Common law
my supervisors. By the end of the third ‘seat’ the tenancy decisionwas taken.”
The common lawBar remains an attractive option for thosewho believe that variety is the spice of life. Typically, common lawchambers aremulti-disciplinary and are divided into practice groups so thatmembers can develop andmaintain specialisations. Areas of practice can include actions against the police, employment disputes, discrimination law, landlord and tenant, personal injury, professional negligence, family lawand criminal law. Assisting theGrenfell Tower Inquiry; developing a clinical negligence practice simultaneously with a niche in criminal injuries compensation law; carrying out work for the government – it might sound like the record of a barrister of many years’ experience, but true to the nature of the common lawBar, Rajkiran Barhey has added all this andmore to her CV at four years’ call. She discovered her passion for thismost varied of areas as a student: “Themodules I most enjoyed studyingwere tort and public law, sowhen I applied for pupillage, I targeted sets that work in these areas. I wouldn’t say that I knewmuch about clinical negligence before I became a barrister – the learning really starts once you are called to the Bar.” Pupillage at 1 CrownOffice Rowwas “a brilliant learning experience,” she enthuses. “Of course, it was tough at times – and, as a tenant, I am allowed to speakmymind now! – but, it was a unique and formative process. Over the course of 12months, I sat with DavidManknell, Matthew Barnes, LeanneWoods and Robert Wastell, all of whomhave quite different practices. The first sixmonths – creatively known as the ‘first six’ –were non-practising, meaning I spent my days accompanyingmy supervisor to court, conferences and settlement meetings – and drafting paperwork, such as pleadings, skeleton arguments and advices. Inmy second six I was allowed to practise, whichmeant that I started heading off to county courts to do hearings in small claims but still continued to dowork for
The sheer variety of experience she gained stood her in good stead to develop her own practice. “I particularly remember watching proceedings at theGeneral Chiropractic Council in a case involving a chiropractor accused of making inflated claims about the ability of chiropractic treatment to cure a variety of ailments,” she recalls. “I also spent two days at theCourt of Appeal watchingmy supervisor being led in an immigration case concerning the Calais camp clearances. I sat in on numerous negotiations and conferences in clinical negligence cases, ranging froman alleged missed diagnosis of cauda equina (a spinal condition), to a negligent angiography which led to the death of a youngmother with four children. I also spent some time in theCoroner’s courts, most memorably in a case involving a youngman known tomental health services who had taken his own life. One highlight was watching one silk fromchambers against another in a case concerning an alleged failure to diagnose cardiac abnormalities in a foetus. I also headed along to the Tax Tribunal and to a hearing in a public inquiry.” Civil cases and public inquiries Nowa junior tenant, Rajkiran has amixed practicewith a strong focus on civil cases and medical law, predominantly clinical negligence: “The kinds of work you do at my stage include drafting pleadings such as particulars of claimand defences; attending cost and case management conferences – CCMCs –which are procedural hearings where you set the timetable for each stage of the case, such as when the expert reports need to be ready; and conferences with experts to go through the evidence and assess the case. Quantumwork is another important aspect, so I’malso involved in drafting schedules and counter schedules.” Inquests are also a big part of her work at 1 CrownOffice Row, acting for both families and other interested parties such as doctors.
For more chambers that work in this practice area, please use the ‘Pupillage index’.
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