Robert Sartor

Name: Robert Sartor
Employer: Pump Court Tax Chambers
University: Durham University
Subject: French and German
Graduated: 2002

My background

I decided to become a barrister primarily because I wanted to belong to an independent profession. I chose tax law because the work is heavily focused on pure legal problem solving, rather than sifting through mountains of evidence, and because it involves a mixture of commercial and private client work as well as having an international dimension.

At work

On a typical day I arrive between 8.30 am and 9.00 am and leave between 6.30 pm and 7.00 pm. I normally work in the pupils’ room and am always invited to chambers coffee at 11.00 am where members meet to exchange ideas. My main responsibilities are legal research, drafting deeds and producing written opinions and skeleton arguments. Some of this is ‘devilling’ – producing work for other barristers to use as their own. Research can involve more than just tax law: problems tend to require knowledge of many other areas, particularly trusts, contract and civil procedure. Note taking is also a significant duty, both at client conferences and court hearings.

My time is almost always spent in chambers: court visits are a rare but exciting event. Tax law often litigates at a very high level and there are opportunities to see cases in the House of Lords. I love the fact that tax law is a huge subject involving complex points of statutory interpretation as well as other areas of law. The downside is that there are very limited advocacy opportunities in the early years.

My most unforgettable moment...

... was when HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) was forced to surrender on a point of law after receiving a letter that my pupil supervisor and I prepared. I later found HMRC adopting our analysis virtually word for word in negotiations with another client.