At the criminal law Bar you may be called on to act for either the defence or the prosecution. Specialist criminal law chambers offer expertise in all areas, including child abuse, drug-related offences, fraud, human rights, mental illness, violent and sexual crime, and white-collar crime. As might be expected, criminal barristers spend more time in court than those in almost any other sector of the Bar.

The international aspect of criminal law includes human rights, terrorism, war crimes, serious fraud, organised crime, drug trafficking and money laundering. Practitioners in international criminal law regularly appear before foreign tribunals and international courts.

William Eaglestone is a barrister at 23 Essex Street. Having originally studied history at Oxford, it was only after a four-year break from education that he returned to university to undertake a postgraduate degree in law at City University. During his break from the books William undertook some crime-related legal work experience, which focused his interest in this particular area of the law.

"At that stage, I did not have a clear picture of which direction my career would take. I remember it was difficult to choose between becoming a barrister or a solicitor. I knew that I was interested in crime and at the time I applied, I felt that I would prefer dealing with arguments and cases in court, rather than the more behind-the-scenes work that I assumed a solicitor would do. However, today solicitors increasingly do their own advocacy, so the distinctions are much more blurred."

After completing the BVC at the Inns of Court School of Law, William began a 12-month pupillage with a criminal chambers and describes the first six months as very challenging. "Pupillage itself can be a nightmare," William reveals, "but it is a means to an end. The idea is that your pupil supervisor has a duty to teach you the job as you go along. You follow them and try and learn in a much more practical and useful way than you would have done on your BVC."

Pupillage provides an opportunity both to learn and, critically, to create a good impression within chambers. " You go to court with your supervisor when they go to court. You help them with any paperwork they may need help with and volunteer to help others. It could be photocopying; it could be a case summary. You may also find that you are asked to complete more menial tasks, such as going to the Old Bailey to fetch your pupil master's wig, as I was, but that sort of thing shouldn't really happen! The key thing to remember is that most chambers will ask their pupils to compile a folder of work they've done over their pupillage when they come to apply for tenancy. You need to get as much good work in that folder as possible."

William's second six was markedly different and a lot more edifying for a young, ambitious pupil. "Once you are doing your own work, things can become a lot more interesting because you're going to court on your own now and managing your own cases."

At this point you get your first real flavour of your role as a barrister, and while you may spend the majority of time in the courts, this is not all spent at trials. William elaborates: "A lot of court hearings would seem to a layman to be a waste of time, although they are of course very important to the defendant or the prosecution, or to court management. There are an awful lot of administrative hearings to do - such as getting dates for a trial, setting timetables, getting an order requesting a copy of a certain document from the prosecution or applying for legal aid." As is the case for a significant proportion of pupils, William was not offered tenancy with his first set of chambers and completed two ‘third six' pupillages, becoming what is known as a ‘squatter'. "Basically, you have to start again in another set of chambers. You can feel a bit like a pinball, getting bashed about the place until you find a home."

Ultimately William was offered a tenancy at 23 Essex Street, which has a formidable reputation for crime, fraud and a range of regulatory and disciplinary matters. He explains that the majority of his practice falls under what is commonly called ‘knockabout crime'. These are generally fairly short trials, usually less than a week long, and include shoplifting, burglary, pub fights, dangerous driving, minor fraud, the possession of offensive weapons and selling drugs. While the offences may not make the headlines on the evening news, William is acutely aware that they are extremely significant to the people involved. "For someone who's never been in trouble, a conviction for even the most minor offence can be devastating," he observes.

William confirms that as a criminal barrister you should expect the unexpected. "My movements and workload very much depend on whether I am doing a trial or not, and whether I am defending or prosecuting. I go all over the Southeast and go to court virtually every day. You never really know what you will be doing or where you will be going until the night before. There is almost always an early morning rush to a train with a case full of files and books."

For those interested in pursuing this line of work, William offers some sensible advice as well as sounding a note of caution: "There is no hurry. It's a profession for life, it's hard work and the rewards can be a long time coming. It is vital to realise that publicly funded law (which almost all crime is) pays far less than its commercial and private cousins. The best thing to do is to get as much relevant work experience as possible. This will allow you to find out if you really want to get involved in crime."

He concedes that while there may be highs and lows, he has been well and truly bitten by the criminal law bug. "The uncertainty of regular work and income can be stressful, and is also quite difficult for my wife", he jokes. "However, I must admit that I love the independence, the responsibility and the challenge of being in court. It is also great not having a boss and not working in an office, with all the office politics and so on that that involves. And obviously when you are in court, you have the ultimate responsibility and you make the decisions. In a lot of ways, the buck stops with you. That is very rewarding."