Harrison Burroughs studied LLB Law at the University of Bristol Law School, graduating in 2019. Here Harrison details his journey throughout his course and the steps he took along the way to bring him closer to his goal of building a career at the Bar.
I started my law degree at Bristol in 2016, fresh from finishing my A Levels. Coming to a university like Bristol to study law can feel like a daunting experience; thankfully Bristol could not have been better at supporting me during my degree and my career aspirations.
Work Experience
Key to any application in the legal sector is work experience. Experience is vital to show both interest and skill in a chosen area. Admittedly, when I began my degree, I didn’t even know where to find these experiences, let alone how to be successful in obtaining them.
My main tip to anyone looking for work experience would be to start small. One or two days shadowing or volunteering is a great place to start, allowing you to build up your CV over time and go on to attain more substantial schemes. Equally, pay attention to your student societies, such as Bar Soc or Pro Bono Society, as these can be a great place to find work opportunities.
Scholarships
What separates becoming a barrister as a career choice is not just the significant financial investment, but also the immense competition for pupillage spaces.
Scholarships and awards are vital to overcoming both of these issues, covering some of the costs of the BPTC year and looking great on your CV.
Each year the four Inns of Court offer millions of pounds of awards to prospective barristers, significantly contributing to BPTC fees and other expenses. Each Inn has a slightly different application process and marking criteria, but all generally focus on aspects important to a barrister like academic ability and public speaking skill. The written applications for these scholarships close in November, with interviews in the spring, so keep an eye out!
With the help of the Careers Service and Law School Employability team at Bristol, I was able to tailor my application to best suit my strengths – both on paper and in interview – and was lucky enough to be awarded a Lord Denning Scholarship from Lincoln’s Inn.
However, it is important to remember that there are many other scholarships out there. For example, the Guru Nanak Social Mobility Award is provided by Mukhtiar Singh each year to offer funding and mentoring for aspiring barristers from disadvantaged backgrounds. As the inaugural winner of this scholarship, I can’t stress enough how important and helpful this award has been for my career.
Pupillage
I was receiving my first invitations to pupillage interviews when Corona virus struck. This offered the slightly odd experience of taking almost half my interviews in person (pre-lockdown) and half over a combination of Skype, zoom, teams and practically every other video-conferencing software available.
Despite the oddity of delivering answers to your laptop’s webcam, the fundamentals of video interviews are ultimately the same as those in person. You have to be calm, clear and concise and deliver your answers well – albeit sometimes with the added difficulty of your neighbour conducting DIY through the wall.
After a stressful spring period, balancing interviews with exam prep, I accepted an offer of pupillage with No5 Chambers, specialising in Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence.
It’s hard to put into words the amazing feeling when you receive that phone call informing you of your success. For me, this was the culmination of years of work and studying. It made all my hard work feel worth it.
I hope this blog has helped any students considering a career at the Bar. The Bar is undoubtedly an immensely difficult career path and my own experiences show it requires a lot of hard work. However, with a great deal of perseverance, success can be within reach.
Further information
For more information on exploring specific career options, current law students can access tailored careers advice through our regular Employability Bulletin and a wealth of resources on our Blackboard page here. See our full Careers and Employability webpages here.