Case studies: Barrister: Clare Benson

Clare is a tenant and practising barrister at the criminal bar at Broadway House Chambers. She studied the graduate diploma in law (GDL) and the bar vocational course (BVC) at BPP Law School in Leeds from 2007-2009.

After studying classics at university I decided I wanted to join a ‘profession’ and looked into both law and teaching. Due to my background in public speaking and debating I was drawn towards the law. I went to several careers events and quickly became aware that I had no interest in commercial law but I knew I wanted a job that involved plenty of time in court. I did a couple of mini-pupillages while still at university and continued with these while studying for the GDL. I also spent some time observing at magistrates’ courts and shadowing a number of barristers who worked in various fields.

I applied for pupillages while still on the GDL in the hope that I could obtain a pupillage which would start as soon as I’d finished the BVC. I applied through the online pupillage system to 12 different sets. I knew I wanted to do criminal law so I applied to every criminal set in West Yorkshire and then filled up my application form with medium-sized criminal sets in London.

I was asked to interview at five sets (four in West Yorkshire and one in London) and eventually was offered a pupillage by Broadway House in Bradford. The fact that my first degree was in classics rather than law didn’t seem to make any difference to the sets who interviewed me - if anything it helped as it was a talking point at interview. I’m sure that the fact I had a 2:1 from a good university did open the door for me in terms of getting an interview at most chambers. The West Yorkshire sets also favoured me because I had moved to Leeds for the GDL and had already committed to the BVC there too so I had some connection to the area.

After a year’s pupillage at Broadway House they offered me a tenancy and I have now been a tenant there for almost a year. Being offered tenancy after pupillage is really just a formality in most sets on the northeastern circuit but it is still a relief to get it. I practise exclusively in criminal law and hope to continue in this way. As time goes by you get increasingly complex and more serious cases to deal with so there’s always something new to learn.

As a barrister, I am self-employed. Unfortunately that means that your income can be very irregular (so if you don’t have a case in court on any given day then you’ve not earned any money that day) and you have to remember to set aside half of all the money you earn for tax and chambers rent rather than just spending it all. However, it also means that once you have finished in court there is no obligation to stay in court or at chambers, so if you’ve got something else you want to do - whether it’s going shopping or cleaning your house - you can do it then so long as the work gets done at some point.