Personal injury (PI) law deals with compensation for accidents and diseases. This area of law is flourishing in light of the recognition of new types of physical and mental illness. The subject matter varies considerably and can range from controversial, high-profile disaster cases through road traffic accidents, to health and safety cases involving what one lawyer describes as "trippers, slippers and whiplash".

Many people are attracted to the Bar by the theatrics associated with the career and Lois Aldred was no exception. She explains: "On a superficial level, I was drawn to the profession because I liked the idea of performing. Being in court as the spokesperson for your client seemed in some ways similar to performing; as a child I played musical instruments and remembered the buzz I got from doing it. If I'd been a solicitor, although I would have enjoyed some aspects of the job, I think I'd have been frustrated sitting in court with counsel presenting the arguments for me." Later on, it was the intellectual challenge - getting to grips with the legal issues and analysing a case - that cemented her commitment to the career.

Lois is still at the very junior end of the Bar, having just completed her pupillage and become a tenant at 12 King's Bench Walk in 2010. Her year as a pupil was ultimately an enjoyable experience, but it proved a tough challenge. "It was a steep learning curve," she admits. "The BVC prepares you adequately for pupillage but there's a lot you learn that the course doesn't teach you. I think it might be more helpful if the course included some days in chambers, because on-the-job training would put what you learn into context and make it much more realistic."

Some barristers end up specialising in their field by accident, but with Lois it was down to careful forward planning. She enjoyed PI work during mini-pupillages - so much so that when applying for pupillage, she sought out chambers that handled a high volume of this type of work. As an area of practice, PI covers road traffic accidents, accidents at work, industrial diseases and product liability; the work can also be diverse because of the way that PI interlinks with other satellite areas (eg, contract law).

For at least the first 10 years of practice, PI is likely to be heavy on the advocacy, as Lois explains: "As a junior tenant, you'll be in court a lot for applications, interim hearings and trials - at the moment I'm in court four or five days a week. On top of that, you'll have paperwork to complete - opinions, advice and pleadings." As you become more senior, you'll spend less time in court, which makes life less hectic in terms of travel, and larger cases tend to benefit from earlier, more hands-on input from a barrister. "When you're in court constantly, you see cases for only a short period of time," says Lois. "You might pick up a case for the first time at 6:00pm on a Monday, present it in court the following day and never deal with the matter again."

Being in and out of court all the time can also be physically challenging - especially because Lois's set handles cases all over the country: "One day I could be in Liverpool, the next in Plymouth. There is a lot of travelling - you have to get used to the rail networks and get some good books to read on the way!" And then there's the waiting, which can be frustrating: "Barristers will often have to hang around with clients for hours outside court because of the way the listing system works. It's one of the occupational hazards that I really don't enjoy."

All this unpredictability makes organising a social life difficult. Lois describes the reality: "One day you might expect to be busy with work, so don't make any plans, only to find that you having nothing to do when your case settles early. Another day you could expect an evening off and make plans, only to have to cancel them because something's cropped up at the last minute. To do this job, you (and your friends) have to be pretty flexible."

Although there are ups and downs, as with any job, Lois loves what she does: "Despite some parts of the job being less enjoyable than others, I know I'm in the right career - there really is nothing else I want to do." One aspect she finds incredibly satisfying is being able to turn a losing case around: "Not infrequently, you have to argue cases that are weak. It's a really good feeling when you're preparing a case that doesn't seem very strong at the outset, but something comes out in the evidence or you find something unexpected that turns your weak case into a strong one."

To be a good PI barrister you need a range of skills, from the ability to assimilate information at high speed to persuasive communication skills in court, on paper and with lay clients. "On top of that, you have to be someone who can make decisions independently," warns Lois. "Sometimes it can be quite lonely in that, as a barrister, you are asked your opinion as a consultant and you have to take a view - to do that you need confidence in your ability to make good decisions." If you think you meet those criteria, one of the best ways to find out whether PI is for you is to notch up a few minipupillages. "I don't think you can get a feel for an area until you've gone along to court with barristers and seen the work that they do," says Lois. "Only by experiencing a range of areas can you properly compare them."

In terms of impressing at pupillage interviews, up-to-date knowledge of changes in the profession is vital. "A key issue that's going to affect PI barristers in the future is the funding changes being proposed by the Jackson Reforms," reveals Lois. "Although the effect of the reforms is not yet fully known, it's possible that they will result in less PI work for barristers, because fewer people will be able to afford litigation." More generally, the entire legal landscape is likely to change in the wake of the Legal Services Act: "Over the years there has been an increase in the amount of work done inhouse by solicitors and there's probably going to be a lot more of that as the professions merge. Barristers and solicitors are going to have to adapt to new business models, changing the way they offer their services in line with client demands."