Like many young hopefuls, Thomas Connelly and Nathan Akhavan-Moossavi both found themselves drawn to the Bar. Connelly, who is an editorial assistant at Legal Cheek, has gone furthest towards realising the dream, completing the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) and working as a county court advocate. Meanwhile, law and German graduate Akhavan-Moossavi, who will shortly be starting an LLM, spent much of his time as an undergraduate at Sheffield University contemplating a career as a barrister. But, as leading members of the legal profession forecast a sharp decline in the number of barristers over the coming years, both are now considering alternative careers.
Such indecision doesn’t impress Legal Cheek‘s hard-headed podcast host Kevin Poulter, who has little time for those who take meandering paths into employment, having himself known that he wanted to be a solicitor from childhood and then simply set about achieving his goal. Poulter now combines his day job as an employment lawyer at Bircham Dyson Bell with a burgeoning media career. The ensuing interrogation which he submits Connelly and Akhavan-Moossavi to makes for compelling listening.
Happily, amid the occasional moment of discomfort, some interesting ideas emerge. Connelly’s knowledge of the legal market and enthusiasm for social media have led him to consider a career as a legal journalist. Akhavan-Moossavi’s love for languages is also opening up options, and would seem to make him a good candidate for a training contract at a City law firm.
But would he fit in to the sometimes staid world of Biglaw? And is Connelly, who finished the BPTC a year ago, right to look at other options after coming close to gaining pupillage on a number of occasions? Judge for yourself by listening to the podcast below.
This podcast is also available on iTunes.