Thursday dawned and I had my most promising instructions yet! Make sure I am at the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand by 9.30. Brilliant! The weird thing was, this was the first day that I actually knew exactly where I was going! On arriving into Waterloo, I felt like I belonged there! It was a good feeling!

So a quick hop on the tube from Waterloo to Enbankment and then Enbankment to Temple, I walked through the inns of court. Now, if you have never been to the temple, DEFINITELY go!! I never get over how amazing it is that in the middle of central London, with traffic everywhere, people running around like headless chickens, there is a this place that is so quiet, and so beautiful. All of the buildings are so old, and so elegant! And there's always barristers strutting around with their robes billowing out behind them, real Harry Potter stuff!

Anyway, I arrived at the RCJ and had a look at the lists which are put up on a board in the main hall, the main hall is HUGE...I really cant tell you how impressive it is! I made my way to the right court and joined the other barristers that were gathering ready for their cases. All of the appeal hearings for that day were scheduled for 10.30, so I waited, and waited, and waited...it got to 10.20 and my barrister appeared, after swift introductions we went into court and sat there for about an hour whilst their Lordships considered the first case. At 11.10 the next case began, and the chairman of the bench (head judge) (Remember, there are 3 judges that sit in each hearing) helpfully suggested that our case would not be heard until 2pm. So my barrister and I headed back to chambers. Now, barristers chambers always fascinate me...no corporate offices, no cubicles, the best way to describe them, certainly a lot of them, is that they are like houses. With a clerks room, and a reception, and then countless rooms that are shared by perhaps 2 or 3 barristers at a time, and these rooms, are chaotic! Stuff, piles of stuff, boxes, files, papers, pink ribbon, boxes of cereal, spoons, empty mugs, wigs, gowns, and other assorted stuff, fascinating places!!

The two hour break gave me a unique chance to sit and have a proper chat with the barrister who I was assigned to, we chatted about uni, stuff like mooting, competitions, pupillage and the best way to get considered for it, interview tips, chambers I should and shouldn't look at, all kinds of stuff! Really useful advice! But anyway. Back to the RCJ we went after a brief stop for lunch, and our hearing was called at smack on 2pm. 2 hours later and I experienced one of the hardest moments of my life so far.

We lost the appeal, which meant that the gentleman we were representing, was still guilty of a crime that both his barrister and me are 99% sure he didn't commit, and worse, he is now being deported back to Albania, even though he has lived in the UK for over 15 years! I'd always heard about how its hard to lose a case, but I never expected it to hit so hard. Even though I know that counsel had done all she could for him, there was nothing more that could be done, its an awful feeling. When the chairman of the bench said this sentence: "And so, the conviction is upheld and the appeal is dismissed." Our client didn't say anything, he simply sat there and cried silently. Its a chilling thing to see a grown man reduced to a state like that, however I have been reassured that whilst it doesnt ever get any easier, it inspires you as a barrister to work even harder to get the best result for your client. A very interesting but very real insight into life at the bar today I think.

Another swift visit to chambers in the evening saw an interesting chat with the clerks about what chambers expect of a pupil at 1 Pump Court, and a slightly less interesting chat about vuvuzelas and the football world cup, still...the experience enhanced my skill of making pleasant small talk!

It felt like a very long train home that evening, and I still couldn't get the image of our client, broken, on the floor, out of my head. However, I have been assured it gets easier after a while. I sure hope so!

So I apologise that a) this entry is late and b) there isnt too much in it, but it was rather a hard day, and I needed to get my head around it before I wrote about it, I might add to today's account a bit later on today, but we shall see. Only one day left now! And off to Dorking Magistrates Court, where the United Kingdom Immigration and Asylum Appeal Court sits. Sounds good!