Raising the Bar

In this episode, guest host Alana Hughes, chats to Nancy Williams. Nancy specialises in three main practice areas: civil litigation, crime and family. She is on of the Bar Council's Social Mobility Advocates and is the Vice Chair of the Gray's Inn Schools Outreach Programme.  

In this episode Nia speaks to Richard Atkins QC, Head of Chambers at St Philips Chambers in Birmingham, a respected criminal barrister and Court Recorder about his experiences over the past 12 months with remote hearings, adapting and adopting technology to keep things going despite lockdown. Richard speaks about the different solutions, considerations and more when moving criminal jury cases onli...

This week's guest Frederico Singarajah, is recognised in the International Arbitration Powerlist by Legal 500 and Whoswholegal, amongst the most experienced and notable international arbitration practitioners at the English bar. Together with fellow Gray's Inn member, Marion Smith QC, Frederico has been part of the team who introduced the arbitration course and  VisMoot training at Gray's Inn. Nia...

What was it like being a gay man and being called to the Bar in 1989 amidst the HIV crisis and the controversial Section 28 Act of 1988? Guest host, Alana Hughes chats to Barrister Gerald Wilson about his experiences and just how far have we come since then.

In this episode Nia Marshall chats to Mareen Mahmood and Feleena Grosvenor. Both students come from a "non-traditional" background, have experienced challenges with their A-levels or schooling, suffer periodically from "imposter syndrome" and wouldn't describe themselves as the "typical" law student candidate.  Despite this both Mareen and Feleena were awarded scholarships from Gray's Inn and are...

Everything you wanted to know and more about the 2020/1 AGIS President. In this episode Nia chats to fellow AGIS Committee member and President about Gray's Inn, the law, Covid, his role as AGIS president and more.

Wondering how to balance parenting or caring responsibilities while at the Bar or considering going to the Bar late in life as a second career? If you are considering a change in career and have parenting or caring responsibilities this is an episode for you. Mary Prior QC speaks to Meredoc McGinn, Georgina Barney and Charlotte Bull about their decision to join the Bar, how to navigated the diffic...

Who is the Master of Students?  Elena speaks to the Hon. Mr Justice Fordham about his path to the Bar, what spurred him on to pursue the Bar and his experience as a student himself and the help he received from members of the Inn. Mr Justice Fordham also shares his thoughts on the Inn and the and the circle of membership. Tune in to hear this and more, as well as a few tips for students studying f...

Have you ever considered being a Barrister and working in the Army? Do you know what it is like to be an employed rather than self employed Barrister? How does being a self employed Barrister differ? Tune in as Alana find out this and more in her chat with Captain Sarah Gerrard about her path to the Bar and life as a Barrister in the armed forces.

In this episode our new AGIS Publicity Officer and podcast host, Nia Marshall, speaks to Oliver May and Jack Boswell about their new initiative – Neurodiversity in Law. It seems that around 15% of society have some form of hidden attribute under the umbrella of neurodivergence. Nia finds out more about what it means, how to manage it and how the new group can assist. For more information have a lo...

2020 has not turned out to be the glowing start to a new decade that we had hoped, and for those starting pupillage or becoming a junior tenant it has been a very different experience from the one their colleagues and mentors have experienced. So just exactly what has it been like? Alana chats to Joe Tarbert and Fazeela Ishmael about their experiences of 2nd sixth and starting tenancy during Covid...

Do you love the law and the sea, or more specifically, the Navy, and wondered how you could combine the two? What does a Military Law Barrister do and how does one become one? In this episode Alana speaks to John-Paul Fitzgibbon who spent 13 years in the navy as a Warfare Officer, navigated ships in the Carribean and more about his career in the Navy and how he came to The Bar while in the Navy. T...

