Raising the Bar – Details, episodes & analysis

Thinking of changing careers and coming to the Bar? This episode is a must-listen for anyone thinking of retraining as a barrister.

In this episode, I speak with barrister Nicola Sully who has a common law practice, about her journey to the Bar as a career-changer.  We discuss transferable skills, how to challenge assumptions, to articulate your motivation for changing careers and to demonstrate your professional compatibility with your target chambers.  Listen in for tips on how to overcome limiting beliefs, recognise the opportunities that your previous career offers and tackle pupillage applications to achieve success at the Bar as a career changer.

Applying for a GDL scholarship? Tommy, a GDL scholar, discusses how he approached his GDL interview and prepared to demonstrate his advocacy, drive and determination, problem solving skills and motivation to succeed to the panel.

This conversation marks the first episode of the new ‘A Student’s Guide’ series on the Raising the Bar Podcast where we will discuss topics relevant to current and aspiring bar course students. This episode is hosted by Ciara Church with guest Kelly Yu. Kelly was the AGIS treasurer from 2021-2022 and is a Gray’s Inn scholarship recipient. Kelly came to the UK for university, from Hong Kong and studied English before transferring to Law. In this episode Ciara and Kelly discuss the different bar course providers, their journeys to the bar, and the lessons they’ve learnt along the way.

Working from home, online mediation, nett zero disputes, paperless practicing, the Greener Pledge - the pandemic has highlighted many of these issues and had been a period of reflection for many. How does the charge to nett zero affect how we practice, how do we enforce this in different jurisdictions, what is sustainability at the Bar?

In this episode Ciara discusses all this and more with Marion Smith QC and Annie Mackley.

Resources on climate litigation  UNEP Global Climate Litigation Report 2020: Global Climate Litigation Report: 2020 Status Review | UNEP - UN Environment Programme Sabin Centre for Climate Change Litigation: https://climate.law.columbia.edu/  Judgment of the District Court of the Hague in Milieudefensie e.a v Royal Dutch Shell: https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2021:5339  ICC Commission Report: Resolving Climate Change Related Disputes through Arbitration and ADR: Resolving Climate Change Related Disputes through Arbitration and ADR (iccwbo.org) 

Resources on sustainability at the Bar  Greener Arbitrations: https://www.greenerarbitrations.com/ Net Zero Lawyers’ Alliance: https://netzerolawyers.com/ The Mediator’s Green Pledge: https://imimediation.org/2020/10/21/the-mediators-green-pledge/ The Chancery Lane Project: The Chancery Lane Project Bar Sustainability Network: Bar Sustainability Network (barcouncil.org.uk) 

In this episode, Ciara chats to the original podcast host ,Alana Hughes, about her new tenancy, family law, the differences between being a pupil versus a tenant at a chambers, the impact of the pandemic on her new practice and so much more.

After a break we are back with our interesting podcast series hosted by AGIS.

This episode is a first for the Raising the Bar Podcast as Alana Hughes, our guest host for the segment “Meet the Barrister”, chats to His Honour Judge Aubrey QC.

Judge Aubrey was the first in his extended family to attend university after attending a state grammar school. He obtained pupillage and tenancy in Liverpool and after 20 years at the Junior Bar he decided to take Silk.

He has been a Northern circuit judge since 2005. Alana speaks to Judge Aubrey about his path to the Bar, the decision to change career from being a barrister to a Judge and his experiences as a Judge and so much more.

(This episode was recorded remotely in April 2020)

The Pupillage Gateway opens for submissions on 5 January 2022 - a process fraught with tension and anxiety for most students for weeks as applications are prepared, rewritten and finally submitted. What transferable skills can you include, how should you include them,  what can you do to make your application stand out.

In this episode our new AGIS host Ciara Church, chats to Ayanna Nelson about her experiences and tips and suggestions on the application process. Tune in to find out more.

Becoming a self-employed Barrister is an exciting part of the journey. What many new barristers aren’t always sure of is how to manage their finances at this point.

In this episode Nia chats to Alex Friede, an accountant who advises self-employed professionals and small businesses on their tax, accountancy, and financial management affairs. He is a specialist in the affairs of barristers, and his portfolio currently includes over two hundred practitioners.

Tune in as he shares some tips on how to best tackle the money side of your new practice.

Pupillage marks the start of a new phase in your path to the Bar. After the months of preparation, applications, grueling interviews and stressful waits for outcomes you may be considering what lies ahead.

In this episode Nia chats to Alana Hughes about the transition from student to pupil barrister. Alana shares her experiences, the expectations versus reality and how the pandemic impacted her pupillage and what support the Inn offers to pupil barristers.

In this episode we chat to Elena Johnson, a past publicity officer of the Association of Gray’s Inn Students (AGIS) and podcast host of Raising the Bar 2019-2020. Picking yourself up after pupillage rejections is a tough part of the journey to becoming a barrister. Elena did not manage to get pupillage first time round and tells Nia what she did in the year thereafter and how it helped her secure pupillage. She also shares some tips on pupillage applications and the skills she picked up in her "gap year".