BECOMING A BARRISTER
Becoming a Barrister The path to the Bar has always been complex and challenging. In Hilary 2020, an exhibition was mounted in the Inn’s Library - Becoming a Barrister: Overcoming Barriers on the Path to the Bar. This explored some of the challenges faced by aspiring barristers over the centuries, such as religion, ethnicity, finances, social status, disability and educational background – and told the stories of some of the incredible individuals who have overcome these barriers on the path to the Bar. Following the opening of the exhibition, a campaign was launched – Becoming a Barrister: What’s Your Story? – inviting Middle Templars to submit the stories of their own paths to the Bar and beyond, in their own words. Each of these stories has been preserved in the Inn’s Archive for posterity. A handful of these fascinating, unique and illuminating accounts have been reproduced here.
Frank Winslett When I left secondary school in 1965 without any formal qualifications I had no idea that when I retired some 53 years later I would be dual qualified as a solicitor and barrister. I then lived on a South West London Council estate and nearest you came to the law was when the local police drove round. Back in the sixties the legal profession was predominantly white male and public school. So different today, and in my opinion the profession is far the better for it. As an outdoor clerk I would sit behind counsel when it would have been a mortal sin for solicitors not to send someone along. I wondered at those bewigged barristers getting up in front of – dare I say – some disagreeable judges, to put their arguments, not realising some years later it would be me. After realising I could not stay in the profession unless I obtained qualifications, I started out on the road to qualify as a solicitor. I was admitted in 1984. To complete my finals I gave up work although I had 3 children and a mortgage – it was all worthwhile in the end. I always had a good working relationship with members of the Bar and up until 1993 would appear in the Crown Court in a limited capacity. I acquired Higher Rights in 1994 and started to conduct jury trials. I was aware that some members of the Bar then did not welcome HCAs, but that was not my experience. The circle was complete in 2004 when it was time for me to take the plunge and leave my reasonably secure position in a firm of solicitors and be Called to the Bar. My Call night was in March 2004. I was the eldest person being Called that night, at 53, and it was a proud moment for me and my family. My first appearance at Lewes Crown Court as a member of the Bar, I remember so well. Fellow counsel welcomed me, and the judge welcomed me to the Bar in open court. It had been a long road and at times challenging from
outdoor clerk to a member of the Middle Temple. During my time at the Bar I became a pupil supervisor and was approved to train members of my chambers in Direct Access. I judged a number of Mooting competitions, and now in retirement I am involved in the Bar mentoring schemes. I was above average age when I was Called to the Bar, but I still faced many of the challenges that younger aspiring barristers face. Would I get work, could I pay my bills, would I be taken on as a tenant? Would I be looked upon differently, having come from the other side? I did have moments when I wondered if coming to the Bar was the right move, but, looking back, it certainly was, and made even more so by fellow members of the Bar and my chambers.
Darshinee Choytah When I was born, in Mauritius, my parents were in a state of extreme poverty, my working father drawing a meagre salary and my mother a housewife. My mother sometimes did not even have food to feed herself when she was pregnant. I was not even six months old when I was diagnosed with chronic bronchitis, and the doctors were pessimistic about my future. Wheezing, fever and coughs became the routine of my childhood instead of laughter, cooing and the sound of toys. When I was growing up, we were still burdened by financial difficulties; I witnessed my father getting angry at the drop of a pin. Due to the fear of chronic bronchitis, my mother did not allow me to have friends outside, get in contact with dust and eat ice cream like others. I barely had any toys or dolls. I was a lonely and sad child. The turning point was when my mother started buying story books for me to read. I developed a sudden love of looking at the pictures and reading the stories aloud. My mother was determined to send me to school and to teach me. At school, I was still not like the ‘normal’ children. Teachers were cautious around me and I fell sick basically every week. But my mother taught me never to give up, a lesson I have not forgotten. There came a time when my little sister was born, my father got another job and, except for my medical vulnerability, I stopped struggling that much. In Mauritius, the legal profession is still quite a restricted and closed circle where the majority of new entrants are the children of those already practising. I experienced this
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