Reality Cheque- 5 weeks that may have changed my life, otherwise known as conversations with my therapist

Imagine the scene…

Therapist: How are you doing?

Me: My head is about to explode from stress oh you know, ok.

Pause.

M: I just want to throw every law book, no, infact every thing I have ever owned into a huge skip and grab a rucksack, and enough pairs of knickers, and car keys and drive round the world and not look back.

I have been very busy lately.

T: doing what?

M: Job number one, job number two, job number three, the masters, being asked to start a company and pursuing business ideas of my own, applications for internships and jobs, dealing with some family issues (theirs not mine), a car accident, etc etc the list goes on.

T: you push yourself far too hard!

M- sheepish look

M: What’s really bothering me is that I can’t go to bar school.

T: why not?

M: can’t afford to….

************

The bar. The bar the bar. The bar to the bar! $$$£££

No scholarship benevolence for me.

And I know why- ‘prospects of success’ criteria. Plus my nerves did get the better of me.

I knew when I started this process that my chances were very slim. And they are now more or less non existent at this point. I am being quite honest about this because I believe that, for good and bad, those who try for the bar must know what they are up against, and that especially true of those who have frequented universities which are outside of the Russell group or Oxbridge.

Because if I go to the bar right now I will be saddling myself with massive massive debt which, in this economic climate and without chance of pupillage, I may never recover from. Because it would be fees (£14k) and living expenses for a year in London (which I reckon I could do on £6k) plus an above average level of student debt already incurred. Its a no brainer!

But as always, there is a tantalising fly in the ointment which pulls me towards throwing twenty thousand pounds of caution to the wind and going for it. There are a couple of barristers I have been working with quite a bit and who want me to apply to chambers because they want me to join their team and because they think I would make an excellent addition. There is no hidden agenda to this, and no suggestion of nepotism to any extent beyond a good reference as said chambers is a member of olpas. The obvious point being that when not being grilled about my life history etc in 10 minutes, I have managed to show a capability to those in practice that I am well suited to a career at the bar.

I am naturally torn. But nothing is guranteed in life, and I can’t risk all that money on what is, at the moment, a proposition. When I am in a stronger position to take it up then maybe.  If and when I can afford the bar, then I think I will apply- if you don’t try you’ll never know. Until then I will bide my time.

So what next for me?

I could still take the BVC as soon as I can afford it. I could then go into a firm and sit the QLTT, and have the opportunity to transfer back to the bar at any time without having to go through it again. While pupillage looks to be not an option for someone like me, I feel I would have better chance at gaining pupillage and tenancy after having practiced as a solicitor for some considerable time. Also, the BVC would open lots more doors tha the LPC- you are a partially qualified lawyer. The LPC qualifies you for absolutely nothing. And the LSA will provide interesting alternatives. I have done a bit of research into this and there is some ambiguity as to who can be a partner in a ‘new type’ firm. Eligible professionals include ‘barristers’. I have requested a clarificaiton of this term to ask whether the LSA also means barristers at law, but no one seems to know. Interesting loophole.

Plus, by the time I transfer back the course would probably cost about ONE MIIIILION POUNDS so that would be one advantage to still go on to do the BVC.

I could take the LPC but then I am stuck with a career path of billable hours and three-monthly appraisals for the rest of my days without escape. If firms were like chambers I’d be laughing. But then wouldn’t we all. I see the BVC as a superior course to the LPC just in terms of the skills taught, and I do believe them to be transferable. Negotiation is taught on both, and I already know how to draft contracts and various other commercial agreements, so apart from solicitor ethics I don’t think there would be much on there which would leave me with a skill.

Granted, the usual and quite justified question that firms will ask a bar grad is, ‘huh, failed at the bar then old chap, what do you think this firm is, a graveyard for failed barristers?!’ to which of course the reply must be something along the lines of ‘no sir, please sir, MORE sir, take PITY sir’ ‘not at all. while I was progressing on the course I was reconsidering my decision to go to the bar in light of the increased fusion between the professions* and realising that the bar is not the only place where I can practice law to a specialist level/gain advocacy experience/ develop an individual practice.’

