Institutionalised freelancing

Pretty much everything written about self-employment and freelancing (including these notes) operates on an implicit assumption that working for oneself is a brave and noble calling: to strike out on one's own is to reject the status quo and follow in the footsteps of giants like Henry Ford, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

Last night I caught up with a very successful London barrister. By definition he is self-employed, albeit in a partnership within his chambers. There's nothing remarkable about this as every barrister in Great Britain is a freelancer and yet his working world is governed by the same unstated laws as mine: -

The client needs the job done more than she needs you to do it. To be unavailable for whatever reason is to elevate a competitor at your own expense

This is how the British Bar has operated for hundreds of years. There is nothing brave or noble about it, it's just what the world looks like if you want to be a barrister.