Mary Prior KC: “Make yourself stand out as being a person who can demonstrate an interest in the career”

“You can’t get anywhere in law with an accent. You need to get rid of it. “ This nonsense is said to law students and students in other professions again and again. It is rubbish. To be an advocate you must be bright, able to think on your feet, to ask questions in a concise and chronological way, to see which points matter and which do not. Yet you can and must do all of this using your unique skill set and that includes your accent. Never change. Never be someone else . All that you must do is speak clearly and slowly, whatever your accent, so that what you say can be heard and processed. Shine like the star that you are. Always.”

Photo: Mary Prior KC

Criminal KC. Head of 36 Crime part of The 36 Group.

Vice Chair of the CBA, Tier One Leading Silk Legal 500,

Bencher and Vice Chair of Outreach Gray’s Inn.

“Don’t have any connections in the career that you want? You might be told that this means that you can’t succeed. Nothing could be further from the truth. Whilst connections can make it easier for some, interviewers often guard against opportunities that have arisen just because of who you know. What we are interested in is what effort you have made to find out about the career itself. Work experience is brilliant but if you can’t get that then you can often observe people in that role or get a job which enables you to mix with practitioners. In law, it’s not always easy to get mini pupillages or work experience. If you can’t get that then go to court as often as you can and watch advocates working. Make notes. Tell the court staff what you are doing and you can message an advocate after a case (or talk to them) to ask for answers to your queries. Most advocates are happy to help. Attend free lectures and networking events. Follow practitioners on LinkedIn. If you message a practitioner don’t just say Hey or Hi. Research their practice on the internet. Mention something about that and then ask a targeted question about something you can’t look up. If you do that most people will reply. Make yourself stand out as being a person who can demonstrate an interest in the career rather than just saying so. It might make all the difference. Good luck.”