(* this fusion which barristers are so scared about I think is an overreaction. but anyway. who cares what I think.)

The other options are Phd, research, NGOs, teaching law, and a couple of other little business ideas which are forming in my evil brain.

So I will still be blogging. And I will still soooo be lawgirl. And this is law AND life. But maybe it will be more life than law sometimes. And for those who got scholarships, and who can afford it, very best of luck. Let us know your tales on your path to the bar.

 

The idea

So I’ve been pondering on all this broohaha about the OTC scandal and it has got me thinking about the administrative side of access to the bar.

The Olpas mechanism, and the pupillage portal I have just been grappling with is enough to drive a judge to distraction, and they don’t need all that much driving!

Why are students drawn to the services of a firm like OTC? Because aspiring pupils have very little solid idea of what chambers would like us to demonstrate on the forms. See Simon Myerson’s views on how this could be remedied here.

But my idea is this. For those bloggers who are applying through olpas this season, and for those bloggers I know and have corresponded with, I would be happy to exchange ideas and concepts and compare noteson specific parts of the olpas form with my own tentative application. All I ask in return is not to be plagiarised, which I don’t think I really even need to say, given that we are decent blogging community. We all have very different experiences and educational backgrounds the ability to write this ourselves. The problem is how to PITCH the form, which is a different problem entirely. Anyone who thinks this is stupid please speak up.

My last issue is that we can only apply to 12 OLPAS chambers a year. If BVC numbers were restricted by the BSB then perhaps there would be the manpower to allow for a greater selection of application.

The system is getting worse not better.

 

Blue, FRU, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Scholarship, Grubb!

Very shortly, I will be having an interview, Oliver Twist style, to ask a gracious Inn of Court to take pity upon me and finance the final leg of the law student studies: the Vocational Stage. The expensive part. The last hurdle between me and, at risk of sounding too much like Oprah, my dream.

My life as I know it hangs on Interview Day. I am fully prepared that my journey to the bar will take longer than hoped, as in order to save up for my fees I will need to work for at least 18 months, if not two years. That’s not so bad, until you factor in the recession, and what job a law graduate who has not completed the vocational stage of training might actually DO? But it is still doable, and I will not let myself be too sad in that event, as a delay does not mean I won’t get there eventually.

So I am naturally excited/terrified/anxious…because this interview could literally change my life. And if I don’t get an award, I know it will not be for want of trying.

In other news, I’m waiting to hear how I did in a FRU exam, so that I can get my teeth into some baby advocacy. At my exam there were some irritating types, and even one pupil/junior barrister decked out in ostentatious pinstripes and racing car red braces. I almost wanted to ping them, but resisted the playground urge to be mean! Ultimately he is where I want to be and so it would be bad karma! I do feel a bit sorry for all those students outside of London who just can’t come down to participate in and take FRU cases. It is a real disadvantage that some Chambers don’t seem to take account of- that not all are able to participate due to the simple fact that it is London based, like so many other resources. But for those who can help, I do urge you to get involved as it is a very useful exercise for students and young practitioners, and an invaluable resource for those unable to afford representation.

But for this week my mind will be on the Interview.

So if you believe in God, say a prayer for me. And if you don’t, keep them crossed for me. Because maybe, by a sheer stroke of luck, somebody might see something in me which will make them think I might make a good barrister- and worth a punt.

 

Chez LawGirl part 1

Valentine’s mush over for the morning, LawGirl retires to the computer to answer her fan mail comments from Law Minx.

Boy, behind LG, starts to talk (LG knows not what of, she doesn’t generally pay too much heed to boy).

LG continues typing.

Boy talks louder, demanding attention.

LG looks round to acknowledge, continuing to type.

Boy: “bombs would be falling and you would still be typing! You could be doing a jig and yet still be typing! Infact, if one of your limbs were severed, it would crawl back to the keyboard to finish typing!”

