Exploring Specialised Practice Areas

Thinking about pupillage and your future career in law can be overwhelming: Bar Course deadlines, drafting pupillage applications, and keeping up with legal developments, you may not have the time to research and ask about those “niche” areas of law that have piqued your interest. You may have thought, can I specialise in media law with little external experience in the sector? How much advocacy is involved in being an intellectual property barrister? What is the difference between environmental law and planning law?

This Qualifying Session is your time to ask these questions and find out more about these smaller, but equally important, areas of law. There will be barristers from multiple areas of law, they will each describe a “day in the life of” and how they came to specialise in it. There will be a reception after for you to mingle with the practitioners and your peers, refreshments will be provided.

Confirmed panelists 

• Sports Law - Nick De Marco KC
• Intellectual Property - Michael Tappin KC
• Environment and Planning - Suzanne Ornsby KC
• Construction - Thomas Saunders

More speakers are TBC.

Student members (including transferring lawyers) must attend all elements of the event in order to be awarded the Qualifying Session. This includes any lecture/talk/reception/dinner/speeches.

Members of the Inn only

Click here to see details of the QS Requirements and how to be credited with the QS for this session

Learning Aims

After this session, students should be able to:

• Describe the role and day-to-day of at least one new area of law.
• Identify ways to specialise in an area of law.
• Recognise the legal breadth of the Bar and the importance this plays in diversifying legal practice.

Links to the Professional Statement, wider workings of the Bar, administration of justice or a public interest matter

The QS will align with these elements of the professional statement:

• 4.11

Click here to view the BSB's Professional Statement

QS Feedback

If you have any feedback on a QS you have attended or have any suggestions for future sessions, please contact the education department on education@middletemple.org.uk

If you have questions about accessibility at the Inn or if you would like to request support, please email Laura Hacon.

The Inn is committed to improving access to all its services and encourages members to get in touch with suggestions and feedback on how we can improve. If you feel your experience using the website or attending one of our events could be improved, please email Laura. Your suggestions will be treated in the strictest confidence.