Day 1:
The day began with a warm and general introduction to Matrix where I was greeted by friendly smiles from Lindsay and my fellow peers who I was spending the week with. Lindsay made us feel welcomed, explaining the areas the firm works in such as commercial and employment law whilst also introducing us to Matrix’s mission to modernise traditional legal terminology e.g. pupillage with more modern terms such as trainees to create a more modern and inclusive work environment for new and previous generations.
After our introduction, we were given a tour of the generational historic building, where I was captivated by how its antique features had been carefully preserved and while still being adapted to fit Matrix’s modern outlook. As a history student studying A level history, it was especially fascinating to see how old buildings such as Gray’s Inn were maintained with such dedication, allowing their rich past to shine through even as they evolve to meet contemporary needs.
Then, we settled into our own individual desks each equipped with modern computers to use throughout the day. We began speaking with Donella and Annie, who were incredibly friendly and happy to answer our questions of the different areas of law, whilst also explaining their jobs as legal support assistants. They set us off with a task, where we had to research the case of Vardy v Rooney, which was a valuable introduction to legal research platforms such as Westlaw where we analysed large amounts of information of the case, an extremely important skill for law!
After lunch, we were fortune enough to be introduced to Florence who is a trainee at Matrix for a year, who went to Cambridge and answered our queries on how to apply to law, what employers are looking for and what to include in your application, we were also treated with a nice, iced latte! It was inspiring to learn about her experience, where I learnt about the important of extra curriculars at university and how to build a successful application to a firm.
In addition, we were then met with Lauren who explained her job in the finance side of Matrix, who explained how barristers make their money, how much money the firm get from cases, and how they pay for fixed costs e.g. rent and electricity.
I had a great and eventful first day at Matrix, and it was extremely relieving to be met with such kind individuals, who made me feel welcome here and I can’t wait to see what comes tomorrow.
Day 2:
Day two at Matrix started with an introduction from Lloyd who explained his role as a Practice Manager for Practice Team T. He showed us the system used to monitor which barristers are assigned to different cases on certain days. He also explained how employment works for practice managers, which opened my eyes to a new area of law I had not really explored before. It actually motivated me to think about becoming a practice manager after university, so I could get first hand experience in different parts of a law firm.
After that we did a mock interview for the Future Lawyers scheme which is a programme for people who meet certain criteria and want the chance to have a mentor. We had four possible questions to choose from and had to plan a five minute speech which was followed by short questions. I chose the question about whether universities should be free where I talked about my argument, a counter argument and then my rebuttal. I was a bit anxious about the questions after my speech at first but Venetia and Lucy created such a relaxed environment that the questions went by really quickly.
After lunch we did two marketing tasks. The first was writing a newsletter for Matrix which I made on Canva. The second was creating a poster based on one of Matrix’s values linked to a world awareness day. I chose clean energy for mine.
To finish the day we read the skeleton argument for the case we were watching the next day. It was a little intimidating at first because it was quite long but making bullet points helped me understand everything much better.
Day 3:
Day three started at Westminster Magistrates Court where I met up with my peers at 9:30 before meeting James Stansfield who was the barrister we were shadowing. He introduced us to the case we were observing although we already knew most of the background from reading the skeleton argument the day before. The case was an extradition case from the Italian government involving money laundering and the issuing of false residence permits to people who did not qualify. We heard the arguments from James and then the defendant which helped us understand clearly what James was arguing. We finished after 4 and then had a short chat with James who answered our questions and explained the plan for the following day.
Day 4:
Day four was the second day of the two day extradition trial. We started at 10 again with a witness who had travelled from Italy and this continued until 11. After that the legal arguments went on until 1. We finished at 1 and had another chat with James who answered any final questions. After a short lunch break we headed back to Matrix where we continued writing our blogs asked anything else we were unsure about and wrapped up the day.
I want to say a big thank you to Matrix Chambers for giving me this opportunity. I learned so much about the legal world and discovered areas of law and careers that I had never really thought about before. I am really grateful for all the guidance and support I received throughout my work experience.