LG is in fits!(and boy has point, LG has RSI)

Boy: “are you coming to play xbox?”

LG “I told you Im finishing this post”

Boy ” f*** your post!”

Bye guys

 

allaboutlaw.co.uk

Here

Charon, you’ve got competition! I stumbled across this little gem a  while ago and forgot all about it, simply because my brain cannot take the sheer amount of new online resources aimed at legal eagles.

I haven’t had a chance to read through it all, but it seems to have done a decent job of collating all the right type of people to give the right type of opinions on what we are all dying to know- supposedly.

One point to make, if I were a lawyer at The Times…I would be thumbing the pages of my literature on passing off and having a good look at the get up…the sight might want to err on the side of caution just a little more…

 

Google is scary

I just clicked on Google reader by accident, for the first time.

Where is this content coming from I wondered? How does it know what blogs I read?!!!! How are all the posts of the blogs I read all there on a page ordered in the most recent?!!!! IS THIS SOME CIA TRAP?!!!

No. Its just that at the ripe old age of 2-, technology has overtaken me. I feel like I am in maths again, sat at the back of the class and struggling to balance an equation.

There is just so much technology which is moving so fast I can’t keep up with even simple and minor advances! I think I will be going back to the horse drawn cart and carrier pigeon soon!

Mind you….I once worked for an eminent barrister who didn’t even know how to turn a computer on. He had everything sent through his assistant (me) and hand wrote replies to be typed up (me again)….its fascinating what you learn at that level….

 

An Ode to the Minx

Please let me tell of my heartfelt regret
That I would omit such a treasure
For it should be said, without malice or intent
I quite plainly forgot my endeavour
To update all my linx, as befitting ms Minx
And now I am all of a bother
Lest she punishes me
with the stroke of a key
And then we might hear no more of her

xx

 

Dust of Snow

THE way of a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

Britain needed this day today, We needed something as big,  white and life-stopping as a blanket of snow (or the inability to function in it) to make us

Slow down

Think

and take stock of principles we seem to have lost. The presence of community, of family. Today we all smiled or talked to strangers. We called people to make sure they could get home ok. Those of us lucky enough not to get stranded or have to go to work have spent the time at home, with friends and family. Work is on hold.

The rush of life here today, hyper- connectivity, hyper-achievement, hyper-materialism, has, for one day, been put on the back burner. Supermarkets full of people stocking up on comfort food. Tellingly, Sainsbury’s was all out of eggs, bread, and baked beans. £20 olive oil and fine wines lay conspicuous on the shelves. The queues were long but people were happy; relieved to have the break from the stress of what has become every day life.

Whatever loss the economy has suffered due to the snow today, has been the individual’s gain.

 

I come back to you now, at the turn of the tide…..

Hi, Lawdalf here (lol)

So much has happened since my last post, most of it too boring to mention. Still on my timetable of craziness,  no end in sight to that, but hope to be blogging more about law and general stuff, hence the name change of blog.

One thing of note, is a podcast with  the eminent Charon QC which was immensley enjoyable. I’m not sure when it’ll be up but hopefully I don’t sound like a complete ninny.

 

Catch up

I have several things to mention, so this might be a kill bill part one, two and infinity job.

1. The barristers
2. Gordon Ramsay’s ‘outing’ this morning in the NOTW- another ‘Mosley’ court battle on the horizon? Good essay question methinks.
3. Paul Dacre v Eady J (I know I’m late to the party)
4.Legal week nod (thanks to Android)
5. General ramblings

Part one

The Barristers.

