Barristers specialising in this area may appear before the European Court of Justice, the International Court of Justice, the World Trade Organisation, the European Court of Human Rights and other international and European tribunals. Matters that may be under dispute might include those relating to boundaries, the interpretation of treaties, state responsibility, international investment, the environment and human rights.

The prospect of a career in law first appeared on the horizon during Richard Blakeley's A-levels, as he enjoyed English and history and the associated need to reason from and analyse different sources. It was while at university that he settled on a move towards the Bar. "I decided fairly early on that's where I wanted to go," he says. "I did vacation schemes at Linklaters and Herbert Smith, and although I really enjoyed them and got a lot out of them, I didn't see myself doing the kind of transactional work that I was exposed to."

After a trip across the pond to Harvard Law School for his LLM, Richard returned to the United Kingdom to sit the BVC at BPP in London and then took up pupillage at Brick Court. It was here that he fell into his chosen area of commercial and competition EU law. "I had a real change of heart during pupillage, having always previously seen myself as a public lawyer - I'd taught public law at Cambridge and KCL while studying for the BVC," he explains. "So I arrived wanting to do primarily public with some EU law, and ended up wanting to do primarily commercial with some EU."

One of the advantages of joining a set of chambers such as Brick Court, suggests Richard, is that pupils and junior tenants are afforded a degree of flexibility to shape their practice. He explains: "The quality of the work we get across our three major areas - commercial, EU and public - is very high, so whichever area you decide to practise, you are exposed to some very interesting work and some very good clients from day one. This also means that we are interested in taking pupils who are interested in any of our areas," he says. "It's also perfectly possible to change your mind; chambers wants you to find out where you are most comfortable and where your strengths lie."

There is certainly no shortage in demand for lawyers skilled in the intricacies of the European legal system, as an increasing amount of legislation is laid down in Brussels. "EU law is getting broader and broader," Richard explains. "It reaches into absolutely everything that we do." He adds: "In respect of the work that we undertake, the basic split is between what you can call the ‘public Euro' side - for example, challenging the implementation or validity of European legislation (whether domestically, by way of reference to the Court of Justice in Luxembourg or by way of application to the General Court) - and the commercial and regulatory side of EU law practice, which also encompasses EU competition law. Indeed, the broad reach of EU law is one of the main attractions of the work, due to the large variety of subject matter to which you have to apply your knowledge and skills."

In his third full year of practice since landing a tenancy, Richard has seen a variety of EU cases, some with an international element: "I've acted in a number of EU law cases in the High Court, the Court of Appeal, the General Court and the Court of Justice. On the pure EU law side, I acted in the High Court on behalf of exporters trying to have contractual restrictions on exports lifted or declared incompatible with free movement principles. I was also led in the Court of Justice by one of Brick Court's silks, acting on behalf of a chemical company challenging one of the provisions of the Fuel Quality Directive. On the more international side, I'm acting in a number of cases on behalf of banks and individuals from Iran, as well as from the UK and Germany, who have been subjected to asset-freezing measures as part of the UN and EU anti-nuclear proliferation sanctions against Iran. These cases involve balancing the need to put the clients' case forward as forcibly and persuasively as possible, while also displaying sensitivity towards the international politics involved. We are awaiting a judgment from the Court of Justice in one of these cases and seven more are due to be heard by the General Court."

While the trips to Europe's highest forum definitely rank among the highlights of Richard's career to date, there have been other memorable cases. "I had two suits at the Court of Appeal in my first year or so of practice," he remembers. "One was a good win in National Navigation v Endesa, a case involving the Judgments Regulation. This was particularly satisfying, as it was a matter I had seen through from almost the beginning of my practice, so it was great to have it concluded and to come out on top in the Court of Appeal." On the competition side, he has just finished an "exhausting, but enjoyable" 10-week trial in the Competition Appeal Tribunal acting for the Premier League, and earlier in the year acted as junior counsel for two valet parking companies that successfully sued Heathrow Airport for abusing its dominant position. That experience was "particularly valuable because I was given the opportunity to do some of the advocacy and crossexamination. While I have learnt a huge amount from watching my leaders, it is important to put this into practice".

Of course, there are downsides to the area, although these are common to commercial law in general. "The work is hard and the hours can be lengthy, but the quality of the work more than makes up for this. Also, some of the interlocutory work can be a bit stop/start, which can be frustrating," Richard admits. "You get geared up to fight an injunction and are ready to go to court, and then the matter settles or the client gets cold feet. This can be frustrating when you think you've put together a good case. But the important thing is to do what is in the client's best interests."

In terms of the skills needed to succeed in EU and international law, Richard has no doubt as to what is most important. "First and foremost, we look for analytical ability when we're interviewing our candidates for mini-pupillage and pupillage; it's the intellectual rigour that sets apart the very best candidates from the next best, and testing this during the application process is particularly important, given that everyone who comes through the door has an impressive CV and a wide range of extracurricular activities. We have been fortunate to attract and take on some very good tenants in the years since I have been here. I believe that's a testament to the attitude that Brick Court takes to looking after its prospective pupils, its pupils and junior tenants, as well as to the quality of the work that they are exposed to."