I have fallen down a Beatles rabbit hole recently. They have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My dad must have introduced me, and now my daughter is soaking up the joys of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Rubber Soul every time I drive my car. My work took me to Liverpool recently, so I used my free time to explore the story of the Fab Four and came away inspired by the fact that ordinary people can go on to achieve extraordinary things. Sometimes it takes a helping hand, such as John, Paul, George and Ringo had with their manager, Brian Epstein. Epstein spotted their potential early, advised them to refine their image and helped secure various opportunities in advance of signing a record deal in May 1962.
By Jack Meek, Barrister, Government Legal Department
Having traversed the long and winding road of this introduction, allow me to get to the point. Mentorship can play a vital role in shepherding aspiring barristers through the magical mystery tour of pupillage applications and interviews. There are so many talented candidates who slip through the cracks, particularly if they come from underrepresented backgrounds, because it is impossible to know every little thing about the process. They could do with the advice of a Brian Epstein figure, not just to understand a day in the life of a practitioner, but how to alight upon that something that strikes the right chord in front of a recruitment panel. In my life, I have benefited from the tutelage of others, but also from being a mentor. I want to tell you about some of the lessons I have learned from both perspectives, so, from me to you, I will proffer the word on what I think fosters an effective mentoring relationship. All together now.
Got to get you into my life: identify the right mentor
When I was younger (so much younger than today), I never needed anybody’s help in any way. Or so I might have thought. If you have typically succeeded in your endeavours to date, it can be a rude awakening suddenly to realise that the route to becoming a barrister is not a straightforward path. It is a helter skelter.
Do you want to know a secret? There is no shame in asking for guidance. It takes confidence and self-awareness (both useful qualities to have in practice) to be able to reflect on your weaknesses as well as your strengths, and to lay them out before another person when asking for help.
There are no innate tricks to finding a mentor. If I needed someone, I would think about things such as what area of work I would like to specialise in, where I would like to practise, what other opportunities might be available and so on. Once I had decided upon the profile of the desirable mentor, I would attend different events, ask questions and apply for various schemes. There are any number of options. For example, your Inn of Court will likely have a Bar course mentorship programme as well as options post call. I know too of various organisations that provide opportunities for candidates from diverse backgrounds. Once you have been suitably partnered up, come together and get to work.
We can work it out: put in the effort
A good mentor will not only advise you on how best to structure an application or approach an interview based on the experiences you have accumulated to date; they will also encourage you to trust in your ability. Now and then, they will spot where you are lacking in experience and proffer solutions with a view to fixing a hole in that particular part of your application. Separately, they could offer neat little insights into professional etiquette or arrange for you to speak with other barristers in chambers/organisations where you are hoping to apply. One way or another, they should be available to answer your questions and give you confidence to realise that you are not an imposter, but a candidate brimming with potential who is as deserving of a place at the Bar as anyone else.
Of course, results are not guaranteed, and your mentor cannot do all of the work for you. There are multitudinous professional and personal pressures on a barrister’s time, so please bear this in mind and do not panic or take offence if at first you are greeted with no reply. Hopefully your mentor will manage expectations, and you will find a groove that works from both your perspectives.
In order best to assist that process, it is imperative that you put in the effort (hard days’ nights and all that). Depending on the relationship you have with your mentor, do not assume that they will chase you if there has been radio silence. Whether you end up in self-employed or employed practice, you will need to be able to work independently, so get into good habits now. Don’t let me down.
Get back to where you belong: apply the lessons in practice and pay it forward
Soon you will do what you want to do and go where you’re going to because your mentor will have sharpened your capacity to think for yourself and apply what you have learned on paper, in interview or indeed in practice. Tomorrow never knows when the collaborations of yesterday will come in handy, but I’ve got a feeling that it will soon be the case that you know what to do.
If you ask me why, it is because I have been the grateful recipient of the sagacity of faithful mentors who have guided me along my own route into practice. I compartmentalised the advice that worked for me and disregarded that which, though no doubt honourably intentioned, did not accord with my own approach to getting better. I have tried to pass on much of that received wisdom to my own mentees, which has in itself been a rewarding experience.
I would urge those of us in a position to give back to do so. From my point of view, it has helped me keep an eye on the bigger picture, identify areas of self-development, and pick up some tips of my own by seeing things through the eyes of the young people with whom it has been my pleasure to work.
Conclusion
If I may whisper some final words of wisdom by way of a recap. Do not hesitate to seek help. Ask questions and find the right mentor. Put in the work and you will reap the rewards. Apply the lessons throughout your career and pay it forward to the next generation. We all get by with a little help from our friends. Ask those Liverpool lads.
Jack Meek is an employed barrister at the Government Legal Department. He has been a social mobility advocate for the Bar Council since 2021 and is actively involved in various outreach and mentorship initiatives at Lincoln’s Inn, including its Pupillage Foundation Scheme.
