I GOT A SCHOLARSHIP :)

Scholarship Interview

My wonderful parents bought me a shiny new laptop for my birthday :), meaning the lost laptop cable saga has drawn to an end, which is just as well because it was a "Time" laptop and it is pretty difficult to get your hands on a cable for one of those these days...

Anyway, last week I had my interview with Middle Temple for a Scholarship. It was nowhere near as terrifying an experience as I was expecting, particularly based on the horror stories a friend of mine had told me about her interview last year.

I went into a room with three panel members: A Chancery Judge, a Chancery Barrister (Eek!) and a Criminal Silk. I was horrified when the chair told me that the two of them were Chancery lawyers, and considered walking out there and then, but thankfully, the Criminal Silk took over the interview and asked me about Family and Criminal Law.

I was asked why I was interested in Family Law, where I thought the line should be drawn with regards to getting into the emotions of Family cases and whether or not I thought the Privacy of Care cases should be lifted. I answered with a resounding NO and then had to argue my position. I think I handled that bit quite well, but it is impossible to tell really, I at least hung on to my convictions and was able to justify my opinion, so hopefully that was what they were looking for.

I was then asked about my thoughts on the Heathrow robbery trial and whether or not I thought Juries should be replaced by judges in all criminal trials, I talked about complex fraud, dumbfounded juries and then about the division of the tribunal of fact and law, inadmissible evidence and the importance of being tried by ones peers and concluded that I wasn't totally decided on the issue.

Then, a question that really threw me: Imagine you are producing a short film for Middle Temple to be targeted at university students to encourage them to come to the Bar, what important messages would you put across?

To be honest, I am slightly concerned that I may have gone on a bit too much about accessibility, and about preconceptions within society that the Bar is not accessible to everyone, despite the efforts made by the Bar to dispel this. However the panel did at least seem interested in what I was saying, I just hope I wasn't on my soapbox too much.... :s The truth is, I was trying to figure out what they wanted to hear and not thinking enough about what I wanted to say, and as soon as I worried about what they wanted me to say, my mind started to cloud over and I may have gone on a bit of a ramble. I did pull myself out though, in good time I hope, so I don't think it went all that badly.

The other 2 panel members decided that they didn't need to ask me anything else, the chancery barrister said that she thought we'd covered a lot of interesting ground and there was no need to ask anything else. Is that a good sign? Who knows. But it did throw me because I had been expecting questions from each of them and so directed all of my answers at the member that had asked the questions and not really at the other 2. Hopefully that wont count against me too much though.

With that the interview was over and I spent the rest of the day in shock, trying to process the fact that it had finished. Now I just have to wait for the results. Fingers Crossed!

Portal Prattle

As a Portal virgin, I went along to a talk at Gray's Inn on Tuesday all about the Pupillage Portal. It was mainly a step by step instruction guide into how to write your name, address and all other personal details with almost nothing about how to handle the important stuff like how to approach the key Pupillage questions, which apparently (according to the organiser) we should have all perfected by now.... (Queue a hell of a lot of nervous shuffling in seats and even more Poker face contortions from those that didn't want to give away signs of their panic.)

There were a few good tips though, and here are the ones that I can remember:

• Once you have registered you can change your choice for your first chambers as many times as you like, meaning that before even typing a word you should be able to check out if any of your chosen 12 have included a unique question, just by changing the provider and then looking at the Pupillage questions. If it is there, it will be flagged as well, so there is no missing it.
• You can up-date the Awards section after close of play at the end of April. So if you are lucky enough to get awarded a Scholarship from your Inn or any other award for that matter, you can update that section to let chambers know. You cannot update any other section though.
• There is nothing stopping you from contacting chambers directly however. So, if for example you get a new job or do some more Pro-bono or whatever, you can always contact chambers to let them know. Obviously, it is probably worth considering how important that new piece of information is when deciding whether to let them know. Contacting them over something trivial might not count in your favour.
• The Cover Letter is optional, and should be treated as such. Chambers differ in their views about this section, and it might be worth contacting individual chambers in advance to find out whether they will be looking for a lot from this section or whether they view it negatively and would prefer it either to be very brief or even ignored entirely.

Another piece of personal advice that I gained from the whole experience is never trust your shoes not to fall apart on a rainy day in London. You end up with very wet feet.

