Charlie has now successfully completed the non-practising period of his pupillage and is available to take instructions in civil matters. During the course of his ‘first six’, Charlie has observed a number of hearings in the county court. The cases which he observed were focused on property disputes. Some of these concerned disputes between landlord and tenant over non-payment of rent, and others concerned disputes between neighbours regarding the extension of a property. Charlie was also required to write opinions and summarise legal research under the supervision of a civil barrister in order to properly advise clients.
Prior to beginning his pupillage, Charlie worked as a paralegal at one of the UK’s largest energy brokerage firms. His work generally consisted of defending claims in the pre-action stage, as well as assisting with bundling, instructions to counsel and drafting. As a result of his work as a paralegal, Charlie has significantly improved his knowledge of commercial contracts. Working alongside a team of solicitors allowed Charlie to gain a deeper insight into the fundamentals of litigation, as well as gain knowledge in an unregulated and ever-expanding area of law. Charlie believes that this will assist him greatly once he begins his commercial practice.
Charlie has recently graduated with a first-class Masters in Law at Northumbria University. During the course of his degree, he also completed his Bar Vocational Training, achieving a grade of ‘Outstanding’. Notably, he excelled in his opinion writing module, ‘Civil Professional Practice’. He investigated the topic of international environmental space law for his Legal Research Dissertation. Beyond his academic achievements, Charlie has participated in numerous international moots, most notably winning a moot hosted by the University of Sarajevo that concerned international maritime arbitration. In addition, Charlie also placed as a finalist in a commercial negotiation competition hosted by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution in London.
Charlie has recently undertaken a mediation accreditation course with the Society of Mediators which he eventually hopes to utilise in his commercial practice.
Outside of work, Charlie enjoys cinema, rock-climbing and basketball.
Charlie has now successfully completed the non-practising period of his pupillage under the primary supervision of Dr Christopher Wood and is available to take instructions in criminal matters. During the course of his ‘first six’, Charlie has observed a wide range of hearings in the magistrates’ court, the crown court and the youth court. He has observed both prosecution and defence barristers. His first six has primarily involved the observation of RASSO trials, however Charlie has also had the opportunity to observe a number of interesting cases, including conspiracy to supply, inciting racial hatred and manslaughter.
Charlie has also been able to observe cases closer to his own level of experience, including road traffic offences, burglaries and private school non-attendance prosecutions. As a result of him observing advocacy in court, Charlie has been appointed as a Grade 1 prosecutor by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Charlie has also undertaken marshalling at South Tyneside Magistrates Court. This allowed Charlie to gain a unique perspective from behind the Bench. Charlie was able to get an insight into the thought process of a trial judge during recesses, which he believes has improved his own advocacy significantly. This marshalling also helped Charlie to become more familiar with the criminal court procedure and process.
Charlie has recently graduated with a first-class Masters in Law at Northumbria University. During the course of his degree, he also completed his Bar Vocational Training, achieving a grade of ‘Outstanding’. Notably, he excelled in his witness handling module, ‘Criminal Professional Practice’. He investigated the topic of international environmental space law for his Legal Research Dissertation. Beyond his academic achievements, Charlie has participated in numerous international moots, most notably a moot hosted by New Delhi University that concerned international extradition law.
Outside of work, Charlie enjoys cinema, rock-climbing and basketball.
Charlie has now successfully completed the non-practising period of his pupillage and is available to take instructions in civil matters. During the course of his ‘first six’, Charlie has observed a number of hearings in the county court. These cases had a focus on personal injury, particularly injury caused by road traffic collisions. These road traffic collision cases were of varying levels of seriousness, and included both fast track and small claims. Charlie was also required to write opinions and summarise legal research under the supervision of a civil barrister in order to properly advise clients.
During the course of a placement, Charlie was able to witness a number of serious personal injury claims. He spent a week with a Claimant solicitors firm and was able to see first-hand the pre-trial correspondence stages of a personal injury claim. He was able to observe the exchanging of Part 36 offers between firms in a serious workplace accident claim. He believes that seeing the claim from the perspective of a solicitor will allow him to understand his professional client much more.
Charlie has recently undertaken a mediation accreditation course with the Society of Mediators which he eventually hopes to utilise in his civil practice.
Charlie has recently graduated with a first-class Masters in Law at Northumbria University. During the course of his degree, he also completed his Bar Vocational Training, achieving a grade of ‘Outstanding’. Notably, he excelled in his opinion writing module, ‘Civil Professional Practice’. He investigated the topic of international environmental space law for his Legal Research Dissertation. Beyond his academic achievements, Charlie has participated in numerous international moots, most notably winning a moot hosted by the University of Sarajevo that concerned international maritime arbitration. In addition, Charlie also placed as a finalist in a commercial negotiation competition hosted by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution in London.
Outside of work, Charlie enjoys cinema, rock-climbing and basketball.