Join us for this episode of Law Talks, with Callum Reid-Hutchings, who is a Barrister at Gatehouse Chambers, working in commercial litigation, insolvency and company law, construction disputes, employment law, and defamation matters. Callum describes a varied career path from early non-legal jobs to university, the bar course, commercial litigation paralegal work and a judicial assistant role, until ultimately securing pupillage and tenancy at Gatehouse Chambers.
He explains discovering the Bar later, preferring courtroom advocacy and self-employment over becoming a solicitor, and focusing on commercial work after exploring other practice areas. Callum outlines what he learned from his paralegal and judicial assistant roles about litigation realities and what persuades or annoys judges, and emphasises transferable skills from non-legal work and competitive sports. He shares advice on selecting chambers, interview preparation, and managing applications efficiently, and discusses building a practice through availability, strong solicitor relationships, and resilience.
00:00 Welcome and Introductions
00:08 Career Journey So Far
02:26 Choosing the Bar
04:19 Barrister vs Solicitor
05:20 Paralegal Life in Litigation
08:01 Finding Your Practice Area
10:38 Judicial Assistant Insights
13:44 Transferable Skills Beyond Law
17:24 Picking Chambers and Bouncing Back
21:27 Interview Preparation Tips
24:48 Application Challenges and Strategy
27:54 Inside Pupillage Year
31:52 Building a Tenant Practice
34:58 Final Advice and Wrap Up
This episode is sponsored by LawPods, a podcast marketing agency that services some of the biggest brands in law.
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Our intro music is adapted from 'Sprightly' by GarageBand Apple Loop and 'Sprightly Remix' by Adamo.
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