Home and Away

Laptop cable is still AWOL, but as I am in London for a visit to Lovely Boy, and he has gone off with his guitar to see a friend who also has a guitar for a playdate, I am free to blog away to my heart's content.

Today is day one of unemployment (again) as my contract ended yesterday, however, I have had a number if interviews for similar roles in the last few days, and just had a phone call offering me a job to start first week in May. Which is pretty perfect timing really, as it gives me a month off to concentrate fully on pupillage applications, and also apply for other more hands on jobs. This one is another admin position which is slightly pupillage friendly, but now that the jobs market is in recovery mode I would hope that I stand a chance of securing something a bit more impressive.

I've decided to apply for pupillage in Birmingham as well as London. Initially I had always thought that being back home when I reach that point would be a nightmare; but having spent the last 6 months or so licking my wounds and working there in a job where I've been able to get to know the right sort of people, I've realised that Birmingham is a brilliant place. It isn't just home, it is also the home of some pretty awesome chambers and there is a sense of community on the circuit that I haven't really noticed when talking to Barristers in London. The judges get drunk with the barristers clerks at the many Christmas parties and, even better, the Clerks love ME. I have somehow managed to get in with the clerks at a chambers and have had so much fun. Perhaps part of it is the fact that it is my home and that is why I feel more able to relax and enjoy myself with the practitioners there; but it isn't just about having fun, I also feel like I am more impressive because I feel so much more comfortable.

London is a great place to be young, but I can't help thinking that actually, I've always intended to return to Birmingham eventually. I don't want to raise a family in London, and when I think of my dream home, it is in a certain postcode in a more affluent area of Birmingham, (rather than Crime central where I have grown up).

But still; I think it may be a bit premature to be considering these things when I am only now about to try out the Pupillage Portal for the first time. The reality is, I'll take what I am given, if ever the opportunity is presented.

Technically Challenged

Michael has posted over at Law Actually that all the bright eyed, positive law student bloggers have disappeared, and everyone that is left is miserable or at least ageing and jaded (I am paraphrasing of course.).

I just wanted to leave a quick note to say I AM NOT BITTER YET... I do still have the enthusiasm, (perhaps not "virginal innocence" though...) however, I am unfortunately having a computer related crisis, namely I have somehow managed to lose my laptop cable, so cannot charge the battery and have been unable to post all of the fun stuff that I really want to go into loads of detail about. I am completely useless when it comes to technology and god knows when i will get around to finding/replacing it.

I have been dependent on my Sister to allow me access to the internet when at home to check vital email accounts etc and have managed to squeeze this post on because she is asleep but foolishly left her laptop downstairs.

So, my blog may not be the most exciting, inspiring or even vaguely interesting on the blawgosphere, but I really really do still have the enthusiasm. Even the incredible incompetence of BPP hasn't dragged me down.

Some fun things that I have wanted to blog about recently but couldn't:

• Attending a Champagne Reception at a Dream Chambers, then going for post event drinks and dinner with the Family team; (seriously amazing, and when the laptop cable reappears I will sit down and type my heart out)
• MCT exam and successful Conference mock;
• Mooting; and
• being mentored by a lovely lovely judge.

I am planning my return to London someday soon, and when I do I am sure I will have found the bloody cable, so at the latest, will get back into the swing of things then.

By the way, Andro if you read this, well done on the new job... and...have you seen the adverts for Eclipse? Exciting!

January Blues

January has been a tough month. BVC wise, all seems to be ok, Legal Research has consumed me and I shall spend the next five days in a frenzied panic trying to catch up with the rest of the studying I need to do for next weekend, but in comparison to everything else, it's absolutely fine.

January has been tough because I'm so far away from where I need to be. My current job is only temporary and is due to end at the end of the financial year, and despite newsreaders announcing that the recession is "over" I'm adopting a "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude, especially towards the jobs market. Today is the 4th anniversary of my relationship with Lovely Boy, but here I am stuck in Brummie land with a ton of work to do and he's down in London sad and lonely (also with a ton of work). Its pretty miserable really. Especially as he seems to be suffering a great deal at the moment with low self esteem and needs to not be on his own. Emotionally I'm so worried about him that I don't seem to be able to concentrate fully on my studies or job or anything else. I feel so guilty because if only I had managed to find a job in London I would be with him and able to help him to feel better. Instead I rely on the telephone to try and perk him up, which works for all of 1o minutes and then he feels down again. I have decided that cloning myself is the only way forward and will try and figure out how to do so as soon as my Legal Research is complete.

