When I first entered the building on Monday, I was so nervous about my work experience as I was entering a place I had never been before and felt uncomfortable. Then when I went to reception, I was greeted by the receptionist who was so kind even though I arrived late due to train delays. I met Eric at the reception who was more than welcoming and took me to meet the fees and finance team, then he took me and Tamyah for an induction and then told us the plans for the week. When I started this week I was unsure if I wanted to become barrister or go into a different area of law after university, but now I am certain that I want to go down the route to become a barrister.
On Monday, we were given an induction, then we taken to meet the other teams. The first team we met was fees and finance who deal with the barristers’ fees and the company’s finance, the team showed us how they work on a daily basis and they also gave us a research task which was to be completed in the week. The team were very friendly and really helped to settle us in. We then met Frank and Nathan, who showed us how they manage the office and IT services within the chambers. Frank also told us how the chambers are trying to be more environmentally friendly by reducing their printing and they also only serve vegetarian lunches in the office, which I found particularly interesting. Frank also gave us a task of creating an itinerary. After lunch we met the legal support service who deal with researching, making bundles and finding legal information for the barristers. Rachel, who is part of the legal support service, took us to the library where we asked her questions about her BPTC and pupilage and she showed us the various blogs and judgments they make on the Matrix website and on the UKSC blog and Law on Nations blog, she also showed us how she researches cases and finds the authorities on various legal websites.
On Tuesday and Wednesday we were taken to Hendon Magistrates’ Court for a case regarding the extinction rebellion protests with Tim James-Matthews. This case was interesting and showed me how cases are heard in court, and how the judges deliver their judgement and what process they go through. Seeing a barrister present their case is very interesting and shows how much preparation they need to do to present the case.
We were taken to the Royal Courts on Thursday with Claire Darwin and Emma Foubister for an appeal of the case of Andrea Brown (2016). This case gave an insight into the job of a Lord Justice of Appeal and how the cases are heard. This case it was more difficult to follow as it was an appeal case and it involved more technical legal terms that where hard to follow, but it was an interesting case.
On Friday, which was our last day, we had a mock interview which was very beneficial for me as it was my first interview and it really helps to prepare for interviews in the future. The interview helped to highlight my skills and showed me how to prepare for future interviews.
Overall, it was a very informative experience as I learnt a lot about how Matrix as a chamber works and about the roles of each member of staff. The experience has also helped me with deciding what career I want to go into and has shown me how barristers have a large support system helping with their work.