Middle Templar 2020

Page 88

HOW MIDDLE TEMPLE HELPED ME

AMY HUTCHINGS

How Middle Temple Helped Me Amy Hutchings studied Law at the University of Bristol and returned home to complete her BPTC at BPP Leeds. She is due to start her Common Law pupillage at Exchange Chambers in September 2021. In her free time, Amy enjoys travelling and scuba diving with her husband.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought strange, unprecedented and difficult times for us all. It will forever cast a dark shadow on the world. Now more than ever, reflecting on one’s own life seems inevitable and truly appreciating all the positives is so very important. Somewhere between Brexit and the global pandemic, I was offered pupillage at my dream set of chambers. This would not have been possible without Middle Temple, and so it is my pleasure to write this article; not only as a token of my appreciation but in the hope that it inspires positivity in these challenging times. Middle Temple has so much to offer; below are just some of the ways the Inn has helped me.

BPTC Scholarship My first visit to Middle Temple was for my scholarship interview in 2018. At that time, I had not thought of the Inns of Court as being accessible; they were grand, distant and almost intimidating establishments. I suppose I saw the Inns of Court in much the same way as my grand and distant dream to become a barrister.

Qualifying Sessions In September 2018, I commenced the BPTC. I was anxious, excited and motivated. Admittedly, the prospect of travelling to London (I studied the BPTC in Leeds) to complete 12 Qualifying Sessions (QS) was not something I was particularly looking forward to. Even though my experience of Middle Temple to date had been nothing but positive, I questioned why this tradition had to be followed. Was it not just some elaborate and redundant custom, another expensive quirk along the way to becoming a barrister? I would like to say that I was right, but in fact I learnt a great deal from the QS. I learnt about the history and traditions of the Middle Temple, the important fundamentals of advocacy and case theory. I met intelligent and ambitious people from a multitude of backgrounds. I felt deeply proud and privileged to be a part of this special legal institution and growing professional family.

When I arrived at Middle Temple, however, I was met with nothing but warmth, kindness and support; something which I greatly appreciated in such nerve-wracking circumstances. My scholarship interview was challenging, and so it should have been, but as I sat across from three extraordinarily intelligent and experienced members of the Bar and the judiciary, I was not made to feel small, alienated or unworthy. It was instead a positive experience. I will never forget the day I was offered a scholarship. I felt proud and unbelievably happy; this generous scholarship meant that I could study the BPTC. I could take the next step to becoming a barrister.

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2020 Middle Templar

Middle Temple also sought to make the QS accessible. For out of London students, multiple QS were hosted in Leeds and Manchester. Transport was arranged by our Middle Temple student reps, for example, from BPP Leeds to attend sessions in Manchester. The Inn also heavily subsidised all the events, acknowledging the costs of travelling to, and staying in, London.

Pupillage As I started my second attempt to obtain pupillage, I reached out to the Inn and requested a Mock Pupillage Interview. Within just three days, I was put in touch with an experienced barrister specialising in the practise area I too hoped to practice in. I will always be grateful to that barrister for giving up his time to help me, and for the Middle Temple Mock Pupillage Interview Scheme. On Monday 17 February 2020 I was offered pupillage. I will never forget that day and I will be eternally grateful to have had such a supportive Inn to help me achieve my dream. Middle Temple is my professional home. It is a place filled with warmth, support and generosity. Accepting all that Middle Temple has to offer, and believing that I too had a place there, helped me to fulfil my dream of becoming a barrister.


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Articles inside

Temple Church Weddings

0
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
page 13

The Spanish Influenza Pandemic

3min
page 17

Racial Equality, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Working Group

2min
page 12

Black Lives Matter

4min
page 11

BAME and the Bar

4min
page 10

From the Treasurer

6min
pages 8-9

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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