Scholarships – always a burning question for students looking to join the Bar. In this episode Elena speaks to David Forsdick QC, Chair of the Gray’s Inn Scholarships Committee and Tony Charles, Director of Education at Gray’s Inn. How important is academic background?  What does a good scholarship application look like? What are the chances of being awarded a Gray’s Inn Scholarship? How important...

In this episode Alana chats to Mary Prior QC, an advocate for social mobility and diversity at the Bar, about her practice in homicide and serious sexual offences and her journey to the Bar. Find out why Mary believes law is a marathon not a sprint and  what you can do to help yourself in this exciting journey.

Pupillage – a nerve wrecking journey that can sometimes take years. In this episode Alana chats to Markus Findlay  and Oliver Haswell. Markus was recently been offered pupillage after 5 five years, and explains how having a Gray’s Inn mentor – Oliver Haswell – has been instrumental in his success. Oliver speaks of the benefits of both being a mentor and having a mentee. Inspiring listening if you...

In this episode Alana Hughes chats to Family Law Barrister Prudence Beaumont in Manchester. Despite a keen interest in the law Prudence did a Masters in Education before pursuing a career at the Bar. Find out why Prudence chose this route and what transferable skills she gained from her experiences.

Laurence Cooper’s ideas on how he imagined Gray’s Inn to be like were largely as a result of a certificate which included the words “To the degree of an utter barrister” on the wall of his late fathers study.  In this episode Elena chats to Laurence, a future pupil, about what Gray’s Inn is actually like (from his perspective of course!), how the Inn has changed and modernised over time, and how i...

In this installment of our "Meet the Barrister" series,  Alana Hughes speaks to Zehrah Hasan on her path to the Bar. Zehrah was awarded various scholarships from Grays Inn and has previously worked at a number of non-profit organisations, including Liberty and Southall Black Sisters. She has given oral evidence in Parliament as an expert witness and briefed the Joint Committee on Human Rights amon...

After the stressful and exhausting process of applying for pupillage, prepping for interviews, first round interviews and perhaps even second round interviews, you receive the dreaded email and find yourself disappointed and low. How do you pick yourself up and what do you do next? In this episode we chat to Angharad Marshall about how she dealt with the blow of not getting pupillage two years in...

In this episode Elena records her first remote podcast and chats to Vicky Wilson and Steve Innes on dealing with rejection, with a focus on pupillage application rejections.   Our guests discuss strategies to use going forward, share some pointers on how to make the best of a bad situation and tips on how to improve your resilience and manage your stress during this grueling process.

In this episode Alana Hughes, our guest host, chats to Professor Mark Engelman about his route to the Bar.  Mark specialises in Intellectual Property Law and has worked with some impressive clients and is renowned for his legal knowledge in this area. His career did not, however, start in law. Mark studied  Pharmacology at University and began his career as a Lab Technician at a NHS Hospital in Lo...

It is with a heavy heart that Gray's Inn will shortly be saying farewell to Director of Education, Quinn Clarke. We decided to get Alana Hughes to chat with Quinn about her time at the Inn (16 years!), the changes she has seen and her plans for the future (although some what in the air with the current situation!). Tune in and find out what Quinn had to say. 

We are in living in strange times and are having to adept to a different way of working and living for the time being. A few weeks ago Elena chatted to Barrister Saara Idelbi who has successfully been following a paperless practice for a while now.  Tune in to find out how Saara started, how she got used to electronic bundles, which apps to consider when editing your paper bundles and more.

In this episode current AGIS president and residential scholar, Harry Samuels, discusses GDL scholarships and his experiences with applying for scholarships at Gray's Inn. With the GDL scholarship application window having opened yesterday, this is well worth listening to! For more information on our scholarships visit:  https://www.graysinn.org.uk/scholarships

If your brain is your business as a Barrister how do you safe guard it? In this episode Elena chats to Amy Oliver about the particular challenges facing Barristers and how you can look after your mental health to enable you to be the best you can be as a Barrister.    More information and advice available here  https://www.wellbeingatthebar.org.uk/