Lauren Bates-Brownsword - 2023 Inner Temple

I am incredibly grateful to receive the Bernard Sunley Award. 

I initially did not study law at university, I therefore completed the GDL (law conversion course) in 2019 at Oxford Brookes University. There I met amazing mentors and teachers who encouraged me to pursue the criminal bar. During the GDL I competed in a number of moots including winning the Essex Court Chambers National Moot. The following year I won the Inner Temple Lawson Moot. 

I went on to work as a paralegal for a criminal law firm in Oxford. To fund my further legal studies I also worked as a deputy housemistress at a boarding school whilst commuting during the day to London to complete Bar School. I have now completed an 18-month pupillage and I am excited to see where my career at the Bar next takes me. 

In my view, being a criminal barrister is truly a privilege. Representing people and helping them tell their stories is a job like no other.