Raising the Bar

In this episode Niamh explores the area of Arbitration from a students perspective. The discussion covers and introduction to Arbitration, the Gray’s Inn International Arbitration course and the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. Niamh is joined by Nia a previous attendee of the Gray’s Inn course who also went on to compete in the Vis Moot. This episode was recorded in advance of the Introduction to International Arbitration Open Evening on 27th July 2023. Find out more via the Gray’s Inn website.

In this episode, Niamh is joined by Charlotte Ward, who offers her perspective on the journey to the bar when transitioning from a different career. Charlotte is a current Bar Course student who has successfully changed careers after years of working in the Finance industry. As a future pupil barrister Charlotte discusses her experiences in returning to education to undertake the GDL, the process of obtaining pupillage, and both why and how she changed careers to become a barrister.

This second instalment of the Raising the Bar - A Students Guide, is hosted by Ciara Church and guest Zoe Chan. Zoe is a Gray’s Inn Scholar and aspiring barrister wishing to pursue the law of Human Rights and Civil Liberties. This discussion provides a student’s perspective of inclusivity and having a disability at the bar. Zoe talks about her involvement in the particular initiative of ‘Bringing [Dis]Ability to the Bar’.

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 ProgrammeSabin 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 ProjectBar Sustainability Network: Bar Sustainability Network (barcouncil.org.uk)

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)

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.

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".

In this episode Elena Johnson is back in the host seat for a discussion with Jo Robinson (Council of the Inns of Court), Julie Carruth (Bar Standards Board), and Tony Charles (Director of Education). The topic is qualifying sessions as Jo, Julie and Tony explain why students undertake qualifying sessions, how they impact being called to the Bar, how they are quality assured and more.