Stockport Grammar School Governor and Old Stopfordian Nigel Booth (OS 1989) is set to release a new publication 'Life as a Junior Barrister In the Words of the Independent Bar'.

The book is being published by Routledge Law and will be available for purchase on 16th August 2022 in all leading bookstores and on Amazon.  Nigel has also kindly donated copies to the Stockport Grammar School library.

The book is an essential volume for all aspiring barristers offers guidance, insights and advice from new barristers from a diverse range of backgrounds and practice areas, shedding light on what life is really like for barristers at the independent Bar.

Each chapter is candid and honest about the reality of the Bar and how it measures against student expectations. There is only one Bar, but working in different practice areas brings different challenges. This book brings together new practitioners from across the disciplines, from crime to commercial, from family to employment law, and more, as they each discuss their workloads, the sorts of cases and tasks that they typically face and highlight the skills which need to be developed in the first couple of years. Practical tips around time-management and finance feature, as well as advice around key social and cultural issues. The concluding chapter by Jaime Hamilton QC discusses the transformations that the Bar has undergone and continues to go through.

Accessible and engaging, this invaluable resource is the perfect guide for anyone interested in exploring a career at the Bar. It will be an ideal companion to students of law at any level.

About Nigel Booth

Nigel is a Barrister and Programme and Student Experience Lead for the Bar Practice Course at the University of Law, covering the Manchester and Liverpool campuses.

Nigel was educated at Stockport Grammar School until 1989 before reading Law at Kings College London.  After beginning his career at the Crown Prosecution Service in the mid 1990s, Nigel practised at the independent Bar in Manchester for 20 years before taking up a position at the University of Law’s Manchester campus in September 2020 tutoring criminal litigation, evidence and sentencing to trainee barristers. Six months later he was appointed as the campus’s Programme and Student Experience Lead for the Bar Practice Course.

Nigel practised from St Buildings in Manchester for a considerable time. Now he is in Chambers at 9 St John Street where he retains his membership whilst at the University.

His practice at the Bar has mainly been in prosecuting and defending criminal cases, particularly those involving sexual allegations and many about incidents that occurred a long time ago. He encourages the use of intermediaries and other measures to assist complainants and witnesses (and defendants, for whom the availability of measures is more limited). Nigel has been involved in training barristers in new court techniques to help the vulnerable feel more at ease in court. In February 2018 he defended in a case where the both complainant and defendant benefited from help provided by intermediaries.

To find out more about Nigel's work visit his website here.

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