The type of work, even within a specialist practice area like planning law, is diverse and varied. There is no doubt it can be challenging, but it is incredibly interesting and rewarding. For example, I regularly appear in the High Court, County Court, Crown Court and Magistrates Court as well as in public inquiries and examination hearings. If that in itself isn’t mixed enough, even then, no case is the same. One day I might be working on a nationally significant renewable energy infrastructure project and its land use implications, and the next day I might be obtaining an injunction to remove unauthorised development, or arguing a judicial review, or prosecuting a defendant for non-compliance with an enforcement notice.
Is a life at the bar as you expected it would be?
Life at the bar exceeded all my expectations. It genuinely promotes individualism such that there is no definitively right or wrong person for the job. Courtroom and inquiry advocacy is exciting; planning and public law is intellectually stimulating and offers fast and tangible real world results; and the variety of works means that there is never a dull day on the job. I have learnt quickly that preparation, attention to detail and robust analysis are fundamental. In practice that means a lot of time is spent reading, thinking, reviewing and analysing. Because I spend a lot of time in courts and inquiries all around the country (far more than I perhaps released I would at first), days with my head in papers are something I now value; but are also reflective of my particular practice. There are other practice areas that offer more or less courtroom advocacy, more or less written work, and more or less focus on law or the application of facts. The takeaway from this, I hope, is that if you are hardworking and motivated enough you quickly have the ability to influence what your practice looks like. Very few other professions offer anything similar as soon as you are qualified.
