A day in the life

 

Ever wondered what it’s like to be a qualified barrister? Camilla Ter Haar and Helen Reid, two of Five Paper's junior barristers, spill the beans.

Camilla Ter Haar

Property team - called to the Bar July 2005

 

It is hard to describe a typical day as there doesn’t seem to be such a thing.

On average I’m in court around three times a week, however there have been weeks where I’ve attended numerous hearings in a day – sometimes in more than one court – and it’s gone on like that all week.

 

Court hearings vary from simple possession hearings to applications. Applications range from injunctions to set aside default judgments, to strike-out statements of case and for summary judgment.

 

I often appear in small claims trials and occasionally these are fast-track. These trials might concern Landlord and Tenant matters but they tend to be more varied, being commercial in nature, and cover all matters of general common law. Hearings tend to take place in and around London, although I occasionally travel further afield.

 

Regardless of whether I’m due in court, I’ll always spend part of each day back at the Five Paper offices. Time spent in chambers usually involves speaking to solicitors about past and future cases, bouncing ideas off my colleagues (in particular my very helpful former pupil supervisors), reading papers and researching areas of law with which I’m less familiar.

 

As a junior tenant I usually have various pieces of paperwork on the go, including advices, defences and particulars of claim. The subject matter of the written work includes various Landlord and Tenant matters, such as disrepair and dilapidations claims, rent arrears cases and possession claims. I’m also frequently instructed on general common law and commercial matters.

 

No matter what I expect my day to hold, I’m invariably proved wrong as cases will often settle and one can never predict when or on what issue a solicitor will send a brief.

 

Helen Reid

Commercial team - called to the Bar July 2005

 

Like Camilla, I find it hard to describe a ‘typical’ day at the junior bar as the work is so varied. On average I’d have maybe three court hearings in a week. These could be in the High Court, any London county court, or occasionally out of town.

Here are three examples of the type of hearings I might attend:

 

• An application in the Bankruptcy Court. I could be acting for one of a range of people in the insolvency process, such as a trustee in bankruptcy, an administrator of a company or an individual debtor. The hearing would take place before a Bankruptcy Registrar and typically be listed for 30 minutes.
• A small claim or fast-track trial in a London county court, lasting anything from three hours to an entire day. This might involve dealing with procedural matters, cross examination and legal argument, and would usually be heard by a district or circuit judge. I’m instructed to act in all kinds of commercial disputes, for example a claim for breach of a commercial contract.
• Appearing before a Master in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court. I might be representing a creditor seeking a charge or an order for sale in respect of a debtor’s property. On such an application I might meet my opponent in the Bear Garden in the Royal Courts of Justice – much more impressive surroundings than the county court waiting room.

 

You quickly get used to waiting around for your hearing to be called – this is particularly true of days where your trial is in a list with five to ten others and you have to wait your turn!

 

My time in Chambers is mostly spent doing one of two activities: either preparing for upcoming hearings or doing paperwork. Paperwork can mean all manner of things but most often I am asked to draft pleadings and advise on matters of law and evidence. This could include anything from an application for an annulment, to advising a company on a clause in its standard terms.

 

Of course in amongst the hearings and the paperwork I’ll be speaking with solicitors, having conferences with clients and running things by other members of chambers (pretty unavoidable when you are junior). In a typical week I might also meet with a solicitor for a drink or attend an event run by the Commercial team for our clients: go-karting being the most recent example.

 

A degree of flexibility is required in terms of how I approach my work but, in my view, the fact that no two days are the same guarantees an interesting and varied workload which is a distinct advantage over other careers.