#RoundMyKitchenTable Exam Special: How Do You Revise And Apply For Jobs?

Taking a rare break from revising for his Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) exams, barrister-to-be Jack Smith travels east to join Legal Cheek editor Alex Aldridge and employment law whiz Kevin Poulter around a Hackney kitchen table (pictured).

“How do you get the balance right between studying and devoting sufficient time to pupillage applications?” Aldridge asks of Smith – who got a first in his law degree and is in receipt of a full scholarship from Lincoln’s Inn – while Poulter snoozes in the corner, nursing an appalling hangover after yet another night out on the town.

“Students these days, they have it so easy…” he mutters from time to time, before perking up at Aldridge’s mention of Camilla Duchess of Cornwall – one of a tiny handful of celebrities who Kevin (pictured with close pal Gok Wan) has yet to meet.

Is it right that Camilla was awarded the title of honorary barrister by Gray’s Inn on Wednesday? Aldridge thinks not (and blogging law student Little Explorer, who was at the ceremony to watch Camilla net her latest title, is similarly sceptical).

Harris and Poulter, however, are more sympathetic, likening the process to the awarding of honorary degrees. “Would you make people honorary doctors!?” demands an emotional Aldridge. But by this point Poulter is asleep and Smith safely on the 76 bus back to Lincoln’s Inn – where he gets to live as part of his scholarship.