The Henderson Chambers barrister finds inspiration in Transylvania & pays tribute to Lord Justice Mummery
Barrister Lucy McCormick recently became a tenant of Henderson Chambers.
What was your route into the profession?
I read History at Oxford before undertaking the law conversion. I had always intended to be a barrister, and did my first "mini-pupillage" while still at school. However, I thought a few years of studying a subject for its own sake would be a bit more fun than doing a law degree. It is a route I would recommend to anyone.
What has been your biggest career challenge so far?
On one occasion, I was briefed on a case after the hearing had already started. I put on my trainers, and took instructions on my mobile as I ran to court. I then burst into the court like a scene in a Richard Curtis film. The hearing actually went surprisingly well, although I realised afterwards that I had done the whole thing in my trainers as I hadn’t had a moment to switch back into my work shoes.
Which person within the legal profession inspires you most?
Lord Justice Mummery. I was his judicial assistant for six months in 2008, and it was an honour to work with him. He combines an intimidatingly incisive mind with absolute courtesy to everyone he encounters. Being formidable in employment law, tax, copyright, agricultural law and many other areas, he is a compelling example of the merits of not over-specialising. He also drummed into me the importance of keeping skeleton arguments short and to the point. It is a great loss to the legal profession that he was required to stand down in September 2013 due to arbitrary judicial age limits.
If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you choose as an alternate career?
It was always barrister or bust for me.
Who is your favourite fictional lawyer?
Jonathan Harker. He is willing to go the extra mile for clients—indeed, to Transylvania—but he won’t stand for any nonsense.
What change would you make to the profession?
The Bar has been around in more or less its present form since the 13th Century, and I wouldn’t presume to improve on it. However, I do think it would be helpful if the Bar did more to educate the public about what it is and what it does—many lay clients are still hazy about the different roles of barrister and solicitor.
How do you relax?
Wine tasting. I particularly enjoy blind tasting, and trained with the Oxford University competitive blind tasting team when I was a student. The wine world can be filled with a lot of posturing, but tasting blind trains you to see past all that and just focus on the characteristics of the wine. It is also very relaxing, as you have to empty your mind of everything but smell and taste to get anywhere with it.
To feature in Movers & Shakers in NLJ please contact newlaw.journal@lexisnexis.co.uk
.tmb-mov69x69.jpg?sfvrsn=6e6975ed_1)
