In part two of this two-part series, Finnian, Ava and I are joined by Joe Tarbert: the Head of Programmes at a criminal justice charity known as Standout. Join us to continue the conversation about prisoner rehabilitation and the criminal justice system.    If you would like to get involved with StandOut, you can sign up to volunteer at Volunteer — StandOut. You can also get in touch by sending any inquiries to: info@standout.org.uk

In part one of this two-part series, tune in to hear about Vocalise: a student-led prison debating initiative that was founded in 2010 by two members of Gray's Inn. In this episode, I speak with two of the current co-directors, Ava Chowdhury-Turner and Finnean Robinson. Join us to learn about Vocalise through their reflections and experiences! If you are interested in getting involved with Vocalise, you can register your interest at https://www.graysinn.org.uk/education/students/career-development/vocalise/ You can also get in touch by sending any inquiries to: info@vocalise.org.uk

Welcome to Raising the Bar! My name is Hafsa, and in this two-part series, I will introduce you to your representatives on the 2024-2025 AGIS committee. Join me in Part 2 as I speak to Molly, Thomas, Ewan and Tanya, and learn more about their experiences as Bar students. You will find out about how you can get involved with Gray’s Inn: from participating in moots to joining the AGIS Run Club.  We also want to hear from you! Please get in touch through the AGIS social media or via email at agis@graysinn.org.uk.

Welcome to Raising the Bar! My name is Hafsa, and in this two-part series, I will introduce you to your representatives on the 2024-2025 AGIS committee. Join me in Part 1 as I speak to Jennifer, Funmi, David and Kamilla, and learn more about their experiences as Bar students. You will find out about how you can get involved with Gray’s Inn: from writing for the AGIS Law Journal to an exciting partnership with Tutor the Nation.  We also want to hear from you! Please get in touch through the AGIS social media or via email at agis@graysinn.org.uk.

Thinking of changing careers and coming to the Bar? This episode is a must-listen for anyone thinking of retraining as a barrister. In this episode, I speak with barrister Nicola Sully who has a common law practice, about her journey to the Bar as a career-changer.  We discuss transferable skills, how to challenge assumptions, to articulate your motivation for changing careers and to demonstrate your professional compatibility with your target chambers.  Listen in for tips on how to overcome limiting beliefs, recognise the opportunities that your previous career offers and tackle pupillage applications to achieve success at the Bar as a career changer.

Applying for a GDL scholarship? Tommy, a GDL scholar, discusses how he approached his GDL interview and prepared to demonstrate his advocacy, drive and determination, problem solving skills and motivation to succeed to the panel.

Interested in getting published? The Gray's Inn Student Law Journal is an ideal way for students to engage academically with the law, learn about legal writing and get published. It's an inclusive publication with support available for first-time legal commentators. In this episode, Nora speaks to Hazel Bannerman, editor of the Student Law Journal, to discuss how you can begin your legal writing career. Find out more on how you can contribute: Call for Papers - Student Law Journal - graysinn.org.uk

If you're preparing for a scholarship interview, you won't want to miss this episode!  Hear from Christian, a residential scholar, on how he prepared for his Gray's Inn Bar Course Scholarship interview and secured one of the coveted Residential Scholarships. Gray’s Inn awards at least £1.4 million in scholarships each year. In 2024, the Inn intends to award at least 85 Bar Course Scholarships to support students undertaking the Bar Course. Gray's Inn also offers residential scholarships that enable students to live at the Inn while they study the Bar Course. Applicants shortlisted for a Bar Course scholarship interview will be interviewed this March. The next application period for Bar Course Scholarships will open in September 2024. Find out more about Gray's Inn scholarships.

"Show, don't tell" is just one of the many tips for applicants preparing for Gray's Inn Bar scholarship interviews in Episode 1, Season 5 of Raising the Bar. Gray's Inn students Matty, CK, Ioanna and podcast host Nora Nanayakkara discuss how they prepared for scholarship interviews, approached the legal topic interview exercise and answered the dreaded question, "Why do you want to be a barrister?" Don't miss future episodes, which feature more advice and insights from Gray's Inn scholars, students and members to help you on your journey to the Bar.   

In this episode Niamh explores the area of Arbitration from a students perspective. The discussion covers and introduction to Arbitration, the Gray’s Inn International Arbitration course and the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. Niamh is joined by Nia a previous attendee of the Gray’s Inn course who also went on to compete in the Vis Moot. This episode was recorded in advance of the Introduction to International Arbitration Open Evening on 27th July 2023. Find out more via the Gray’s Inn website. 

In this episode, Niamh talks to previous AGIS Mooting Officer Samuel Moss, to provide an in-depth insight into the world of mooting. The conversation covers what mooting is and why it is viewed as such important experience for aspiring barristers. AGIS offers students a plethora of opportunities to represent the Inn at national and international competitions over each academic year and Samuel offers his top tips to students on how to get started and how to be a successful. 

