company insolvency pro bono scheme

Boris Young (BVS, City Law School)  interviews City Law School alumni Ben Evans about pupillage, his practice at Wilberforce Chambers and volunteering with the COIN scheme.

Please introduce yourself and where you currently practice.

My name is Benedict Evans and I am a first year tenant at Wilberforce Chambers.

What is the best part of your job?

This is a difficult question. If I had to pick one it would probably be the people. The members of my Chambers (and I suspect it is the same at other sets) are all very different individuals, however I find them all interesting. Everyone is extremely intelligent and enjoys thinking about law or pretty much any other subject. Being surrounded by so many interesting people with whom you can discuss cases and ideas makes for an extremely rich and enjoyable working environment.

Did you have any worries before pupillage which turned out to be unsubstantiated?

I thought the process might feel more like a 9-month assessment. Ultimately, you are being assessed but at Wilberforce it was clear that the preferred outcome is to take pupils on and that Chambers will do what it can to help you to meet the required standard. This meant that my pupillage felt more like a training period than an assessment.

What one piece of advice would you give law students interested in securing pupillage at the Commercial/Chancery Bar?

Follow your interests. Having a genuine interest in, and your own thoughts on, an area of law makes you a more interesting (and better) interview candidate. It also makes the whole process of applying for pupillage more enjoyable if you are developing your own interests along the way. Read widely (e.g. judgments and journal articles) and think (to yourself or with others) about the things you are reading.

What have you gained from working for the COIN scheme?

Experience of the Winding Up Court and of dealing with clients. The Winding Up Court is in many respects unusual, with specific vocabulary and, given the number of cases the Court hears in a short timescale, little tolerance for mistakes or slowness. Dealing with a number of different cases in the same morning was a great way to rapidly build experience. Client handling is a skill that is sometimes overlooked as a barrister but is valuable and can have a real impact on your desirability to solicitors. Dealing with a wide variety of clients in what can be a stressful environment represented a steep learning curve but was hugely valuable experience.

Lastly (but by no means least importantly), I felt that I was helping – both the clients and the court. The Winding Up Court is not a friendly or accessible environment to lay clients and the personal consequences of having your company wound up can be severe. I felt that my services made a real difference to the clients for whom I acted. It was also obvious that having competent representation significantly improves the efficiency of the Winding Up Court and the judges and opposing Counsel were generally grateful for the presence of a COIN representative.

What plans do you have to develop your practice in the next three years?

I am fortunate in that I enjoy all the areas of practice in which Wilberforce specialise and I have an exceptional clerking team with experience and a proven track record in practice development. I therefore largely intend to be guided by my clerking team when it comes to practice development. I hope to do a mixture of led work (which is great for learning from others) and unled work (I like running cases myself and appearing in court) and I am confident that if I maintain high standards and keep my personal interest in the law alive, then an abundance of opportunities await!

Who is your favourite fictional hero/ine?

I’m not sure. Perhaps Don Quixote? It might be a matter of opinion whether he is a hero but the sheer positivity he displays through all (perceived) adversity is in some ways inspiring and if not is at least amusing.

Where is your favourite place to have lunch around the Inns? (apart from hall)

I like the lawn behind Lincoln’s Inn hall. It has a good bank for sitting on which matters to me because my poor flexibility (something I’m working on) makes sitting on flat ground for extended periods of time unrelaxing. Only in summer though…