Further Steps for the Bar

Hi there, bit of a long and open post but I have feeling a bit lost lately, especially with receiving recent mock/formative grades, that seemed to have ranged a lot in marks.

I am currently first year at a top non-Oxbridge RG uni for my law degree with really strong passion to practise at the civil or commercial Bar in London, and I'm not sure if I'm looking for words of assurance or some brutally honest feedback but I do really want to be on the right track.

My marks have been varied for a first round, tort, and public law being my best with firsts/high 2:1, criminal and contract being my worst with mid 2:2 and a 48! It feels a bit humbling however, thankfully the feedback was extremely useful.

Beyond this I'm not sure what I should do? I have been involved with a lot of debating and mooting, reaching 2nd place in 1 round, semi finals in a couple of other ones, however nothing to write home about as they aren't big competitions. I did participate in a Middle Temple intervarsity competition, however narrowly missed out on the finals. However, I'm not sure if this is enough, or I should up my game (sign up for Jessup next year maybe?). There are openings for the University's Law Society Committee positions, which I was looking at- I'm not hugely popular on my course so am struggling with campaigning.

Work experience-wise, I did recently not make it onto SPARK, so was wondering if I should look into a couple of first year schemes with city law firms, alongside a mini or two this year? I have unfortunately missed the commercial awareness event our school runs too, so I feel like I am behind on that.
I'm overall just aiming to finish the degree with a first, 5 or so minis supplemented with some law firm experience, win a mooting competition (again, not sure if I'm expected to win big ones) and try and get to final rounds of others, make a committee role on the Bar/Law Society, and maintain a decent work/life balance- if this is enough for the standard of (not the elite, but decent) London sets.

Sorry that this is long winded, but I just wanna make sure I am on strong footing for first year, or if I should change gear, as I understand this is a brutally competitive industry. Academic goals are set with a strong first, but I still want to balance these other things and a social life where I can still be well involved with friends of course! Thanks :smile:

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 1

Crazy Jamie

Careers Forum Helper

You're on the right track. This is not an overnight process. It takes time by definition, both because it takes time to jump through the various hoops of the academic qualifications you need, and because it genuinely takes time to develop the knowledge, understanding, maturity and insight you need to both secure pupillage and become a successful barrister. It sounds to me like you've got a few fair things to put on any prospective pupillage application form, and the key with that is to make steady progress and not get complacent. It isn't to do everything immediately. Things like success in mooting or being in 'big' competitions aren't strictly needed. It's the consistent exposure to advocacy experience that's important. But ensuring you get good grades and maintaining a work-life balance is also important. In fact, it isn't really a work-life balance at all. I've been a barrister for 15 years and am married with kids. I'm striving for a work life balance. You are at university, which are formative years. You need to be actively pursuing interests and exposing yourself to new experiences, whether they are related to law or not. So don't feel that becoming a barrister needs to be constantly on your mind, because it doesn't. It's important to grow as a person as well, because after university your opportunities to do that will become much more limited.

Reply 2

UniofLaw Student

Official Rep

Original post by RetroSPECT3.0

Hi there, bit of a long and open post but I have feeling a bit lost lately, especially with receiving recent mock/formative grades, that seemed to have ranged a lot in marks.
I am currently first year at a top non-Oxbridge RG uni for my law degree with really strong passion to practise at the civil or commercial Bar in London, and I'm not sure if I'm looking for words of assurance or some brutally honest feedback but I do really want to be on the right track.
My marks have been varied for a first round, tort, and public law being my best with firsts/high 2:1, criminal and contract being my worst with mid 2:2 and a 48! It feels a bit humbling however, thankfully the feedback was extremely useful.
Beyond this I'm not sure what I should do? I have been involved with a lot of debating and mooting, reaching 2nd place in 1 round, semi finals in a couple of other ones, however nothing to write home about as they aren't big competitions. I did participate in a Middle Temple intervarsity competition, however narrowly missed out on the finals. However, I'm not sure if this is enough, or I should up my game (sign up for Jessup next year maybe?). There are openings for the University's Law Society Committee positions, which I was looking at- I'm not hugely popular on my course so am struggling with campaigning.
Work experience-wise, I did recently not make it onto SPARK, so was wondering if I should look into a couple of first year schemes with city law firms, alongside a mini or two this year? I have unfortunately missed the commercial awareness event our school runs too, so I feel like I am behind on that.
I'm overall just aiming to finish the degree with a first, 5 or so minis supplemented with some law firm experience, win a mooting competition (again, not sure if I'm expected to win big ones) and try and get to final rounds of others, make a committee role on the Bar/Law Society, and maintain a decent work/life balance- if this is enough for the standard of (not the elite, but decent) London sets.
Sorry that this is long winded, but I just wanna make sure I am on strong footing for first year, or if I should change gear, as I understand this is a brutally competitive industry. Academic goals are set with a strong first, but I still want to balance these other things and a social life where I can still be well involved with friends of course! Thanks :smile:

Hi,

I think you are focusing on all the right areas but it is important to not become too stressed or fixated on things as this will likely make you suffer personally and potentially do worse off due to having placed too much pressure on yourself during the process.

There is no one way to get good experience and mainly when putting in applications it is showing you can take the elements you have learned from experiences (whether legal or not) and apply them to the role in hand. e.g. playing on a sport teams. Of course, mooting is a great way to show dedication and skill but you do not necessarily have to won any of the large moots as long as you can show some talent/experience in it (going for a bigger one won't hurt though if you have the time).

I would say minis are very important but definitely do not try and do more than 5 as this will add little to your CV and will take a lot of time. Also, I would start applying ASAP as the windows often close far in advance and some sets take several months to get back to you (I think I had several that didn't give me offers for 6ish months).

Other than that, I would focus on academics to ensure you get a good grade, enjoy yourself and seize opportunities that come your way (keep an active eye open) without letting it consume your time. Trust me, when pursuing this career, there is a lot of time to be gaining experience as you go and you do not need to panic now.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Sophie :smile: