Civil law involves relations between persons and organisations. It encompasses a very broad range of legal issues, including those related to contract, tort, probate and trusts. More specifically, civil law covers disputes that range from employment to professional negligence, and from education to property.

Despite coming from a family of solicitors, Hannah Wilson was keen to buck the trend by studying theology at university and heading for the Bar: "I was attracted to law as something that would engage my brain, and I thought that I would definitely enjoy being an advocate. I also liked the look of the lifestyle, the variety and not being chained to my desk." She then did a master's degree and took a year out before the GDL at City University - "an intense year, where you try to absorb as much as possible, pass the exams and keep your head above water" - and the BVC at the Inns of Court School of Law.

Hannah started her career at the Bar in earnest with pupillage at Henderson Chambers. She describes it as "tough, but really enjoyable. I felt that I learnt a lot more law during pupillage than I had on the GDL. I was also getting to grips with the practicalities of the job and the fact that addressing clients' concerns means more than simply establishing points of principle." She was taken on as a tenant in June 2006.

Hannah is now a civil and common law practitioner, which means that she does just about everything from personal injury and property (including landlord and tenant, residential and commercial) to commercial and contractual disputes. It's the variety that lured her to this part of the Bar, says Hannah: "It's characterised by the fact that chambers which are civil common law sets will have a diverse range of practice areas. For me, when I'd finished the GDL, I didn't really know precisely where I wanted to be and it seemed sensible to apply somewhere that had a range of practice areas that I could specialise in further down the line."

Hannah's day-to-day work is diverse in terms of both location and subject matter: "I'm probably in court two or three times a week, on a range of things - trials, applications, and interim hearings. They might be in the High Court or the county courts. And when I'm not in court, I'm working on my own papers, settling witness statements or advising in conference. A fair proportion of my practice is acting as a junior to various silks and senior juniors in chambers." She feels that's a good balance and offers the opportunity to keep learning: "Invariably, the bigger cases where you're led involve more law and there's more at stake, but you learn a lot in terms of tactics and approach, and it's good to be exposed to other people's written work."

Hannah is currently part of the team working on the high-profile Nuclear Test Veterans litigation. She explains what that's all about: "We've been instructed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in a case where the claimants were national servicemen stationed in the South Pacific and Australia in the 1950s, who claim they were irradiated during test detonations carried out by the MOD. We had a judgment in our favour in November 2010 that held that the claims were time barred, and that the discretion under Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980 shouldn't be exercised in favour of the claimants. They have applied for permission to appeal, so we're off to the Supreme Court next week, which is exciting." Hannah's role includes marshalling documents - "I'm on familiar terms with the photocopier!" - and preparing notes on discrete legal points for the more senior barristers involved.

Hannah also runs her own cases, with the most notable at the moment centring on a boundary dispute: "It all kicked off with the claimants applying for an injunction in the High Court. I got the instructions at the last minute, had an emergency conference with the client, drafted a skeleton argument in response to the other side's application and went to the court to resist the application. We ended up agreeing undertakings, but there will be ongoing litigation as to where the boundary actually lies."

While not strictly civil, a career highlight for Hannah was giving the closing jury speech to defend a client charged with corporate manslaughter: "It was very exciting and, even better, my client was acquitted." In terms of civil work, Hannah also had a pleasing result in a case involving a local authority and a company of bailiffs: "The bailiffs were claiming £500,000 in damages from the local authority for breach of contract. I advised the authority that the bailiffs didn't have a claim and it went to trial. I was led by a silk in chambers and we won. It was great because I'd provided the initial advice, and to see that vindicated at the end of a two-day trial in the High Court, with two silks acting for the parties, was pretty satisfying - not to mention a relief!"

While Hannah relishes the variety of her role and the drafting involved, the least enjoyable aspect is the "last-minute instructions that come in at 6:00pm for a 10:00am hearing the next day". But she says this is something that you get used to: "You just have to be sanguine about it and try not to mind."

Hannah stresses that thorough research is essential when it comes to applications and interviews - chambers want to see evidence of this in their prospective pupils. "One of the criteria by which we assess applicants is how well their interests and experiences correspond with what we do here in chambers. There is a huge - and noticeable - difference between those who know what we do and who we are, and those who try to bluff it. It's impressive when people know about one of our latest big cases or can talk with a degree of authority about our practice areas. Similarly, it's important to have done one or two mini-pupillages at a set of the sort to which you'll ultimately be applying; we occasionally get people who've only done them at criminal, family or shipping sets, and you do wonder why they're applying to a civil/common law chambers."

While debating and mooting are useful, Hannah agrees that benefit can also be derived from time spent volunteering at Citizens Advice, law centres, the Free Representation Unit or other pro bono projects: "I think that you develop your own style of advocacy over time, but giving your time in any of the above ways allows you to have contact with clients, which is so important. You're actually handling people, which is a significant proportion of what we do."

As Hannah finds life at the Bar "essentially what she thought it would be", she's pretty pleased with her choice of career.