Early influences
^ TOPFour Barristers
When I give talks either at school careers evenings, or to undergraduates, or to aspiring barrister members of the Inn, I am always conscious that you never know what inspiration or influence you might have in helping someone believe in themselves and the talents that they possess. Sometimes in ways you would not necessarily expect.
Ironically there are three things regarding barristers I remember from my teenage years. Then one from university. None of them were truly inspirational but each played its part in my choosing this career.
^ TOPA Tupperware party
The first came when I was about 13 (1971). My mother had been to a Tupperware party, a peculiar social ritual the origins of which are now lost in the mists of time. Tupperware consisted of plastic containers, and someone would throw a party which would be like a social event and the person selling Tupperware would try and make sales. (The modern equivalent is probably an Ann Summers party, which shows how times have changed). My mother told me that there was a French lady selling Tupperware and she happened to mention that her husband was a barrister. My mother mentioned that her son wanted to be a barrister, and the French lady expressed horror. Don't let your son become a barrister. They never get paid, she said, why do you think I have to go out in the evening selling Tupperware? (Leading counsel will be delighted to hear from any wives of barristers now running Ann Summers parties due to non-payment of their husbands fees, or perhaps even more interestingly husbands of barristers reduced to running Ann Summers parties for the same reason). I decided that things would be different for me and was unperturbed.
^ TOPSchool
The next came a year later. I arranged to meet a barrister through the schools careers master. We met for coffee. He was only young, late 20s. He made the work sound very interesting. I am afraid (showing that I was no different than the teenagers who ask me questions) that I asked him how much he earned. He said £6,000 per annum. That seemed an enormous sum of money to me, especially just for public speaking and arguing, which I already happily did for nothing.
^ TOPManchester Crown Court
The third barrister was the one I saw when I went into Manchester Crown Court one day. I was about 17 or 18. I listened to a barrister performing, asking questions and then making a speech. In my modest teenage fashion, I was convinced that given a half-hour read of the papers, I could have done a better job than him there and then. It seemed the career for me.
^ TOPCambridge
The final barrister who made the biggest impact was the one who gave a careers talk at Cambridge. He said that if you haven't got private means you should forget the idea of going to the Bar. I'm sure he meant his advice kindly, but it was like a red rag to a bull. I was not having anyone tell me what career I could or couldn't pursue just because my family didn't have any money. That was it. I was definitely going to the Bar. Perhaps pigheadedness is not the best basis upon which to finally decide upon your career, but in a hard case pigheadedness can sometimes be a useful quality.