Welcome to the Diary of a Pupil the podcast where we dive deep into the world of securing pupillage, featuring candid conversations and expert insights. Join us as we explore the challenges and triumphs of the legal profession, offering valuable advice to aspiring barristers, students, and anyone intrigued by the legal field.

🎙 Chelsea - Our host, Chelsea is a renowned legal professional and an expert in pupillage selection. She offers invaluable insights and advice for those on the path to securing a pupillage.

🎙 Tonicha & Anna - A recent pupillage success story, Tonicha & Anna bring fresh perspectives, having successfully navigated the competitive selection process. They share their first-hand experiences, trials, and triumphs as a pupil.

Support the show

Welcome to  Diary of a Pupil the podcast where we dive deep into the world of securing pupillage, featuring candid conversations and expert insights. Join us as we explore the challenges and triumphs of the legal profession, offering valuable advice to aspiring barristers, students, and anyone intrigued by the legal field.

Hosts:

🎙 Chelsea - The legal blogger and renowned expert in employment law. She offers invaluable insights and advice for those on the path to securing a pupillage.

🎙 Sarah - A determined barrister-in-training who is embarking on her journey to secure pupillage, Sarah offers a fresh perspective on the challenges and aspirations faced by those seeking to enter the legal profession.

Support the show

Support the show

Support the show

Chelsea welcomes Tonicha Allen and Anna Chambers to the podcast. Tonicha and Anna have both been successful in obtaining pupillage and are currently undergoing their first 6 months at Park Square Barristers. They discuss their individual journeys  to securing pupillage and what life is really like in first six. 

Chelsea welcomes Charlotte Jasmine a current part time BPTC student who also works full time as a fee earner. Charlotte discusses how the skills she is gaining from her legal work are transferrable to the skills she needs for the bar. Charlotte is currently studying the BPTC at the University at Law. She tells us  the transition from undergraduate to the bar was a daunting experience and informs us how you cannot get away with doing minimum work on the BPTC. Chelsea and Charlotte discuss the  prior nepotism at the bar and how the bar is trying to move away from this and both relate to the lack of guidance which was offered at secondary education. Charlotte wants to see more openness around the reality of becoming a barrister and to see the myths that a barristers comes from  rich families and red brick universities. The pair then discuss the realities of the search for pupillage and how to prepare for making applications and those dreaded interviews. Charlotte discusses the struggle of application preparation and how out of the recommended 15 applications she only completed 4 good applications. Chelsea discusses how she feels that there is some element of luck in obtaining pupillage and the pair agree that luck isn't the right word but agree that instead of luck it is where "hard work meets opportunity" (taken from a podcast recently listened too). 

Resilience - the search for pupillage, pupillage and real life practice is hard work. Charlotte tells us how when she is not doing work she doesn't like to think about it to keep her resilience up. However, despite her best efforts she informs us that she often gets messages from members of the bar on social media attempting to put her off pursuing the career. 

Taking time out from studies is important and getting the balance of doing the work and having time for yourself is difficult, both talk about the "guilt" that you get when the time creeps up on them when they are having mind blocks but the pair agree that having "self care" time is vitally important to doing well.

Charlotte discusses her search for pupillage and getting mini pupillages. 

If you like the pod please gives us a download, share or leave a review your feedback really helps. 

 

Chelsea is delighted to welcome on the podcast, the Iraqi Barrister (Sara El Kaysi), a current BPTC student who is currently searching for pupillage. Sara discusses her journey from law school to bar school, and the struggles a bar student faces with the volume of work. Sara also discusses the negative remarks and adversity she has faced during her journey. Sara was laughed at when she told those around her she wanted to be a barrister and was told that because  English wasn't her first language she would never make it as a lawyer. Sara tells us that due to those voices in her head she had been convinced that she wasn't good enough to be a barrister and took two year out after law school to assess her situation. However, her ambition and drive brought her back to her dream of becoming a barrister and she made her instagram page Iraqi Barrister to connect with others throughout the process, which has helped her confidence and mental health. Sara discusses her current  dilemmas with pupillage applications and what assistance from the bar she hopes to see for people in her position. She also offers some invaluable advice on obtaining mini pupillage. 

In this episode Chelsea discusses the pupillage process with Panashe Musabayana a BPTC graduate who is currently on the hunt to get pupillage. Panache discusses her difficulties around securing mini pupillage and legal experience and what she believes would be more beneficial to budding barristers to help them obtain insight into one of the nations most prestigious careers. 

So today we talk about the dreaded question in interviews and applications "why do you want to be a barrister?" A question that should be so easy to answer yet so many have difficulties in doing so. Chelsea talks about easier ways to break the question down and her "why's".

Here are the links to the Pros and Cons of being a solicitor or a barrister - - -

https://www.thelawyerportal.com/blog/should-i-become-a-solicitor-pros-and-cons/

https://www.thelawyerportal.com/blog/why-be-a-barrister-pros-and-cons/

If you don't follow me on social media here are the links to all my profiles - - -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/legally-blogged/

https://twitter.com/_legallyblogged

https://www.instagram.com/legally_blogged/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/diaryofapupil_barrister/

Head over to my website now and sign up to student files and receive notifications every time I release a new podcast:

https://www.legally-blogged.com

Chelsea discusses some useful hint and tips on the pupillage application and interviews.