Middle Templar 2020

Page 86

STUDENT LIFE AT THE INN

RACHAEL POPE

Student Life at the Inn Rachael Pope studied Classics at King’s College London, followed by a few years working full time in project management. She completed an MA in Linguistics at University College London (UCL) and is currently at City University studying the BPTC having completed the GDL at the same institution.

Before joining Middle Temple as a student member, I had little idea of what to expect aside from knowing that I had to complete 12 Qualifying Sessions (QS). As a student of the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), I was able to prepare myself for what to expect on the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC); namely a lot of work over a short period of time. On the other hand, Qualifying Sessions were ‘the great unknown’. Additionally, I did not know any other members of the Inn, student or otherwise. My first event was the introductory student evening in September during the first week of the BPTC. It was well attended and gave a great overview of what was to come over the next academic year. We were also sent a booklet by email which contained everything we needed to know about life as a student member of Middle Temple. I must be honest, before attending this event I was solely interested in completing my QS as quickly as possible. However, one of the speakers mentioned that we will ‘get out of our experience as a student as much as we put in’ and that stuck with me.

enough to say good morning to Her Majesty the Queen; a very pleasant and unexpected end to the weekend. Aside from completing a total of 15 QS before the Michaelmas break, I also participated in other activities and programmes held by the Inn for the benefit of its student members. The ‘Be Heard’ course taught me how to use my voice, the Rosamund Smith mooting competition helped me to develop my mooting skills, despite being knocked out in the first round, and even writing this article for the Middle Templar was an unexpected but welcome opportunity. At each new event I truly embraced the rule of three, and made sure that I spoke to at least three new people, however, it always ended up being many more. I can now say that I see more and more familiar faces when I visit the Inn and this is entirely due to my participation in a variety of the student events. By virtue of my

Over the next four months I managed to attend a variety of events: a Sherrard Conversation, which discussed the climate crisis and lawyers participating in the extinction rebellion movement; an author’s reading given by Sarah Langford, which gave great insight into not only her book but also her practice; and a karaoke evening, which was a great opportunity to meet fellow Middle Temple students and see a different side to the Inn. By far my favourite QS was the time I spent at Cumberland Lodge. The advocacy exercises were invaluable in helping me to develop my skills, I was able to get to know even more members of the Inn and I was lucky

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Cumberland Lodge

2020 Middle Templar

personal experience during this academic year, I know I will still participate in life at Middle Temple in the future. I am glad that I saw a world beyond QS early on and tried a variety of the events and activities. It was by no means an easy task to undertake. It required diligent time management and a few sleepless nights to ensure that all of my competing commitments were fulfilled. It was well worth it and looking back I would do it all over again. I feel it is also prudent to say a few words about the Inn’s response to the current pandemic that we are going through. There has been a Herculean effort to ensure that those who still have QS to complete can do so online. While I completed all of my sessions last year, I have been so glad to see that everything that I think and feel about the Inn holds true, especially in a time such as this shrouded in so much uncertainty. If you are starting the BPTC in 2020 or are still completing your QS, I would recommend that you try to sample a variety of the events on offer, make sure that you are adhering to the rule of three, and try to enjoy your time as a student member of Middle Temple as it will fly by!


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Temple Church Weddings

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page 145

New Masters of the Bench 2019-20

9min
pages 127-129

Middle Temple Students' Association

4min
page 126

Middle Temple Young Barristers' Association

7min
pages 124-125

Hall Committee

4min
page 123

The COIC Pupillage Matched Funded Scheme

3min
page 122

What Have the Bar Council and the Inn Ever Done for Me?

2min
page 119

Behind the Lens

8min
pages 116-118

Temple Residents' Association

4min
page 121

Valedictory: The Rt Hon. Lord Carnwath

7min
pages 114-115

Temple Church During Lockdown

7min
pages 112-113

Lent Reader’s Feast: The Highways, Byways and Blind Alleys of International Law

11min
pages 108-110

Temple Church Choir Summer Review

2min
page 111

Becoming a Barrister

15min
pages 103-105

Autumn Reader's Feast: Current Challenges in the Criminal Justice System

8min
pages 106-107

Talk to Spot

3min
page 102

The Divorce Blame Game is Nearly Over

6min
pages 100-101

You have the Right to Remain Unidentified

7min
pages 98-99

Levelling the Playing Field

8min
pages 96-97

A Day in the Country in Lockdown

9min
pages 92-93

Confronting the Challenges Presented by the Covid-19 Pandemic

8min
pages 90-91

Impeachment of a U.S. President

8min
pages 94-95

How Middle Temple Helped Me

3min
page 88

Don’t Let Commercial Awareness be a Bar to Success

4min
page 87

Student Life at the Inn

3min
page 86

In the Shoes of an Out of London Student

4min
page 85

The Inns of Court

3min
page 84

The ICCA Bar Course

3min
page 83

Troubled Journeys on the Path to Justice

3min
page 82

Turning the Tide against Corruption in the Congo

4min
page 81

My Journey to the Bar and Becoming the First Kurdish Iraqi Barrister

3min
page 80

Qualifying Sessions

4min
page 79

The Role of an Inn of Court

3min
page 78

Five Perspectives on Sponsorship

8min
pages 76-77

Advocacy at the Inn

7min
pages 74-75

Outreach

3min
page 72

Sherrard Conversations

3min
page 73

Mock Pupillage Interviews

7min
pages 68-69

Volunteering at Call Day

2min
pages 70-71

Mooting Trip to Cherokee

9min
pages 65-67

Education Update

4min
page 64

100 Years Since Helena Normanton's First Qualifying Session

2min
page 58

MTYBA & MTSA International Women's Day

2min
page 59

Créme de la Créme Climbing Rose

2min
page 62

Celebrating a Century of Women in Law

5min
pages 56-57

Circuit Societies

15min
pages 53-55

MTYBA Dark Waters Event

3min
page 63

The Rule of Law Under Attack

7min
pages 60-61

Working in the Seychelles

4min
page 52

An Increased Use of Technology in Gibraltar's Legal System

2min
page 51

Access to Justice during the Coronavirus Pandemic: The Malaysian Experience

8min
pages 48-49

Cross Border Practice in Europe and Brexit

4min
page 46

Business as Usual at the European Court of Justice Pending Brexit

7min
pages 44-45

Reflections on a Declaration of Friendship

7min
pages 42-43

Mind the Gap: The General Adjourned Period and the Coronavirus Pandemic in Hong Kong

4min
page 47

Amity Visit to Canada

6min
pages 40-41

Book Review: Equal Justice by Frederick Wilmot-Smith

3min
page 39

Book Review: Court Number One: The Old Bailey Trials that Defined Modern Britain by Thomas Grant

4min
page 38

Book Review: Simon Brown's Memoirs by the The Rt Hon The Lord Brown

4min
page 35

The Ceremonial Plate of the Middle Temple

4min
page 32

Lord Carson of Duncairn: Barrister, Statesman and Judge

11min
pages 27-29

Unshaken & Unshakeable

7min
pages 30-31

A Personal Collection of 15th Century Documents

17min
pages 23-26

Justiciability – A Forgotten Saga

9min
pages 33-34

Readers of the Temple: From the 16th to the 19th Century

9min
pages 20-22

A Potted History of the Office of the Under Treasurer

5min
pages 18-19

Equality and Diversity at the Bar Council

4min
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The Spanish Influenza Pandemic

3min
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Racial Equality, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Working Group

2min
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Black Lives Matter

4min
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BAME and the Bar

4min
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From the Treasurer

6min
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Speech at the Inauguration of the Middle Temple LGBTQ+ Forum

11min
pages 14-16

Under Treasurers’ Forewords

8min
pages 6-7
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