‘I really don’t think you are made for the Bar, so let’s think about what else you can do with your qualifications.’

As many of my former pupils and juniors over the years know, this is what I was told over starters at a dinner in June 1989, after my third six months pupillage had ended in a ‘No thanks’, following the same outcome to my first pupillage. The pupil master (as we used to call them) who thus ruined dinner will remain nameless, but the memory still smarts. However, as my wife recalls, this event 35 years ago proved to be the greatest boost to my determination to make something of myself at the Bar, despite these setbacks. This is my progress report so far.

My parents were long divorced, but the last time they came together to share an event with me was on 24 October 1987, Call Night at Middle Temple, courtesy of that most distinguished Treasurer Lord Templeman. However near or far that event may be for any member of the Bar, it is hard to overstate the importance of that night; being handed the passport to life as an advocate. My sole ambition was to become competent in court. For many in my generation, this meant junior practice as a common lawyer, and in my case the first decade included family, personal injury, general contract and tort, alongside the makings of a criminal law practice. I moved sets twice during that first decade (not counting the two pupillage sets), from 2 Verulam Buildings, on to 5 Essex Court where I folded police disciplinary and civil actions into my general practice, and then to 5 KBW where I concentrated fully on my criminal diary in the set that became Red Lion Chambers which I was later to lead from 2012-18.

While the juddering start to my career is to be avoided if at all possible, 20 undiluted years appearing as a junior in court provided all of the transferable skills which have supported my later career. I would not say that you have to spend 20 years in court to gain these skills, but a number of years as an advocate are vital, as they form the bedrock for what follows.

For senior juniors, the moratorium on silk from 2003-06 was a nervous time, as we did not know whether this great opportunity was lost for ever. Thankfully, I was very lucky and took silk in 2008. It is a great opportunity; a friend who took silk the year before me described it as ‘a ticket to the game’, providing greater choice and flexibility. In crime, the cab rank still applies and rightly so. But I took the chance to move into public inquiry and inquest work, as well as broadening my advisory practice, alongside sitting as a Recorder in the Crown Court. This last part is also important, quite literally providing a different perspective on advocacy at the receiving end. I recognise that sitting days are at a premium right now so opportunities are harder to find, but I enjoyed being a Recorder and sat regularly from 2005-18.

All of the above led to three further steps, which swam into view across the last decade. But I emphasise that none of these three would have been possible without the groundwork in advocacy which I have attempted to describe.

Barristers are self-employed private practitioners, par excellence. But I think there is much more we can do, whether in combination with life at the Bar or in succession after practice. Being the UK Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation (IRTL) from 2017 to 2018 gave an unparalleled opportunity to taste public service, seeing government and the Civil Service from the inside but without entirely upending practice at the Bar. Clearly, becoming the IRTL only worked because I had a strong history of prosecuting terrorism cases since 2000. The time spent working on my Reports as IRTL (I took up the role three weeks before the Westminster Bridge attack, in March 2017) was just over half the year, meaning I spent the remaining half in normal practice, much of which was defending in murder trials. Across three decades in practice, my criminal diary cuts roughly in two – half prosecuting and half defending.

A balanced practice made for a balanced pitch to become Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in 2018 (though I had applied unsuccessfully in 2013, shades of 1989 again…). Much has been written by myself and others about my years at the Crown Prosecution Service from 2018 to 2023. Suffice to say, I echo the words of my predecessor but one, who said ‘being the DPP is the greatest job in criminal justice’. As he now occupies 10 Downing Street, it clearly worked for him…

Silks translating from chambers to City law firms remain a relatively new phenomenon, but there are many of us who have made the leap. As a law student, it was always my ambition to go to Bar school, never law school. But across a long career, I see no reason why barristers should not experience life in a firm, and there is much to recommend. Since February 2024, I have been Senior Counsel and Policy Advisor at King & Spalding International LLP, a long-established US law firm with a London office opened more than 20 years ago. I am one of four silks in the office (with Tom Sprange KC, Ruth Byrne KC and John Savage KC). We practise civil and commercial work; no crime. Clients are mostly corporate, some individual, and client-facing work is more prevalent and direct than at the Bar. With 19 global offices, there are boundless opportunities to advise multinational clients, for example, where their supply chains or finance routes touch England and Wales and they require regulatory, compliance and enforcement advice here. And when advisory or investigation work translates into litigation, I can and do go to the High Court to represent any client. The collegiate atmosphere in our Bishopsgate office is much the same as in the Temple, with associates and trainees in place of juniors and pupils, and a can-do teamwork attitude that feels familiar from my days in chambers.

One further flutter of spreading wings: I took out a dual practising certificate this year, and politely asked Red Lion Chambers for an associate tenancy, through which I conduct non-contentious advisory work for public authorities where that presents no conflict with my day job at King & Spalding. Alongside my charity work (I am proud to be Chair of the Drive Forward Foundation and Patron to The Vavengers), this mixed diet is envigorating and never dull. Thus far it has been a fulfilling return from public service to private legal practice, and I am looking forward to fruitful years ahead.

Progress report concluded. I have been immensely lucky in so many ways, but it all stems from early years plugging away in court, trying to become the competent advocate I dreamed about all those years ago. The Bar has been the foundation of my entire career, and it continues to sustain everything I do. So I am forever grateful.

The only odd thing is, I simply cannot remember what came after the starters at that dinner in June 1989…