Meeno Kaur Chawla | Barrister, 5 St Andrew's Hill

When alumna Meeno Chawla set her sights on a career in law she knew she faced several challenges, but she didn’t let that stop her pursuing her legal career ambitions. Her commitment and dedication paid off - she’s now a barrister with 5 St Andrew’s Hill. We chat to Meeno about her legal journey, the work she undertakes and the advice she would give law students keen to follow a career in law.

In 1995, I came to England as an asylum seeker from Afghanistan after my family left due to the Civil War in 1989. I knew from an early age I wanted to join a profession where I could help people and found law to be an interesting subject. Initially I wanted to become a solicitor but felt more attracted to advocacy as I wanted to use the voice to engage in work that has a direct impact on the lives of others. I knew getting to the Bar was going to be difficult; I am from a non-traditional background, I went to a non-Russell Group university, and I did not know anyone in this profession.

I set out to pursue a career as a barrister knowing it may not work out, but my heart was set on this. I decided to get a better understanding of what a barrister does by doing work experience and mini pupillages. I then started a job at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as a paralegal based at court. Through this role I was able to observe counsel and help them prepare for their cases. I was also exposed to the pressures and pitfalls of real-life legal practice. I studied the Bar Professional Training Course (now the Bar Practice Course) part-time alongside work and was called to the Bar in 2019. I was offered pupillage with 5 St Andrew’s Hill (5SAH) and began in October 2022.

My practice areas involve crime, extradition and family law, and I do a range of work involving prosecuting and defending. I believe doing both makes me an effective advocate as I can understand both perspectives.

My diary is run by my clerks who organise my hearings. I’m in court almost every day and go to courts both in and out of London. My work takes me to Magistrates Court, Crown Court and the High Court where I deal with a variety of hearings including plea and trial preparation hearings, trials, sentences, appeals and much more. It often involves travelling for long hours, meeting clients at court for the first time and advising them, so it's important to be on top of your paperwork and prepared as best as possible.

There are times I’m instructed to deal with hearings last minute, which can cause anxiety and means spending your evenings or weekends preparing. You’ll often work long hours and being self-employed means it can be hard to switch off, which can be difficult to balance with your personal life. This is why it’s key to have good time management.

As a barrister you’re working in a high-pressured environment and making important decisions on a daily basis. Your client relies on you to be their voice in court. To be a successful barrister I believe you should possess some of the following skills:

• People skills
• Attention to detail
• Ability to analyse large amounts of information
• Strong advocacy skills
• Academic ability
• Sensible judgement
• Perseverance
• Determination

The best moment of my career so far is getting tenancy at 5SAH as I come from the Afghan Sikh community where women did not have the opportunities that I have today. This is truly a proud moment, not just for me but for my community. I can see myself developing as an advocate, I used to sit behind counsel and observe them and often think, “I will use that when I am a barrister”. Now I sit in counsel’s row, and utilise my legal skills to help people.

I chose The University of Law because of its reputation, its success rate and the courses they offered. I was always impressed by the alumni who attended the University, the statistics show higher pass rates and a majority of the students got pupillage within five years. Also, I was looking to study the Bar course part-time and was impressed that they had weekend courses, which meant I was able to manage my full-time job with the Bar course.  

I found the University focused on those key skills required to become a barrister. From the moment you enter your class, you are trained to think like a lawyer and by doing this from the outset you can apply this to practical life situations. In my classes, the real focus was advocacy, which meant I was developing a crucial skill used in my practice. My lecturers were all legal practitioners who gave us an insight into the profession and taught beyond the textbooks. There was also great investment in preparing me for the pupillage process by Anna Williams in the Employability Service. She really did set me up for success by helping me throughout the application to interview process.

I applied for pupillage through the Pupillage Gateway system and was invited for a first round interview, which involved questions about my application and an advocacy exercise. I was successful and offered a second-round interview, which also included an advocacy exercise. The 5SAH interview process was friendly, comfortable and constructive. The panel were amazing; they made me feel calm and, after the advocacy exercise, they gave constructive feedback, which meant I left the interview knowing how I needed to improve so I could use this in the future. This is what made Chambers unique, their interview process reassured me they were the right fit.

If you want to get pupillage with 5SAH, I would suggest a mini pupillage because that will give you a real insight into Chambers. Also, through your application and interview, remember to be yourself. Tailor your answers to show the panel your interest in Chambers and their practice areas. Use examples to support your answers. Examples don’t necessarily have to be from legal work experience, they can be non-legal too but still demonstrate those key skills required to become a barrister. Lastly, show Chambers your personality, they want to see you have a life outside of the law.

If you’re a law student looking to network and break into the industry I’d suggest the following:

• Attend events - you never know who you will meet and what opportunities will present themselves
• Be confident in your approach. Don’t ask questions or make points for the sake of it
• Follow up afterwards - don’t say you will and then leave it. Professionals aren’t obligated to help, but if someone wants to offer their time, be appreciative of this.
• Don’t take life too seriously, be patient, have faith in yourself and trust the process. Learn to embrace every experience.
• Lastly, rejection is redirection.

I chose a career in law as both my family and I have personally experienced being in a position of vulnerability and disempowerment. Initially, I used to think I needed to behave differently or speak in a certain way to become a barrister, but I soon realised that I just needed to be myself. When I began speaking to legal professionals, I found they were interested in my background, which I hadn’t realised was my strength. I met Jeremy Dein KC through a mini pupillage, and he encouraged me to write an article on my journey to the Bar setting out my background. The positive response to the article made me realise it is always important to be you, be proud of your roots and to remember this is your asset.

I often get involved in opportunities where I can help those wishing to pursue a career at the Bar and help them develop their skills. For example, I am the Master of Moots with Sikhs in Law, who run the annual ‘Sir Mota Singh Moot’ competition. This is an essential skill that can help you develop your advocacy skills.

I suffer from imposter syndrome every day. I often think I don’t deserve to be here, or I’m not good enough. I try to work hard on my cases, focus on those little wins to keep myself going and learn something every day. However, you must remind yourself you do deserve to be here. Representation does matter so if you want to do this, go for it. Go in doing your research and understand what this profession entails. Don’t let those inner thoughts stop you.

By Grant Longstaff. Published 14 January 2025.