In this episode, Niamh is joined by Charlotte Ward, who offers her perspective on the journey to the bar when transitioning from a different career. Charlotte is a current Bar Course student who has successfully changed careers after years of working in the Finance industry. As a future pupil barrister Charlotte discusses her experiences in returning to education to undertake the GDL, the process of obtaining pupillage, and both why and how she changed careers to become a barrister. 

This episode offers advice and insight into the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) for students who have studied a non-law undergraduate degree and want to pursue a career in law.  In this conversation, Niamh is joined with Nicholas Zeolla, to discuss his pursuit of a career at the Bar from a History degree. Nicholas is a current Bar Course student and is due to commence Pupillage in 2023. As the current AGIS President Nicholas also shares insights on how the Inns of Court are there to support students becoming barristers through scholarships and other opportunities.  

This second instalment of the Raising the Bar - A Students Guide, is hosted by Ciara Church and guest Zoe Chan.  Zoe is a Gray’s Inn Scholar and aspiring barrister wishing to pursue the law of Human Rights and Civil Liberties.   This discussion provides a student’s perspective of inclusivity and having a disability at the bar. Zoe talks about her involvement in the particular initiative of ‘Bringing [Dis]Ability to the Bar’.

This conversation marks the first episode of the new ‘A Student’s Guide’ series on the Raising the Bar Podcast where we will discuss topics relevant to current and aspiring bar course students. This episode is hosted by Ciara Church with guest Kelly Yu. Kelly was the AGIS treasurer from 2021-2022 and is a Gray’s Inn scholarship recipient. Kelly came to the UK for university, from Hong Kong and studied English before transferring to Law. In this episode Ciara and Kelly discuss the different bar course providers, their journeys to the bar, and the lessons they’ve learnt along the way.

Working from home, online mediation, nett zero disputes, paperless practicing, the Greener Pledge - the pandemic has highlighted many of these issues and had been a period of reflection for many. How does the charge to nett zero affect how we practice, how do we enforce this in different jurisdictions, what is sustainability at the Bar? In this episode Ciara discusses all this and more with Marion Smith QC and Annie Mackley.   Resources on climate litigation UNEP Global Climate Litigation Report 2020: Global Climate Litigation Report: 2020 Status Review | UNEP - UN Environment ProgrammeSabin Centre for Climate Change Litigation: https://climate.law.columbia.edu/ Judgment of the District Court of the Hague in Milieudefensie e.a v Royal Dutch Shell: https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2021:5339 ICC Commission Report: Resolving Climate Change Related Disputes through Arbitration and ADR: Resolving Climate Change Related Disputes through Arbitration and ADR (iccwbo.org)  Resources on sustainability at the Bar Greener Arbitrations: https://www.greenerarbitrations.com/Net Zero Lawyers’ Alliance: https://netzerolawyers.com/The Mediator’s Green Pledge: https://imimediation.org/2020/10/21/the-mediators-green-pledge/The Chancery Lane Project: The Chancery Lane ProjectBar Sustainability Network: Bar Sustainability Network (barcouncil.org.uk) 

In this episode, Ciara chats to the original podcast host ,Alana Hughes, about her new tenancy, family law, the differences between being a pupil versus a tenant at a chambers, the impact of the pandemic on her new practice and so much more.  

After a break we are back with our interesting podcast series hosted by AGIS. This episode is a first for the Raising the Bar Podcast as Alana Hughes, our guest host for the segment “Meet the Barrister”, chats to His Honour Judge Aubrey QC. Judge Aubrey was the first in his extended family to attend university after attending a state grammar school. He obtained pupillage and tenancy in Liverpool and after 20 years at the Junior Bar he decided to take Silk. He has been a Northern circuit judge since 2005. Alana speaks to Judge Aubrey about his path to the Bar, the decision to change career from being a barrister to a Judge and his experiences as a Judge and so much more.   (This episode was recorded remotely in April 2020)

The Pupillage Gateway opens for submissions on 5 January 2022 - a process fraught with tension and anxiety for most students for weeks as applications are prepared, rewritten and finally submitted. What transferable skills can you include, how should you include them,  what can you do to make your application stand out. In this episode our new AGIS host Ciara Church, chats to Ayanna Nelson about her experiences and tips and suggestions on the application process. Tune in to find out more.

Becoming a self-employed Barrister is an exciting part of the journey. What many new barristers aren’t always sure of is how to manage their finances at this point. In this episode Nia chats to Alex Friede, an accountant who advises self-employed professionals and small businesses on their tax, accountancy, and financial management affairs. He is a specialist in the affairs of barristers, and his portfolio currently includes over two hundred practitioners. Tune in as he shares some tips on how to best tackle the money side of your new practice.