FROM LITTLE INTEREST IN THE LAW FROM LITTLE INTEREST IN THE LAW TO BECOMING A BARRISTER AT THE TO BECOMING A BARRISTER AT THE VICTORIAN BAR VICTORIAN BAR

From little interest in the law, to becoming a barrister at the Victorian Bar, Mr John Petras discusses his experiences leading up to becoming a barrister and illustrates the demanding nature of his role He highlights the value of experiences such as volunteering and mooting, and encourages students to gain as much practical experience as possible whilst studying law.

When I enrolled in law school, I had no background in the law at all. During the first few years of study, I struggled to maintain interest in the content taught

My passion for the law began when I first tried my hand at mooting It was the first time I felt I had control over the legal argument, which I never felt I had within the time constraints of written examinations Mooting is an incredible experience for students, and I highly recommend it as it is a great way to practice advocating and applying the law Through mooting, I was hired for my first job in the legal industry as a Law Clerk at Robinson Gill After a few years of working there, I graduated law school and became a solicitor By that stage, I was certain that I wanted to work for the Bar, so I took time off work to study for the exam

After passing the Bar exam in December 2020,

I was allocated into a Reader’s course beginning in September 2021 In need of employment in the meanwhile, I took a job as an associate to Judge Misso at the County Court and ended up deferring into a later reader’s course in March 2022 so that I could fulfil the basic one-year contract required of a judge’s associate.

While I was nervous at the time about delaying my start as a barrister, it was a decision that I could not be more pleased with As a judge’s associate I could witness the law in action The best part about being a judge’s associate was witnessing hearings, seeing it day in, day out, and therefore gaining familiarity with the courtroom. Discussing the ins and outs with a judge was also a highlight of the role I was a solicitor in injury law prior to becoming a Judge’s Associate and my judge was also primarily from injury law, so we were able to engage in sophisticated discussions about the law

You truly start learning once you start working University is just a stepping-stone I believe that a person ’ s sense for the law does not come from study, it comes from experience Experience is where legal principles are actualised and where you will have burned into your memory the very real and very tangible effects of the law.

Once you start to get a sense of what the law is, what legal culture is like, and what lawyers are like, you also start to read decisions in a much more fluent way Reading decisions becomes much more like reading a newspaper, and you will start to find pleasure in what was previously a chore. There will also be aspects in practice that you will link back to what you learnt in law school, and you will finally understand for the first time what you had previously rote learned as a meaningless set of rules.

What does a day in the life of a Barrister look like?

A day in the life of a barrister can be chaotic One thing worth noting for students aspiring to become a barrister is that there is a lot of chaos and uncertainty

As a barrister, you are an independent contractor receiving briefs from solicitors, and it is usually with very short notice. A large part of being a barrister is receiving briefs last minute, having the ability to absorb everything quickly, and then presenting it before a court This is why mooting is such fantastic preparation, because it is quite similar to the experience of a barrister

As independent businesspeople, barristers can work when they choose to work However, not working often can affect business as it relies heavily on maintaining relationships with clients It is an unpredictable business and therefore you need many potential leads As a barrister, you are unaware of when you may or may not receive work and therefore there are times when maintaining relationships provoke you to work more and that is something you will have to learn to manage.

A key tension of being a barrister is that you are often expected to be both the advocate and the principal lawyer who is responsible for keeping all the paperwork in order

Therefore, some days are largely focused on reading through paperwork or giving advice about the strategy to be adopted in a particular matter. There are huge amounts of documents to read through and it never feels like there is enough time to get through it all – although I guarantee that this skill will improve dramatically over time Some days it feels like a paperwork race against the clock while juggling calls from your instructors regarding advice needed on certain matters Otherwise, you are appearing in court

When briefed for a court appearance, it can either be very last minute or well in advance, depending on a variety of factors including, the urgency of the underlying case (for example, seeking an injunction), the preparedness of your instructor, and the willingness of the client to invest in having you on board at an early stage

A typical experience of a junior barrister is to receive last minute briefs to appear the following day from an instructor that you have never heard of, and who is briefing you because their usual barristers weren’t available We call this a ‘hospital hand pass. ’ While very stressful, these can often be the foundation for long relationships with these instructors

Over time barristers tend to form relationships with instructors, and its usually in the context of those relationships that you are likely to be briefed ahead of time That is the complexion of appearance work; it is either short notice or a bit more structured and in the context of an existing relationship

As a barrister, you must enjoy the law in some sense. When I came to appreciate what the law was, I began to really enjoy figuring out how to argue it and apply it. If you do not enjoy the law at some level, it can be tough going Of course, different people might enjoy the law in vastly different ways, and at different times, but it is difficult to imagine coping with the heavy workload of a barrister without some kind of passion for the law.

Do you have any advice for aspiring lawyers?

I recommend volunteering It is such an invaluable experience You are involved in making a big impact on lives and it really gives you an insight into the law and what to expect, especially when entering a job in the legal field Small law firms, especially, can be great in terms of having more input in the work and being assigned impactful and varied tasks

If you find yourself just treading water and getting through life, that is often a problem You need to stop, figure out what you want, and what you can do to get there You need to have a goal and do as much as you can to get towards it. Every good thing that has happened to me has come out of doing something, as opposed to not doing something, and all the regrets I have relate to not doing something when I could have done that something

I am a big believer in doing things It is better to go through with a half-baked plan, than to do nothing (although obviously try not half-bake your plans!) Also, do not be afraid of making mistakes You are allowed to get things wrong when you are young; so lean into it and learn as much as you can.