My response to the deputy downers and the nay-sayers
Saturday, 3 May 2025, 22:10
Visible to anyone in the world
Edited by Gayle Cosgrove, Sunday, 4 May 2025, 06:56
Every once in a while, I will use this blog for a post that
has nothing to do with case summaries. This is one of those times.
The past few months have been a whirlwind of activity for me. I
have been to London and not only managed to finally witness a trial (an
attempted murder) at the Old Bailey before the fire alarm and subsequent
evacuation rudely interrupted the day, but I have also watched the Court of
Appeal – Criminal Division in action at the High Court, visited Middle Temple
and found answers to the many questions I had, and booked my next
Inn visit. I have entered the Open University Law Society’s inaugural speed
moot with a Bail Application where I came third, as well as taking part the
national Speed Mooting competition in Manchester where I had a brain freeze on
the tort of private nuisance. An irony not lost on me given the topic of my end
of module assignment.
Yet, despite all this, I find myself pondering on two different…occurrences…that
before this past month I had never directly experienced before. I knew from
others; from talking, reading posts and listening to podcasts; that the deputy
downers and the nay-sayers within the legal sector existed. And I have been lucky
enough to have avoided them – until this past month.
The first was a LinkedIn post, which questioned the sanity
of first-year university law students, and if they knew what they were letting
themselves in for by setting their cap to the Bar because there are not enough
pupillage positions to go around.
And as an Open University law student and career shifter
who is, in full-time terms, coming to the end of her first year, I can say with
complete sincerity – yes I jolly well do know!
I know that the providers of the Bar Practice Course are oversubscribed.
I know that by June 2024, 2378 students were enrolled across the board (The Law
Gazette, 2024a). And I know that there is a wide range of pass rates depending
on the provider (BSB, 2024b)
I know this is why it is recommended you work your socks off
at getting a First because that holds you in better stead for passing the Bar
course, as the pass rates drop massively for those with an Upper Second and
Lower Second (The Law Gazette, 2024a).
And I also know that having a First, Upper Second or Lower
Second does not guarantee that you will pass the Bar Practice Course in the
first place.
And I know from the Bar Council’s Pupillage Gateway Report
2024 (Bar Council 2024c) that there were 671 pupillages available. Which means
that even with my poor mathematics calculations, using the figures provided
above, that there is a 3.54% chance of obtaining pupillage if every current
2378 student applies.
And that that percentage will drop when taking into
account all previous Bar course students who are making a second, third, fourth
or fifth pupillage attempt on the Gateway.
So, yes, in answer to the question, as a first-year mature
law student and career shifter, I jolly well do know how hard it is going to be
thank you very much!
And now I have had my grumble about that, this is the second,
and this is the one that took me by surprise.
This was unsolicited advice in the middle of an otherwise
pleasant conversation. In a nutshell, I was told to not bother with attempting
the Bar. That there is a certain type of person who is looked for, that there
is a certain type of education that is expected, that getting pupillage is for
the elite, that the pass rate of obtaining pupillage is low (which I know,
see above) and that I would be better off qualifying as a solicitor and
obtaining Higher Rights first, and maybe then think about
cross-qualifying. At least that is what they would do if they were in my shoes.
Right. Okay. Give me a moment to process.
When all you know about me is that I bombed my A-levels 26
yearsago, that I started my LLB 2 years ago and career shifted 1
year ago, you are telling me, right here right now, not to attempt the Bar?
You do not know me professionally, personally, nor academically
beyond my lack of A-levels and current LLB study, nor do you know about my paralegal diploma, or
my abilities and capabilities, or anything that I have done these past few
months, or the experience I have beyond that, or anything of what I am planning next, and you
are telling me, right here right now, not to attempt the Bar?
Forgive me, but that is quite projectionist. That is what
you would do if you were in my shoes.
And forgive me again, but I am not naive. I know my chances
of the Bar. I understand my chances of making it to the Bar. The figures above
show I know. But being a career shifter has given me a different
perspective of myself, of what I will and will not accept now, and that in turn
has given me that internal knowing that I have to find out for myself if I am
worthy enough of making it to the Bar, and being the advocate society needs. And there is only one way I can do that.
But I am not naïve. I do have a backup plan. And being a
successful career shifter is that backup, as I am working on gaining
the knowledge and experience needed for the promotion to paralegal, and qualifying
work experience. That is for the SQE, before obtaining Higher
Rights.
I will qualify, one way or another. But to quote Fate"s "watch this" after
she stumbled out of the pub blind drunk when the world dared to whisper “it can’t
get any worse” at the end of lockdown...
I do not know what is coming next, but like I will do myself, watch
this.
References
The Law Gazette, 2024a “Bar course uptake continues to
grow - along with fees, BSB data shows” by Bianca Castro, 19 July 2024.
Available at:
BSB, 2024b “The
BSB publishes its 2024 statistics report on Bar course enrolment, results, and
student progression by course provider” Press release, 16 July 2024.
Available at:
My response to the deputy downers and the nay-sayers
Every once in a while, I will use this blog for a post that has nothing to do with case summaries. This is one of those times.