So I am 30 minutes into episode 2 on iplayer. I want to refrain somewhat from pulling the featured candidates apart too much for the reason that the final cut is what the editors want to portray…they have an agenda, whatever it may be. So however each candidate comes across, I bear in mind that for every stupidaggine a student came out with, there may have also been a ray of genius. Anna did much better than I thought she was going to when asked the problem question about a mother giving consent on behalf of her disabled daughter to have a hystorectomy. Where I’m up to: Iqbal looks like a safe bet to be a good barrister in practice, despite the competent. Sensible, likeable, seems grounded. Tick yes. The Oxford grad seems like a nice girl, and maybe she is more switched on than she appears on the tape but as I have said previously even Oxbridge grads have a hard time if they are not appealing on paper, which is what the construction barrister said to her over the middle temple drinks. The fact that she applied to Blackstone speaks volumes. Do your research. It is a numbers game of sorts. Look at the people who are there- academically and professionally SPECTACULAR. If you don’t fall into that bracket do not waste one of your precious 12 choices on a certain rejection.

It highlights the lottery of Olpas- part of the victory is chosing the right set to apply to. If you get that wrong, and lets be honest, all of us probably have a few chambers where we aspire to go to but we know it is a pipe dream, then you are doomed from the outset.

Anna is another story. Geeklawyer reckons that her accent is put on but I don’t think so. She also doesn’t seem to have fully grasped the order of things, and I was glad to see the chambers giving her feedback. The ‘impressions’ she did while in the interview were a bit cringeworthy, but you could put that down to nerves, or a lack of interview etiquette. But what I couldn’t fathom was why she mentioned her furniture store job. Big ‘family fortunes’ X EHH EHHHHHH X. Android says, quite rightly, that it is the kind of job which gives evidence of good skills. True. But the bar is a snobby place! Its fine if you did a bar job at Uni, a great leveller. But if you are going for pupillage, committees want to see you busting your balls at a firm, at a charity, doing research, getting published, doing a job where you are in a management or supervisory position if it is non law (and that doesn’t include being a till cruiser at M&S) or doing something truly amazing like trekking the andes or going to war torn Namibia to hand out aid! (N.B. I have no idea whether Namibia is war torn, just a place plucked off the top of my head). For the record, I like many others have done some really horrible jobs. But they will never find their way onto my CV, never mind a chambers interview.

Anna was being honest. But her honesty and slight ‘devil may care’ attitude didn’t help her. I envied her outer calm as I’m sure she was shitting it, and I hope she works on her weaker bits as I think she’ll be alright if she gets a ‘lawover’.

All the students need to be Cheryl Cole’d. By that I mean, give them a lawover. Stars in their eyes style.

TONIGHT MATTHEW, I’M GOING TO BE…..

A barrister. (If you’ll bloody give me a pupillage!)

Tell them how to act, how to speak, what to say, what to highlight, what to keep quiet. I am currently patenting a Dr Who like contraption that will do this.

Keep you posted once I watch the rest of it.

2. Gordon Ramsay. Cheating on his wife for 7 years. Apparently. I’m sure David Beckham will have wise words on how to handle the media fallout…

Oh. Dearie. Me. NOTW have tried to limit their liability in privacy as against Gordon and the girlfriend by stating that they have both discussed their private and family lives in public previously. This is playing the reasonable expectation of privacy card. Fair enough, I think that any argument by Ramsay’s team that there is a BOP is going to be on quite narrow grounds. I will have to think about this part of the claim and see whether he has any real cause of action. I don’t think it is looking too good.

On the libel front I think there’s a good claim. I don’t think the NOTW cares though and I expect that they have already decided their upper limit to settle. On the basis of this new found ‘tabloid morality’ they will argue that they are ridding the media of hypocrisy. Please watch for my forthcoming essay on here as to why that is UTTER BOLLOCKS.

But I must sign off for now as sleep is calling me- will bore you all again soon.

This is the timtable for the next few days:

Friend: are you working tomorrow or at uni?
Sent at 8:30 PM on Sunday
me: tomorrow: job 1, job 2, uni
tues- uni, job 1
weds- uni – job 2 – uni
thurs, uni – job 1 -job 2
fri-job 1 – job 3
ah no
fri job 1 – uni – job 3

So I am a tired girl right now.