Starter's orders part 7

Holidays are a particularly tricky area for pupils. On the one hand, you are keen to take a break. On the other you want to impress everyone in chambers with your hard work and endeavour, and you are completely broke anyway. What is the best balance to achieve?

Sometimes barristers fall on their feet regarding holidays. One barrister had the junior brief in a very big case. A series of conferences (meetings with the client and solicitor, called consultations when a Leading Counsel or QC is present) were required. However his leader was undertaking an important arbitration in France. The only time available when the necessary consultations could take place was at the end of certain days. The barrister was sent to Euro Disney in France, which was where the leader was based on the arbitration. His instructing solicitors notified the barrister they appreciated how inconvenient this was for him being stuck there for over a week, and so they agreed not only to pay all of his expenses, including hotel bills and for all Disney rides, (for himself and his wife since they did not think it reasonable to expect them to be parted that period) but also to pay him his full daily rate in recognition of the fact that he was unable to appear in court in England. The consultations with his leader were less than taxing. The leader was doing virtually all of the talking, and would conclude the consultation by serving champagne.

This is the sort of thing that most barristers could only dream of and I can assure you that nothing like that has ever happened to me. (My travels abroad usually indicate that those instructing you, having worked out how much it is costing them to have you there, want to take advantage of every minute possible, even down to wanting to have a meeting with you straight off the plane after a transatlantic flight). Fortunately the barrister who had the good fortune to be sent to France was the sort of pleasant person who no one could begrudge such a stroke of luck. That is not the sort of holiday opportunity which would ever be likely to arise for a pupil (and even if it did the pupil would have to balance potential jealousy from tenants against the prospect of a really good jolly).

The difficulty that pupils have is that the cheapest holidays are often best organised long in advance. Unfortunately you never know what work opportunities you are likely to get. There is a big difference here between first six pupillages and second six pupillages. During your first six month pupillage you are likely not to be on your feet (assuming you have started September/October) and so you are likely to take the same Christmas break as your pupil master. With the second six it is very different, because you are then available to undertake work yourself and want to show willing, take every chance to get experience (and the prospect of picking up something rather better than you ordinarily would when others are not around) and also to try and earn some much needed cash.

One tradition at Kings Chambers in Manchester is that on the date of the Christmas lunch all members and staff, after starting drinks at about noon, go off for lunch. The pupils are literally the only people left behind. They have to assume the role of the clerks and reception staff of the day, which largely consists in pointing out that there is no one actually there. Occasionally however something urgent will crop up and they have to telephone to the mobile of the relevant clerk and hope that that clerk is still capable of responding coherently.

Next week we shall look at actual practical problems which have occurred for pupils regarding holidays.