In other news, I dined at Middle Temple for the first time this month, and was very impressed with the food. The thing I didn't like though, was that the Benchers were completely separate from the students. I think it was because it was a private guest night and I'm hoping that there is a bit more mixing generally, but if not I'm not sure I see the point. I thought the whole point of qualifying sessions was to get to know other people, network and become a part of the community. I'm hoping the next one I go to is a bit more inclusive.

I also mooted again and am now through to the Quarter Final of the competition I'm in. Not bad for a first attempt. Of course it does mean I have another moot that I have to fit in preparation for around full time work and part time study. I'm not sure that the other part time students in the moot weren't relieved to have been knocked out! The fourth mooter in our round was a full timer and she was streets ahead of us. She used some brilliant expressions (which I fully intend to steal for the next round) and I was slightly in awe.

Christmas Catch up

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It has been such a long time since I've posted and the reason for that is I had no idea how difficult juggling studying and full time work can be when a depressing labour market forces you to take a Brummie based job and move back in with your family who have no understanding of why you might possibly appreciate some alone time in which to squeeze in a few hours of studying so as to pursue a life long dream of a career that you've already invested most of your life in rather than once again watching a Hollyoaks-Emmerdale-Coronation Street-Eastenders marathon "as a family". It's a right blog blocker. Although for anyone out there that cares, I think Janine did it. Oh and I'm also "Team Andre" in the Jordan v Peter saga, wanted Joe to win X-factor and "Team Jacob/Werewolf" in the Edward v Jacob debate. Just so you know... (*shoot me! PLEASE!*)

It's not all been mindless distraction though. Since my last post I've been marshalling, mooting, studying, had 2 teaching weekends, arranged 2 mini-pupillages, started a new job in London, started an accompanying part time job in London, then started a newer job in Birmingham instead. Oh, and I got my loan!!! So I can now actually pay my course fees and get to sleep at night :)

BVC-wise, things are going pretty well I think. I'm noticing that despite my interest in Criminal Law and my lack of enthusiasm for Civil, I'm finding Civil pretty easy but Crime more of a struggle. In Advocacy, I'm getting good feedback but in all honesty I just don't feel that satisfied with myself, whereas in Conference I think I'm doing well but then the feedback doesn't live up to how I felt at the time. I was pretty nervous about Conference to begin with, but actually, my tutor is brilliant and I think if anyone is going to help me figure out how not to be too slow talking about the irrelevant things it will be him.

Opinion Writing is still the best taught subject, and so clear and, at the moment at least, no trouble at all, which is good because I have an assessed Opinion to hand in next session. Legal Research becomes more of a nightmare as time goes by. I thought, foolishly, that it would be fine, instead I handed in an 80 page UNFINISHED mess as my Mock Assessment and genuinely can't wait till the next session to be put out of my misery and find out where on earth I went wrong. Generally I'm pretty pleased with how things are going, it isn't all smooth sailing obviously, but all the same, I am finding it much much easier than university. Which is strange considering the amount of work there is, but doesn't surprise me because I'm much more dedicated to this than I was to my degree.

Oh, and my classmates are still fantastic people, and nothing like the idiots I went to university with. I feel really lucky. The only thing is that there is one absolutely crazy cat lady who is a shakespearean tragedy all to herself. She doesn't do the work, and then disrupts the class and interrupts to ask the tutor why she doesn't understand what he is talking about, or whether or not she read about such and such a case that was in the newspaper last year. I noticed that she had become a bit of a pariah (it's not hard to imagine why) and attempted to make nice and got my head bitten off and last session, she stormed out of a classroom mid lesson. It kills me to think that she might somehow land a pupillage. The pupillage system seems so random, it could actually happen, and if she did, I think I might have to stick pins in my eyes to block out the pain.

Will try to post again soon, but not only do i have the family time/soap opera gauntlet to run daily, I also got Rumpole and Kavannagh QC DVD box sets for Christmas. Which is for Advocacy studying purposes of course...