The past few months have been a whirlwind of activity for me. I have been to London and not only managed to finally witness a trial (an attempted murder) at the Old Bailey before the fire alarm and subsequent evacuation rudely interrupted the day, but I have also watched the Court of Appeal – Criminal Division in action at the High Court, visited Middle Temple and found answers to the many questions I had, and booked my next Inn visit. I have entered the Open University Law Society’s inaugural speed moot with a Bail Application where I came third, as well as taking part the national Speed Mooting competition in Manchester where I had a brain freeze on the tort of private nuisance. An irony not lost on me given the topic of my end of module assignment.
Yet, despite all this, I find myself pondering on two different…occurrences…that before this past month I had never directly experienced before. I knew from others; from talking, reading posts and listening to podcasts; that the deputy downers and the nay-sayers within the legal sector existed. And I have been lucky enough to have avoided them – until this past month.
The first was a LinkedIn post, which questioned the sanity of first-year university law students, and if they knew what they were letting themselves in for by setting their cap to the Bar because there are not enough pupillage positions to go around.
And as an Open University law student and career shifter who is, in full-time terms, coming to the end of her first year, I can say with complete sincerity – yes I jolly well do know!
I know that the providers of the Bar Practice Course are oversubscribed. I know that by June 2024, 2378 students were enrolled across the board (The Law Gazette, 2024a). And I know that there is a wide range of pass rates depending on the provider (BSB, 2024b)
I know this is why it is recommended you work your socks off at getting a First because that holds you in better stead for passing the Bar course, as the pass rates drop massively for those with an Upper Second and Lower Second (The Law Gazette, 2024a).
And I also know that having a First, Upper Second or Lower Second does not guarantee that you will pass the Bar Practice Course in the first place.
And I know from the Bar Council’s Pupillage Gateway Report 2024 (Bar Council 2024c) that there were 671 pupillages available. Which means that even with my poor mathematics calculations, using the figures provided above, that there is a 3.54% chance of obtaining pupillage if every current 2378 student applies.
And that that percentage will drop when taking into account all previous Bar course students who are making a second, third, fourth or fifth pupillage attempt on the Gateway.
So, yes, in answer to the question, as a first-year mature law student and career shifter, I jolly well do know how hard it is going to be thank you very much!
And now I have had my grumble about that, this is the second, and this is the one that took me by surprise.
This was unsolicited advice in the middle of an otherwise pleasant conversation. In a nutshell, I was told to not bother with attempting the Bar. That there is a certain type of person who is looked for, that there is a certain type of education that is expected, that getting pupillage is for the elite, that the pass rate of obtaining pupillage is low (which I know, see above) and that I would be better off qualifying as a solicitor and obtaining Higher Rights first, and maybe then think about cross-qualifying. At least that is what they would do if they were in my shoes.
Right. Okay. Give me a moment to process.
When all you know about me is that I bombed my A-levels 26 years ago, that I started my LLB 2 years ago and career shifted 1 year ago, you are telling me, right here right now, not to attempt the Bar?
You do not know me professionally, personally, nor academically beyond my lack of A-levels and current LLB study, nor do you know about my paralegal diploma, or my abilities and capabilities, or anything that I have done these past few months, or the experience I have beyond that, or anything of what I am planning next, and you are telling me, right here right now, not to attempt the Bar?
Forgive me, but that is quite projectionist. That is what you would do if you were in my shoes.
And forgive me again, but I am not naive. I know my chances of the Bar. I understand my chances of making it to the Bar. The figures above show I know. But being a career shifter has given me a different perspective of myself, of what I will and will not accept now, and that in turn has given me that internal knowing that I have to find out for myself if I am worthy enough of making it to the Bar, and being the advocate society needs. And there is only one way I can do that.
But I am not naïve. I do have a backup plan. And being a successful career shifter is that backup, as I am working on gaining the knowledge and experience needed for the promotion to paralegal, and qualifying work experience. That is for the SQE, before obtaining Higher Rights.
I will qualify, one way or another. But to quote Fate"s "watch this" after she stumbled out of the pub blind drunk when the world dared to whisper “it can’t get any worse” at the end of lockdown...
I do not know what is coming next, but like I will do myself, watch this.
References
The Law Gazette, 2024a “Bar course uptake continues to grow - along with fees, BSB data shows” by Bianca Castro, 19 July 2024. Available at:
https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/bar-course-uptake-continues-to-grow-along-with-fees-bsb-data-shows/5120408.article (Accessed 03 May 2025),
BSB, 2024b “The BSB publishes its 2024 statistics report on Bar course enrolment, results, and student progression by course provider” Press release, 16 July 2024. Available at:
https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/resources/the-bsb-publishes-its-2024-statistics-report-on-bar-course-enrolment-results-and-student-progression-by-course-provider.html (Accessed 03 May 2025).
Bar Council, 2024c “Pupillage Gateway Report 2024” Report, 28 November 2024. Available at:
https://www.barcouncil.org.uk/resource/pupillage-gateway-report-2024-pdf.html (Accessed 03 May 2025).