My week at Matrix has been an incredibly rewarding and unforgettable experience. From the moment we stepped into Gray’s Inn, we were greeted by receptionist Lucy and James, a member of the fees team. We were then introduced to the role of the fees team by James and Christine, and he explained thoroughly the different types of funding, such as legal aid and conditional fee agreements. The fact that many experienced barristers opted to take on pro-bono cases with an aim to support the vulnerable did surprise me. We also completed a research task surrounding this. Afterwards, we had coffee with Zoe and Jessica, two trainee barristers at Matrix. Zoe previously worked in Australia and the ICC as a barrister, whilst Jessica was admitted as a barrister of the High Court of New Zealand. We are so grateful for the advice they have given and the questions they have answered, especially on how they found their passion in law. After lunch, we spoke with Lindsay, the HR manager at Matrix, as she introduced the structure of the practice teams and how the pupillage system works. Tom, Chris, and James also explained how the practice team acted as a bridge between barristers and solicitors. We were then given documents of skeleton arguments about the hearings of the following days, which we studied and researched.
On the second day, we had the privilege to attend a hearing in the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Barrister Nicolas Gibson led us to the court, and he explained a lot of his journey from being a solicitor, to being a solicitor advocate, and eventually being a barrister specialising in competition law on our way to the court. It was interesting to observe how the judge interacted with the barristers, and considering the extremely high amount of fund payments involved, many fine details were discussed thoroughly, which was particularly intriguing. The whole experience witnessing a competition case was eye-opening, as it was rather different from criminal cases, which are typically under the spotlight. We also understood that for commercial or competition barristers, economic knowledge is also pivotal apart from advocacy skills and legal understanding.
On the third day, we headed to the Royal Courts of Justice for a hearing of an extradition case, which Matrix barrister Mark Summers KC participated in. The high level of eloquence in his submission has stunned me, and I am amazed at his in-depth knowledge of extradition law and the prima facie concept. He explained his arguments clearly whenever the judge had any questions. At the beginning, I was slightly confused by the high level of complexity and technicality of this extradition case, but after some time, I began to understand the flow of arguments, and the process was surely rewarding. Within the two days of hearing, we also learnt about the procedures and rules in court as well.
On the last day of the work experience, we learnt about the process of legal research as we spoke to David, a member of the LSS team in Matrix. He talked about how his role supports the work of a barrister and his own experience previously working in the Court of Appeal. He also explained the Inn system, further deepening my understanding of the route to become a barrister. We then completed a task on legal research. In the afternoon, we spoke to receptionist Lucy and also did a mock interview, which gave me an idea of what an interview looks like in universities or chambers. This week has been incredibly eye-opening for me, and the experience is surely irreplaceable. I am very grateful for this amazing opportunity, which reaffirms my ambition to become a barrister.