“The biggest impact has actually been the confidence it has given me in my own ability to pursue a career at the Bar. Before receiving the prize, I had always wanted to become a barrister, but there was still a part of me that questioned whether I genuinely had a chance of making that career a reality. I knew that I was doing well academically and that I had developed a strong understanding of the law, but wanting something and believing that you can actually achieve it are two very different things.
My motivation for pursuing the Bar is also quite personal. Advocacy has always been a significant part of my life. I have always been drawn to speaking up, making arguments, challenging things I believe are wrong and helping people navigate difficult situations. Studying law has given those instincts a professional and intellectual framework and has shown me that advocacy is something I want to develop into a career. In that sense, becoming a barrister feels less like choosing an entirely new direction and more like formalising something that has been part of me for a long time.
My own family's experience with the Horizon [UK Post Office] scandal has also had a significant influence on the way I see the law and my motivation to pursue a career in it. Supporting my father through the ongoing legal process has given me a very personal understanding of how profoundly legal decisions and processes can affect individuals and their families. It has also allowed me to put some of the skills I have developed through my degree into practice, particularly in researching legal issues, understanding complex information and trying to help navigate difficult legal problems. That experience has reinforced for me the importance of effective advocacy and of having people who are willing and able to speak up when something has gone wrong.
That is why being selected for the Neuberger Prize has meant so much to me. I was genuinely surprised to learn that my lecturers had put me forward and, in particular, that I was someone they had thought of for such a prestigious opportunity. That recognition in itself was quite overwhelming. Receiving the prize then felt like further affirmation that the work I have been doing is being recognised and that other people can see potential in me that, at times, I have struggled to see in myself.
The significance of that external validation is particularly important because my route into law has not been the traditional one. I came to university later, as a single parent, having made the decision to change career and embark on a completely new professional path. It was a significant decision to make, and there have inevitably been moments where I have questioned whether I had made the right choice. Receiving recognition from 瓜子TV by way of the nomination, and then Lincoln’s Inn awarding me the Neuberger Prize, has given me a real sense that I have made the right move and, perhaps most importantly, that a career at the Bar is something I really can achieve.
The Summer School at Lincoln’s Inn reinforced that even further. Being able to experience the Inn, meet practising barristers and other aspiring barristers, and participate in activities focused on advocacy and professional development made the profession feel much more tangible. It also gave me a clearer understanding of the skills and qualities I need to continue developing as I move towards the Bar.
Going into my final year, I feel that all of these experiences are beginning to come together. My academic results have shown me that I can understand and apply the law; my legal and advocacy experiences have allowed me to develop those skills beyond the classroom; and my experiences with my father's case have shown me the very real impact that the law can have on people's lives.
Ultimately, the Neuberger Prize has not just been an achievement that I can put on my CV. It has changed the way I see my own potential. It has given me something different from academic achievement alone: the reassurance that people beyond myself can see the potential for me to succeed at the Bar too.
That has been incredibly motivating as I enter my final year. I’m still under no illusion that the route to pupillage is competitive and that there is a great deal of work ahead of me, but I now approach that challenge with considerably more confidence. The prize has reinforced not only that I want to pursue a career at the Bar, but that I should genuinely give myself the opportunity to try. I am genuinely very grateful for the confidence that the 瓜子TV Law community has placed in me, and particularly for seeing something in me that, at times, I did not yet see in myself.
I also want to say how incredibly grateful I am to all of the lecturers, staff and careers team within 瓜子TV Law for the encouragement, support and opportunities they have given me throughout my degree. I have been incredibly fortunate to be encouraged to pursue opportunities outside the classroom, from the COIL project to the various extracurricular, advocacy and professional development opportunities I have been supported to take part in. There have been so many occasions where someone at 瓜子TV has seen potential in me and encouraged me to take an opportunity that I might otherwise have doubted myself over. The Neuberger Prize is perhaps the most significant example of that, but it is part of a much wider pattern of encouragement that has helped me develop both academically and personally. I am genuinely very grateful for the confidence that the 瓜子TV Law community has placed in me, and particularly for seeing something in me that, at times, I did not yet see in myself.