The Shakespeares lawyer who trod the boards for the Leicester stand-up comedy challenge

The legal profession has a rather unfair reputation for a lack of humour. During the last two hearings I have attended in the High Court, I have laughed out loud at some point thanks to amusing comments from counsel and even the judge. Although that situation is far removed from making paying members of the public laugh out loud at a comedy night, that is exactly what I was recently tasked with doing.

My employer, Shakespeares, is sponsoring Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival for the fourth year running. The festival, which takes place annually in Leicester, celebrates its 21st birthday in 2014 and continues to grow, with over 600 events at scheduled for this year. I was asked to take part in the inaugural Leicestershire Stand-Up Challenge. This involved being one of seven 'novices' who each volunteered to perform a five minute stand-up routine at the Y Theatre in Leicester. I jumped at the chance to get involved in the challenge to raise some money for the festival's charity, The Big Difference Company, to hopefully prove that lawyers can be funny and, importantly, to massively step out of my comfort zone.

Fortunately, we received training from a professional stand-up comedian before taking to the stage. You really do not appreciate how much work and preparation goes into just five minutes of material - fair play to those who actually make a living from this. The whole experience was really enjoyable and the buzz of being on stage and actually making people laugh made for a great night. The feedback from everyone I have spoken to (even my other half, who was sceptical when I told her what I was planning on doing), was extremely positive and made it all worthwhile. In fact, the event was so well received that the organisers are going to make it an annual warm-up event for the festival. Although I have no plans to give up the law and pursue an alternative career in stand-up, hopefully I have proved that lawyers can be funny. If nothing else, it is a one-night stand that I will not forget!

Brian Fowler is a solicitor at Shakespeares Legal LLP.