Maya Lester is a barrister in her third year of tenancy at Brick Court Chambers. She specialises in public law, human rights, European law and competition law.

It is hard to describe the beginning of typical day in the life of a junior barrister because even the start time varies so much. As a barrister you are self-employed, and therefore (at least in theory) you are your own boss and you set your own timetable. There are times when deadlines leave me frantic and others when I can swan around the Temple meeting City friends for shots of caffeine. In that respect the Bar suits those who are terminally unemployable!

It is hard to generalise about the Bar since my lifestyle has little in common with my contemporaries with a more court-based life. My chambers has around 60 people, about a third of whom come through the CPE (as I did) rather than law degrees. Most of our days are spent drafting various forms of written advocacy or in conferences with solicitors who instruct us on large, sometimes high-profile cases, and usually in conjunction with a QC. This is broken up by court appearances in various county courts around the country, which fosters an intimate familiarity with the UK train network. Criminal or civil barristers spend far more time preparing for and attending court, whereas many of my days are not radically different from writing essays at University (including the last-minute essay crisis!)

The Bar suits those who enjoy variety, who do not mind responsibility and risk, and who flourish on a feeling of being out of one's depth.