently but I have now finished the first two books in the Babybarista series. The blog has now moved from The Times to its own site and has also been taken on by The Guardian. The first book came out last August and was originally called BabyBarista and the Art of War and is now being re-issued as Law and Disorder. It does seem to have been well-received with broadcaster Jeremy Vine describing it as “a wonderful, racing read - well-drawn, smartly plotted and laugh out loud” and The Times Law Section calling it as “a gallop of a read” and their Books Section mentioning its “relentlessly racy, rumbustiously Rumpolean humour”.
But what’s really allowed me to take a break from practice are the businesses I co-founded. The first is called Law Brief Publishing and provides free general legal email newsletters to over 10,000 people and personal injury updates to over 13,000 people. Off the back of that I got together with fellow barrister Daniel Barnett who provides employment law updates to over 25,000 people and we set up a business called CPD Webinars which provides online video training to lawyers which we market through our newsletters.
So it’s been quite a journey in just a few years and I’m loving being back by the sea and pursuing these new careers of writing and business. In the meantime, I intend to return part-time to the Bar at some point, hopefully through my old chambers in London but based in Devon.
Tim Kevan is the author of Law and Disorder. For more information visit http://timkevan.blogspot.com and www.babybarista.com.
COMMENTS
Add a comment...