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(Thread) My last day at the Bar today is incredibly bittersweet. For all the many truly awful aspects of this job, it remains one of the best professions I can think of. I will miss many things when I move abroad, but these are a few thoughts, from my brief time in practice...
The camaraderie of colleagues at the Criminal Bar and sols: walking into an advocates or robing room and knowing the people within that room will listen and will help you, often will also add humour to your day, share their own tales of woe...
The friendships forged through being put back until 5pm at Leicester CC for no reason, sharing chocolate in solidarity when a mad DJ remanded everyone bc IT was down and nobody could get papers, or meeting on the stairs during pupillage to compare levels of tiredness...
I shall not miss the crumbling court estate, the 5:30 to Telford, cases of clients who've already slipped through cracks in the system so avoidable consequences are now inevitable, the everyday injustices played out in the Magistrates courts...
But I shall miss the good humour, integrity, indescribable hard work and professionalism I see in my colleagues, particularly at the Junior Criminal Bar, in full knowledge that their talents would be remunerated 10x in corporate settings...
The incredible privilege it is to represent other people during often one of the most important and difficult moments of their life...
As I reluctantly hang up my wig, hopefully to return one day, without being too melancholy, it is difficult to be positive about the future of the profession. When morale and fees are low, when sexism, racism and bullying are too prevalent, when we work in woeful conditions...
I urge those with power to change this state of affairs to do so. Otherwise, you will lose more talented professionals, the consequence being that the criminal justice system and this country will be the poorer for it #TheLawIsBroken
