John Hobson is a barrister at Garden Court North Chambers in Manchester, a progressive set with a strong commitment to publicly funded work. John has enjoyed an interesting career path. He studied economics at the University of Sheffield, did a master’s at the London School of Economics and then lectured for several years. “In my working life, I progressively got more interested in the representation of people,” he says. “I was a trade union branch officer and later worked directly in the head office of the same union.” All this experience led to a realisation that he wanted to be a barrister, and one representing individuals at that.

During a broad-based pupillage split between two sets, John saw “all kinds of basic criminal cases – representing shoplifters who had been arrested in Oxford Street to representing people in the youth courts across London”. His pupillage also gave him the opportunity to do some civil work, which included representation in housing cases.

At eight years’ call, John now focuses mainly on housing and employment. He says: “The emphasis in the work I’ve been doing is representing people in proceedings brought by public authorities. It’s often about representing the individual against the state.” He regularly does full final hearings in housing and cases at the employment tribunal that may last anything from a couple of days to several weeks: “I’m continually busy because there’s work coming into chambers every day.”

A case with which John is currently involved concerns the pensions of part-time female workers. He says: “The case involves representing women who were shut out of pension schemes over many years because of their part-time status and we’re seeking remedy for them now. There are many claimants against many different private companies.”

A recent highlight of John’s career was representing a tenant against Manchester City Council in a high-profile case which involved a lot of media coverage for a number of reasons: “The case was about seeking to keep a mother and her children in her home, within the legal framework as it currently stands. It involved anti-social behaviour on the part of one of her three children. It wasn’t a long case but it went to the Court of Appeal. It was about representing a vulnerable client and her family against a determined local authority.”

Like most barristers, John find his daily work depends on whether he’s appearing in court. He says: “I could attend court in the morning for a trial that could be listed for a couple of days, or it might be a short application which sees you back in chambers in the afternoon. Then I might draft some paperwork or provide some advice to a solicitor over the phone.” On other days, he’ll work solely on papers in chambers but on occasion may be instructed to make an out-of-hours emergency application to the High Court by telephone. “This could involve a situation such as the provision of interim accommodation in a housing case where a substantive decision is to be challenged by way of judicial review.”

John discusses what he enjoys about the job: “I like the variety of the work and the opportunity to combine many different skills, such as research, written, negotiation and advocacy skills, and the ability to get on with people at all levels. You’re invariably drawing on those skills day in, day out whether you’re working in court or in chambers.” Many of the clients he works with are deeply vulnerable or facing situations such as eviction or a trial for breach of an injunction where the sanction may be imprisonment.

There are other skills essential to becoming a barrister. Commitment, hard work and thoroughness are key, says John: “I think that being thorough is important because if you miss something at first instance it may not be retrievable later on. And if you’re on a case, you need to be fully prepared. Also, you need an incisive and analytical mind that’s able to hone in on the important and salient points.” However, the hard work does include late nights and early mornings, which John says are the least favourite aspect of his job.

If you’re interested in civil work at the Bar, John advises the following: “Try and get as much exposure as possible to the life and work of a barrister – perhaps through mini-pupillages – to gain an insight into what’s involved. I shadowed barristers working in publicly funded work. It’s good experience to get the exposure in a safe environment like a mini-pupillage. I was definitely inspired by practitioners who were committed to their clients and who sought to secure the best possible outcome.”

Another area to consider is the cost of the career path. “There’s a lot of financial outlay involved,” warns John. “But I’d say don’t give up trying for as long as that’s realistic. Remember that it’s very competitive.”

Since becoming a barrister, John has realised that his chosen career path was the right one. He says: “It has met, and gone beyond, my expectations. I always hoped to get this particular job in this type of chambers but I hadn’t appreciated that I’d enjoy it as much as I do. It’s representing people with concerns regarding key areas of their life, like housing, family or employment. It’s also inspiring to be part of a chambers committed to the representation of people in such areas and to work alongside colleagues who are always seeking to develop the law.”

Finally, John notes: “There’s a lot of pressure on publicly funded work at the moment but there are still many committed people working within the field and, if that’s what you’re interested in doing, there are still the opportunities to work in that capacity.”