How hard work helped me court my dream career

Trainee criminal law barrister Olivia Brooksbank-Laing outlines her career path and offers current RGS students interested in a career in law some valuable advice.

She took A-levels in history, English literature and art, in addition to an extended qualification project, in 2017 and went on to study law at the university of Nottingham. She is now five months into her pupillage in Manchester

Q: What did you do immediately after leaving RGS?

A: I train-hopped around Europe in the summer and went to university in September but my third year at university was cut short by Covid.I had plans to take a gap year, but, like many young people, decided to make the best of a bizarre situation and took a job monitoring the spread of the virus with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) during the pandemic. I also risked my health for remuneration as a guineapig in some sketchy clinical trials in this time, but ‘needs must’, as they say.

After six months in a mind-numbing role, I decided to take the big leap and give the barrister thing a shot. I hadn’t considered it before but was desperately craving mental stimulation and variation in my life, so it seemed as good an idea as any.

After completing my barrister training course in London, I travelled around Central and South America for six months. Returning to begin the pupillage process (this is required to be a barrister), I began working as a county court advocate to get some practical court experience.

After an intense interview process, I received an offer of pupillage at Central Chambers, Manchester, in May 2023, and immediately quit my day job and set off for some more global experience in sunny Sri Lanka.

I am now five months into pupillage, and will be accepting instructions in criminal law from April.

Q: Can you outline a typical day?

A: As I’m currently in my first six months, I spend my days shadowing other members of chambers in their cases, providing paperwork support if requested but generally just soaking it all in. As I work in criminal law, this ranges from sentencing hearings, trials and conferences with defendants.

Sometimes I will be in court for eight hours; sometimes I finish at 10:30am. Not one day has been the same, and I’ve already seen more excitement I thought possible in a career.

Once I start my second six month period, I will be one of the barristers attending courts and prisons, and quite frankly, whilst daunting, it can’t come soon enough.

Q: What have been the highlights of your career to date?

A: I’ve dipped in and out of a murder case recently and been involved in an ongoing drugs trial of 18 months. I’ve watched some incredible advocacy from top barristers around the country, many of whom have taken pity on my over-excitement and shared some wisdom.

Q: What’s the best bit about your job?

A: Apart from the ever-varying content, the people are wonderful. The career attracts an eclectic bunch; eccentric, highly intelligent and very self-motivated. It’s a great environment for pushing yourself in. But most of all, the people are incredibly kind. You could walk into any robing room on the Northern Circuit and ask an unknown barrister for help and they will be more than willing to give it. Comradeship is very present, inside and outside court. The constant flow of fancy black-tie dinners (all free for pupils), aren’t half bad either.

Q: And the worst?

A: The unpredictability of work hours. Sometimes a case will come into my diary later in the day, and I will cut a lot of planned sleep to navigate through it. The stress and imposter syndrome are also constant companions, but something I’ve come to accept and manage through new coping methods (excessive running seems to do the job nicely).

Q: What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced?

A: The biggest challenge was easily getting the pupillage. There are not a lot on offer. For example, Central Chambers had approximately 275 applications last year, and offered 3 pupillages. The competition is high, and the sad reality is a lot of very deserving people won’t get the chance. There is then usually a first round and second round interview at each chambers, which are notoriously grilling and require a lot of preparation. I had interviews back-to-back throughout spring, and the time waiting to hear back was not enjoyable.

Q: What was the most important thing you learnt at RGS?

A: As clichéd as it sounds, if you are prepared to put the work in, you can usually achieve what you set your mind to. Extensive hours of revision and sacrificing social events became necessary during my A-levels, and I feel I’ve continued to prioritise my commitment to my studies since. Without doing so, I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today.

Q: What extra-curricular activities were you involved in while at RGS and how valuable were they?

A: In all honesty, I was involved in very little. I’m naturally poor at sports and working in a team and had prefect duties removed for skipping school for a holiday with some fellow peers (again, sorry Mr Fell!). However, I took part in the theatre side of things (perhaps not so surprising, considering I prance around in a wig and gown every day), and loved the battle of the Houses in putting on shows. The costumes, the pressure, and the drama made for some very enjoyable evenings throughout the years. All the cool kids did drama at RGS, I choose to believe.

Q: What do you wish you’d known back then?

A: Don’t compare yourself to others. Most people shouting the loudest are often doing the least.

Q: What was your dream when you were at school?

A: I wanted to be a doctor for a long time, but the combination of passing out during every jab and being inept at sciences made me re-think. I figured out that I was good at arguing with everyone and anyone about anything, so decided law would be a safe bet.

Q: What is the one piece of advice you’d give students interested in following a similar career path?

A: Go to court and get some experience before you think about signing up to this career – it’s a long path, at great expense financially and mentally, so you need to be sure it’s for you. Contact chambers and firms to sort out some shadowing, or even just attend open court for a couple of hours to get a feeling. If you love soap operas and BBC dramas, it may well be for you.

Q: Who was your favourite teacher and why?

A: Mr Miller. He was my form tutor in sixth form and graciously navigated school through a lot of sass. I have attempted to adopt his no-nonsense yet warm approach since leaving school. I am not succeeding.

Q: What would you say has been your greatest success?

A: Landing the dream job. I am aware how lucky I was to get it, and it’s certainly not one I ever plan on leaving. Also, ice-picking a 6088-metre summit in Boliva. I lost my mind a little from the altitude but it is my greatest physical achievement to date.

Q: And biggest disaster?

A: Forgetting my mother’s last birthday. She is the most wonderful person to exist and deserves better. I will never forgive myself, nor will she.

Q: What do you miss most about North Yorkshire and Ripon?

A: The green space and the friendly people. Although Manchester has one of those. Also, The Matrix Nightclub.

Q: What are your hopes for the future?

A: The normal things – a successful run at the career thing, with my practice involving serious offences such as rape, manslaughter and murder. I wouldn’t mind having the two very important letters after my name either (KC for King’s Counsel), and a farm with some rescue pigs and chickens. Both currently feel very unattainable, but I have some hope!