Welcome to Episode 3 of Bar Student to Barrister. In this week’s episode we have something special, a presentation given to ICCA Bar Course students on 13 October 2025, entitled ‘Failing Forwards - Building Resilience for a Career at the Bar of England & Wales’
In this episode you will hear from three professionals with fascinating insights into what resilience really means on your journey to the Bar.
Tony Charles is the Director of Education at Gray’s Inn, a senior leader with a broad range of experience across all aspects ofeducation and training.
Saara Idelbi is a barrister at 39 Essex Chambers, a legal professional, strategic advisor, and effective advocate recognised by Legal 500 as a ‘Leading Junior’ in the areas of Administrative Law and Human Rights, Court ofProtection and Community Care, and Inquests and Inquiries.
John-Paul Fitzgibbon is a Criminal and Public International LawBarrister, Naval Officer and Commander.
Three quotes from Tony Charles perhaps best set the scene for what you are about to hear::
“Failure and resilience are inextricably linked and frequentlymisunderstood.”
“Failure, success, learning and resilience are all part of the sameequation and that’s really what we are going to focus on today.”
“The setbacks are not interruptions to success, they are part of its fabric.”
As Tony also says, ‘“Our message today is a positive one about the journey you are on and it’s a positive one about the journey ahead.”
We hope you enjoy this episode, and a huge thank you to Tony, Saara and John Paul for giving their time to provide such invaluable insights.
Please follow/subscribe and we look forward to seeing you again next Friday, with yet more helpful information and personal accounts to help and guide you on your journey to the Bar.
INFORMATION
Tony Charles - LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-charles-7a8bb383/
Saara Idelbi - LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/saara-idelbi/
John-Paul Fitzgibbon - LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpaulf/
39 Essex Chambers https://www.39essex.com/
Advocatr https://advocatr.com/
What I learned from 100 days of rejection (Ted Talks) https://www.ted.com/talks/jia_jiang_what_i_learned_from_100_days_of_rejection
CONTACT
Email: barstudent2barristerpodcast@gmail.com
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Website https://www.icca.ac.uk/icca-bar-course/bar-student-to-barrister-podcast/
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Registration on the ICCA Bar Course confers no advantage in relation to Inns’ scholarships or awards, Inns’ membership, Qualifying Sessions or Call to the Bar. For more information see the Policy on Independence between the Inns of Court and the ICCA.
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