Laurence Cooper’s ideas on how he imagined Gray’s Inn to be like were largely as a result of a certificate which included the words “To the degree of an utter barrister” on the wall of his late fathers study. 

In this episode Elena chats to Laurence, a future pupil, about what Gray’s Inn is actually like (from his perspective of course!), how the Inn has changed and modernised over time, and how it has been using technology to continue to serve it's members in the current circumstances.

In this installment of our "Meet the Barrister" series,  Alana Hughes speaks to Zehrah Hasan on her path to the Bar.

Zehrah was awarded various scholarships from Grays Inn and has previously worked at a number of non-profit organisations, including Liberty and Southall Black Sisters. She has given oral evidence in Parliament as an expert witness and briefed the Joint Committee on Human Rights among other things. She is a pupil at Garden Court Chambers and currently sits on the Executive Committee of the Human Rights’ Lawyers Association.

Tune in to hear about her interesting journey so far.

After the stressful and exhausting process of applying for pupillage, prepping for interviews, first round interviews and perhaps even second round interviews, you receive the dreaded email and find yourself disappointed and low. How do you pick yourself up and what do you do next?

In this episode we chat to Angharad Marshall about how she dealt with the blow of not getting pupillage two years in a row, and what she did until she obtained pupillage.

Angharad shares valuable insights and tips and explains why, despite the heavy disappointment she felt initially, she was better prepared third time around. 

In this episode Elena records her first remote podcast and chats to Vicky Wilson and Steve Innes on dealing with rejection, with a focus on pupillage application rejections.  

Our guests discuss strategies to use going forward, share some pointers on how to make the best of a bad situation and tips on how to improve your resilience and manage your stress during this grueling process.

In this episode Alana Hughes, our guest host, chats to Professor Mark Engelman about his route to the Bar. 

Mark specialises in Intellectual Property Law and has worked with some impressive clients and is renowned for his legal knowledge in this area.

His career did not, however, start in law. Mark studied  Pharmacology at University and began his career as a Lab Technician at a NHS Hospital in London.

Tune in to hear his interesting journey, and how IP barristers have the upper hand on paperless practice!

It is with a heavy heart that Gray's Inn will shortly be saying farewell to Director of Education, Quinn Clarke. We decided to get Alana Hughes to chat with Quinn about her time at the Inn (16 years!), the changes she has seen and her plans for the future (although some what in the air with the current situation!).

Tune in and find out what Quinn had to say. 

We are in living in strange times and are having to adept to a different way of working and living for the time being.

A few weeks ago Elena chatted to Barrister Saara Idelbi who has successfully been following a paperless practice for a while now. 

Tune in to find out how Saara started, how she got used to electronic bundles, which apps to consider when editing your paper bundles and more.

In this episode current AGIS president and residential scholar, Harry Samuels, discusses GDL scholarships and his experiences with applying for scholarships at Gray's Inn.

With the GDL scholarship application window having opened yesterday, this is well worth listening to!

For more information on our scholarships visit: https://www.graysinn.org.uk/scholarships

If your brain is your business as a Barrister how do you safe guard it?

In this episode Elena chats to Amy Oliver about the particular challenges facing Barristers and how you can look after your mental health to enable you to be the best you can be as a Barrister. 

More information and advice available here https://www.wellbeingatthebar.org.uk/

In this episode Elena chats to Joel Semakula about tackling Pupillage Interviews. Joel made the reserve list seven times over 2 rounds of pupillage interviews before being offered pupillage third time round with his very first application.

Are they different from other interviews? Is there a difference between 1st round and 2nd round interviews and the questions asked? How can spreadsheets help? When should you start preparing? Joel shares his experiences, thoughts and tips.