We Need Your Help!

The education and training provided by The Inner Temple would not be possible without the support and commitment of members, who give up their time to support a wide range of activities including outreach, scholarships, qualifying sessions and training for pupils and barristers.

This year, we asked some of our most dedicated members to share their experiences of volunteering with us. If you are interested in hearing more about volunteering opportunities, please visit our website: innertemple.org.uk/membership-services-support/volunteering-opportunities

Ashley Lord
Spire Barristers

I have been volunteering with the Inn for around two years. It’s great to see how students develop and grow in confidence, even over the short space of a weekend, and to know that the time you have invested has helped them in that regard. I would encourage anybody thinking about volunteering to take the plunge and get involved, you won’t regret it!

Master Baldip Singh Aulak
No5 Chambers

When I came to the Bar, I rarely saw people who looked like me or shared my background. That absence made a lasting impression and a clear decision: I would do what I could to change that. Volunteering with the Inn for over a decade has allowed me to help open doors for others, promote equality, diversity and inclusion, and ensure the Bar better reflects the society it serves. It’s about making space, holding it open and inviting others in, because the Inn has space for all.

I’ve had the privilege of volunteering in a variety of ways, through outreach events on circuit, interviewing scholarship candidates, training Bar students and later, pupils. But nothing compares to the moment when a Barrister comes up to say, “You trained me at the advocacy weekend when I was a student/pupil.” Watching someone progress from tentative beginnings to tenancy and knowing you played a small part in their journey is incredibly rewarding. It’s those moments that remind me why we give our time: to light the way for others.

Richard Beynon
Red Lion Chambers

Brought up in a mining community in South Wales, with no legal connections, I have never forgotten the kindness, wisdom and encouraging warmth of the late Sir Henry Brooke CMG, who called me to the Bar, and I never will. Not that I could ever replicate his qualities, but in volunteering and giving back to the Inn, I hope I continue to reflect even a small element of them. It is incredibly fulfilling, rewarding and a privilege to encourage, teach, advise and support those who aspire to follow a similar path into the profession as I did.

Master Sophie Cartwright KC
Deans Court Chambers

It is a huge privilege to volunteer through the various schemes run by the Inn. Having been a grateful recipient of an Inner bursary back in the 1990s, I appreciate first-hand the access to a career at the Bar which The Inner Temple facilitates. On many occasions, students ask questions which reveal that there is still a common misconception that the Bar is not a profession for all. For that reason alone, I feel lucky to participate and provide my personal views and experience when this question is asked. You truly do get out of Inn volunteering as much as you
put in.

Master Paul Infield
The 36 Group

Volunteering for the Inn is not just about giving something back to the profession, it’s also great fun. The student events enable me to teach them professional skills, but they also enable me to learn how people coming to the Bar now feel, the opportunities they have and the difficulties they face. That enriches my life and helps me in my professional outlook.

Andrew Day
St Ives Chambers

I have been volunteering with the Inn in a variety of ways for a number of years now and all have their own different rewards, but this year delivered a real highlight for me as a mentor: I spent a number of months working with three mentees, two of whom were taking the BTC and one of whom had recently completed it. All three were successful in securing pupillage! It is so gratifying to watch such talented newcomers taking their first steps in the profession and I really look forward to seeing their careers flourish in the years to come.

Master Ian Dove

Just about a year ago I was persuaded by Master Jill Frances to have a go at training to be an advocacy trainer for the Inn. I am so pleased that I took the chance to get involved in helping this really important work. The training course was excellent. We were given plenty of briefing material prior to the course and the experienced practitioners training us could not have been more supportive and helpful. The friendly and collegiate approach of the trainers has been the hallmark of all the events I have attended. Having passed the course, I have really enjoyed working with students and trying to help them hone their skills as an advocate. But the real reward of this work is watching students grow in confidence and their skills develop as a result of their participation in the training events.

Simon Atkinson
Wilberforce Chambers

My favourite moments volunteering for the Inn include advocacy training at Wotton House with pupils.  Working with some exceptional young barristers always leaves me feeling confident about the future of the Bar.  (It also helps me immensely with my own advocacy; there is so much one can learn from the next generation of advocates!)  Working with PASS scholars is also hugely rewarding.  The Bar is at its strongest when it attracts the most talented people.
To do that, the Bar must be accessible to all, irrespective of background and financial means.

Master Jennie Oborne
Deka Chambers

I became an advocacy trainer in 2014, at seven years Call. Inspired by own experience of advocacy training at the Keble Advanced Advocacy Course I was looking for a way to become more involved with the Inn. Since then, I have volunteered on more than thirty residential weekends and taught in numerous jurisdictions all over the world. Advocacy training has given me far more than I could ever hope to give back.

• Teaching is a joy. Over the course of an advocacy training weekend we see huge improvement in the performance of the pupils and new practitioners. There is great satisfaction in seeing the next generation of advocates gain skill and confidence.
• It improves your own advocacy. If you are in court with an advocacy trainer, the chances are they are silently reviewing you (and themselves). Training teaches you to think critically about oral and written advocacy: what works, what doesn’t, and why.
• It provides international opportunities. I have trained advocates in Turkey, Kenya, Rwanda, Jersey and at the International Criminal Court. There are also opportunities to train in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, America and South Africa. Advocacy training is truly international.
• You are part of the advocacy training community. Through advocacy training, I have made friends from all practice areas, among the judiciary and in the Inn’s E&T department. Their support and encouragement and has been invaluable as I have progressed through the ups and downs of life at the Bar.

District Judge Deborah Dinan-Hayward

Volunteering gives me the chance to support junior barristers and students who are just starting out. Helping others gain confidence and seeing them improve over a week-end of advocacy training is extremely rewarding. It reminds me how lucky I am to have been part of this profession. Sharing my experiences and answering questions from young people also allows me to reflect on my own journey and career choices. It also keeps me connected with others at the Inn. Volunteering is important because it helps the Bar become more diverse and accessible and ensures future barristers better represent the clients they serve. I would like to think that my time and advice can encourage someone else, even years later, which makes it worthwhile.