What is your position and what do you do on a day-to-day basis?
I am a family barrister specialising in the full range of family law issues. This means that the remit of my work is very broad. One day I might be acting for a local authority applying for a public law order, the next day for a private individual caught within a dispute over the financial or child arrangements following separation. My work also encompasses cases where there is an international element, such as child abduction or relocation, and alternative families. I also spend a great deal of time on trains and on Google maps finding my way to various courts on a day-to-day basis.
How long have you been in this role and what brought you here?
I have been a proper barrister for 6 months (since October 2018). I was a trainee barrister for a year before that.
What brought me into family law was primarily my fascination with 'the family'. I believe that family is at the heart of everything that we are and at the root of how we interface with the world around us. It is usually quite traumatic when the family unit breaks down whatever the cause of that. As a family lawyer, you have the immense honour and privilege of meeting people in a place of vulnerability and of helping them to find a way through the challenges that arise. It is a role that demands a great deal from you intellectually and interpersonally, but you wouldn't have it any other way.
Before becoming a barrister, I qualified as a family solicitor. I also worked as a judicial assistance to
Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, and
Lady Black of Derwent, DBE when they were both Justices of Appeal in the Court of Appeal.
Any memorable stories from your career so far?
It's family law and so almost every day involves a memorable story.
One short story from my time as a judicial assistant was invited to judge a mooting competition at
QMUL with
David Neuberger, then President of the
Supreme Court. While we were waiting for the competition to start we ended up discussing names. I remarked that his initials spelled out 'Den'. With his quick smile whispering at the corners of his mouth, he told me that 'Den' had been his nickname at school. He then asked for my initials which are 'RMC'. Without missing a beat, he said, 'Ah - ready mixed concrete'. For the record, that wasn't my nickname at school, but it would have been an improvement on what was!
What is the best and worst part of the day for you?
The best part is when make a difference to someone's life by the job that you do for them in court. There is no better feeling in the world.
The worst parts are the late nights of reading and preparing and occasionally having to sacrifice your social life in order to get the job done.
What keeps you motivated?
The moments when you achieve a truly excellent result for your client and you feel like you have made a real difference. Also, and significantly, the community camaraderie of the solicitors and barristers that you work with or against who get you through difficult times and keep you laughing. It's so important to be surrounded by good people.
Tea or coffee?
Coffee - black and enormous quantities of it.
