How do you make the most of a pupillage fair?

In Episode 125 of Speed Mooting: Partners in Crime, John and Hayley share their practical advice for law students and aspiring barristers attending pupillage and law fairs.

We discuss how to research chambers before the event, what to say when approaching exhibitors, questions worth asking, making a good impression, taking useful notes and following up with new connections afterwards.

With the Northern Pupillage Fair 2026 just around the corner, we also explain how to get the most from the day and why these events can be valuable when preparing for future pupillage applications.

Plus, we answer your advocacy questions: what makes a well-presented case, and what makes a good advocate?

A practical episode for law students, Bar students, aspiring barristers and anyone looking to develop their advocacy skills and build a career in law.

Episode 124 — #AskSpeedSquadSpecial. John and Hayley answer your listener questions, covering the big topics law students actually want to know about.

This week: should mooting and advocacy skills be compulsory on every law degree? How much preparation really goes into a court hearing (the honest answer might surprise you)? And what's the best piece of career advice John and Hayley have ever been given — including the career-defining moment a commercial partner told an 18-year-old John he hadn't got a clue what commercial law actually was, and the trainee pep talk Hayley's never forgotten.

Real experience, no filter — from a criminal barrister and a commercial solicitor who've both been through the paralegal, training contract, and qualification grind.

Send your questions to [email protected] or drop them in the comments.

Is working as a paralegal the best first step into the legal profession?

In this episode, John and Hayley discuss why their years as paralegals became some of the most valuable experiences of their legal careers. They explain how working in practice develops the skills, confidence and commercial awareness that universities simply cannot teach.

The conversation also explores the reality of life inside law firms, the myths created by TV dramas, and how paralegal experience can strengthen applications for pupillage and training contracts.

As always, they finish by answering listener questions, including whether barristers can lie in court, what happens during legal arguments heard in chambers, and who will be the stricter parent when their first baby arrives.

If you're an aspiring or junior lawyer looking to build your career, this episode is full of practical advice and honest insight from two lawyers who've been through the journey themselves.

Conversations with Counsel - Havin Sorgucu, Durham Law Student & Speed Mooting Ambassador

Havin Sorgucu had a magistrate tell her she had a talent for advocacy at sixteen — then lost all her confidence when she got to university. In this episode, she shares how she rebuilt it, why she turned to Speed Mooting as a low-pressure place to start, and what it was like doing real plea in mitigation advocacy as an undergraduate.

She also talks about mentoring aspiring law students through Zero Gravity and has brilliant advice for anyone yet to start their law degree.

Visit speedmooting.com to get involved.

Three years of lectures, seminars, and case law and somehow no one tells you how a real case actually works.

In this episode, John (criminal barrister) and Hayley (commercial solicitor) go through the biggest gaps between law school and legal practice: the advocacy skills universities rarely teach, the soft skills and client care that catch junior lawyers off guard, and why being confident on the phone will take you further than you think.

They also answer a listener question that comes up more than almost any other: can you become a barrister or solicitor if you're shy or introverted? The answer might surprise you.

Plus — upcoming Speed Mooting events including the Northern Pupillage Fair on 5th September, a free Skeleton Arguments workshop, and an online advocacy bootcamp focused on bail applications and plea in mitigation.

Send your questions to [email protected] or DM us on any platform.

In this Ask Speed Squad special, John and Hayley answer your questions on three of the most common challenges facing aspiring lawyers:

🎙️ I've applied for 30 training contracts and had no interviews — what should I do?
🎙️ Should candidates be upfront about weaknesses in a legal interview?
🎙️ I failed a module — is my legal career over?

Practical, honest advice for law students, bar course and LPC/SQE students, and anyone applying for training contracts or pupillage.

Got a question? Email [email protected] or DM us on social.

#AskSpeedSquad #LegalCareers #TrainingContract #Pupillage #LawStudent

Nobody teaches you this in law school — but it might matter more than anything you studied. In episode 120, John and Hayley break down what it actually means to be a client-friendly lawyer: how to read the room with different clients, how the best lawyers handle costs transparency, and how to manage expectations before they become complaints. These are the skills that get you recommended, retained, and remembered.

Then in Ask Speed Squad: an honest conversation about what's really changed in the profession since they qualified — AI, flexible working, the courts going digital, and what senior lawyers are quietly saying about the juniors coming through right now. Plus one legal myth the public just won't let go of.

Whether you're still chasing your training contract or pupillage, or you're a junior finding your feet in practice — this episode is worth your hour.

Send questions for Ask Speed Squad to [email protected] or DM us on socials.

What does life really look like after the Bar Course?

In this episode of Conversations with Counsel, John Dove speaks to Alvaro Gutierrez Calero about navigating the challenging period between being called to the Bar and securing pupillage. From working as a legal consultant and solicitor's agent to representing clients in the Employment Tribunal, Alvaro shares how he has continued to develop his advocacy and legal skills while pursuing a career at the Bar.

The conversation explores resilience, practical advocacy experience, multilingualism in legal practice and why every step of the journey can help shape your future career.

An honest and encouraging episode for anyone considering a career at the Bar or looking for ways to strengthen their legal experience.

Criminal barrister John and commercial solicitor Hayley discuss professional ethics in law, why integrity is non-negotiable, what the SRA and BSB mean in practice, and what really happens when lawyers get it wrong.

Also: their ongoing beef with estate agents (unregulated, unreachable, and somehow in charge of the biggest purchase of your life!!)

Plus: barrister vs solicitor envy, career changes into law at 30 or 40, and the hardest parts of running your own business.

Essential listening for law students, aspiring barristers and trainee solicitors.

📩 [email protected] | @speedmooting

Is social media actually worth it for lawyers, or is old-school networking still king?

John and Hayley share what's worked (and what's backfired) for them, plus answer listener questions on practising public speaking solo, their favourite parts of law firm life, and the skills lawyers need for the AI era.

Got a question for the show?

Email [email protected] or drop us a message on social media.