I walked through the doors of Matrix Chambers on Monday and immediately felt comfortable, and after my early morning start, I was greeted by the receptionists by a warm coffee to make me feel welcome. I was introduced to Frank, who co-ordinated the week for myself and Sisay, my work experience partner for the week. There was a buzzing and friendly atmosphere throughout chambers, which meant that asking questions was no trouble at all, and I was made to feel welcome by all of the staff here at Matrix. We began with a travel itinerary task, where we were given the task of organising flights and travel arrangements for a barrister who had various tasks all over the world. This tested my skills of working in a certain time period, being quick and effective with my work. It gave me an insight into how busy the life of a barrister actually is, and that within a few days you could be on the other side of the world. Following on from this, we visited the Royal Courts of Justice with Paul Skinner and Emma Foubister top watch an employment case. After navigating my way round the courts (after getting lost several times), I arrived in court for the first time, and watched with eagerness about how the case was to unfold. This case continued throughout the afternoon and all Tuesday, and I watched with interest and waited for the outcome of the case. On Wednesday we were given various tasks to complete by Frank, before going to court to find out the outcome of the trial. On Thursday morning we went back to court with Daniel Brennan, to watch a trial for the first time. I found this very exciting, as we were able to watch witness statements and learn more about the situation at hand. Afterwards, we were given the task of finding the difference between Criminal law and Civil law, which I did not understand before the task. With the help of Frank (and Google!) I was able to make this distinction, and use it in future references. On the last day, we had an extremely insightful chat with Roisin, a trainee barrister here at Matrix. We were able to ask her some of our unanswered questions, and it gave me some ideas on how to take my legal career forward. Furthermore, we were given the opportunity to take part in a mock interview, where we were interviewed by two members of staff for a mock position, allowing us to gain valuable skills needed to get a job in the future.
To conclude, it was an extremely insightful week, allowing me to discover what it would be like to become a barrister, and the relevant steps I need to take to obtain this position. A huge thank you to Frank and the rest of the team here at Matrix, who made me feel welcome and valued throughout the whole week. I would recommend this experience to anyone, and could guarantee they would love it.