University: University of Leeds
Degree: Law
Year of call: 2018
Position: Barrister
Pronouns: She/her

Why barrister not solicitor?

I knew early on that I wanted a career in law. In year 10, I managed to obtain work experience: first, two weeks at a solicitor’s law firm and, soon after, a week at a local magistrates and youth court. During my time at the law firm, I helped a solicitor with client handling and case file tasks, but I was itching to see and do more.

The week I spent at the courts opened my eyes to a career path that fit with my innate interest in storytelling and debating, offered day-to-day variety in work and provided intellectual challenges. It has not proved me wrong.  

How much work experience had you had? Why is it so important?

On the legal side, my work experience included tribunal advocacy with Free Representation Unit, an internship with a solicitor advocate practising in immigration law and volunteering for numerous advice centres. I also had non-legal work experience, such as sub-editing and a casual-hours contract job as a lifeguard alongside studies.

Having work experience is invaluable to your application! It can develop important skills that are transferrable to the Bar, such as effective communication, client handling, problem solving and time management. In addition, work experience gives you a real sense of responsibility and accountability that you don’t get from education or shadowing opportunities.

Did you do a mini-pupillage? Would you advise other aspiring barristers to try to do one of these?

I only had one official mini-pupillage on my CV when I applied (albeit a second completed by the time of my first interview) and a few experiences shadowing barristers that I met through access schemes or by networking. Mini-pupillages are very useful for seeing what the Bar is like generally, introducing you to a practice area and getting a sense of the culture at a set of chambers.

However, don’t fall into the trap of doing lots of mini-pupillages for the sake of bulking up experience, as that can make your application look aimless and thoughtless. When chambers look at your application, you want to showcase that you’re confident in your understanding of what the Bar entails and that you’ll enjoy the areas of work they have to offer.

What sort of work did you get involved with during pupillage?

During my pupillage, I undertook work across the whole spectrum of chambers’ practice areas, including clinical negligence and personal injury, inquests, immigration, employment and judicial review.

I accompanied supervisors and other members of chambers to a variety of court hearings, negotiations and client conferences. However, I was also kept busy with plenty of drafting exercises. This involved drafting pleadings, skeleton arguments and advice on liability and quantum. I received detailed feedback on each piece of work so that I could improve during my time at the chambers.

To compensate for the reduced court opportunities due to the covid-19 pandemic during my second six, advocacy exercises were arranged to ensure I gained essential practical experience.

What’s the biggest lesson you learnt as a pupil?

While the job offers a lot of independence, the career doesn’t have to be lonely or isolating. Being in a chambers with a positive culture means that you can approach your colleagues with any questions. For example, if your research doesn’t give you the clear answer you need, you can always check your understanding or debate the case law with colleagues. Seeing members of chambers pop into my supervisors’ room, or vice versa, instilled in me the view that the Bar can be a community.  

Please outline your area of expertise. What might you do in a typical day?

I undertake work in a few of the chambers’ specialties: clinical negligence and broader personal injury, professional negligence, inquests, inquiries and public law. These areas are all closely linked, allowing me to comfortably switch between them throughout the week.

I’m usually in court a few times a week, with increasingly longer court periods, especially within the realm of inquests. When I’m not in court or prepping for it, I handle my own case load of paperwork – drafting pleadings and advice. I usually have a conference in the week with a client and witnesses or experts, either to help assess the prospects of success at the beginning of a case or to prepare for an upcoming hearing.

Some evenings I may also attend a work-related conference or networking event. There are plenty of organisations and charities that host seminars, which can include legal updates from recent cases, insight sessions, skills workshops or classic networking opportunities to meet solicitors.

What do you most/least enjoy about your career as a barrister and why?

My career is never dull. With every case, there are new things to learn, new people to meet or skills to develop. Hearings can be virtual or take me travelling across England and Wales. Sometimes I work within a retrospective and compensatory lens, such as in clinical negligence, and sometimes I deal with the prospects of future change, such as in education law or the Court of Protection. I also have the freedom and independence to take on more or less work or develop my practice as I see fit. It’s a cliché, but no two days are the same, and I love it.

The freedom aspect, while part of what I love, can also be a double-edged sword. You need to be highly focused, motivated and diligent to keep on top of things. There aren’t constraints of only working 9 to 5 or having a boss chasing you on your deadlines. You must pick yourself up and get the work done that you agreed to. When you’re tired, this can get quite tricky!

What skills/strengths do you need to be a successful barrister?

Chiefly, it’s a job of communication. It requires you to be able to identify problems, find resolutions and communicate them accurately to your client. You need to build professional relationships with your lay clients, your professional clients and colleagues at the Bar. It means crafting persuasive arguments that resonate with the judge and/or jury to get your case to succeed. These skills have to be evident both in your written and oral work.

What is the work/life balance like at your chambers? How often do you have late nights/work at weekends?

As I imagine is the case with other chambers, this is largely down to personal choice. The reality for me is that I have a good relationship with my clerks that allows me to open and close the tap of work to suit my needs. Sometimes, I need a slower and more relaxed period of work to fit in more family life, take time to travel or go to concerts. Other times, I’m given an excellent opportunity that requires more work than usual. If the work is interesting or lucrative, I don’t mind giving up an evening or weekend to take it on. In addition, if you, like me, prefer working as a night owl and taking the morning to yourself (assuming you don’t have court in the morning) you can fit your work into your preferred schedule.

In short, the balance for me is usually weighted by my own needs. However, I recognise that some areas of law carry less financial security, making it harder to maintain a work/life balance.

What is the wider culture like at chambers?

1 Crown Office Row is an incredibly supportive and warm place to be based. Most of our members practise with an open-door policy, so you can pop your head in to ask a question or simply have a chat. I know that if I have difficulties within work or outside, I can call upon them for advice and support, and they’ve never ceased to let me down.

We regularly have joint lunches or drinks nights, which have helped me make a fair few friends within the chambers, especially at the junior end.

What diversity and inclusion initiatives is your chambers involved with?

We run an assessed mini-pupillage scheme targeted at socioeconomically disadvantaged applicants. It’s open to state-educated students who are:

• first-generation university students;
• recipients of free school meals;
• from families receiving income support; or
• individuals with caring responsibilities or those who were in care.

Those who perform strongly on the assessment are guaranteed a first-round pupillage interview should they apply. We also take part in the 10,000 Black Interns programme.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Curling up with a truffle mushroom risotto, plenty of garlic bread and a cocktail.