Barrister of the month: Jennifer Wright

Name: Jennifer Wright

Role:  Barrister, member of the Management Committee, and Diversity Data Officer.

Specialist in (areas of law): Police law, Public Law, Inquests and Inquiries, and Data Protection and Information Law. 

Based mainly: I live in London, but my work takes me everywhere.

Called to the Bar in: 2018

Joined 5 Essex Chambers in…

2019 as a pupil and 2020 as a tenant. I was lucky enough to secure a mini pupillage at 5 Essex in 2017 and was hooked from that moment on: the work was fascinating, everyone was lovely, and there were more successful women in one place than I had seen anywhere else at the Bar. These first impressions lasted and I still feel extremely lucky to be somewhere with both fantastic work and such a great team of barristers, clerks, and staff.   

Why did you decide to become a barrister? 

As a child I was always being told that I should be a lawyer because I was so argumentative. Being both argumentative and contrary, I decided to be a philosopher instead. I loved the intellectual challenge, logic, and arguing with my friends, but ten years in academia taught me that I needed something with a higher pace and scope for practical, as well as conceptual, problem solving. Shortly after handing in my doctorate, I had a pint with a friend who had left philosophy to go to the Bar who explained that it had all the best bits of philosophy along with a whole host of new challenges that kept life interesting. It was a hard choice to change direction after so long, but it was the best decision I ever made. I love the combination of the intellectual and the practical; the pace, variety, and collegiality; and the fact that there is always more to learn.

What are your career highlights?

It is difficult to beat the high of winning a hard case, particularly one with a lot of twists and turns, and winning my first jury trial was a wonderful feeling which will stay with me. It was a tricky case with a lot of unexpected hurdles but I had a fantastic client and so much advice, support, and encouragement from the barristers and clerks in Chambers that it really felt like a team win.

That said, the most consistently rewarding moments for me have come from the cases where I have learned the most and had opportunities to develop and apply new skills. Early in tenancy I was fortunate enough to be instructed as junior counsel to the inquest into the deaths arising from the Fishmongers’ Hall terrorist attack. It introduced me to the role of counsel to the inquest, which is a unique and fascinating one, and I learned so much from working with my leader, Jonathan Hough KC, and the senior junior, Aaron Moss. I have since been led by a lot of brilliant barristers including Samantha Leek KC in the Post Office Inquiry and Jonathan Dixey in both the Thirlwall Inquiry and the Brook House Inquiry. Being led provides incredible opportunities to build your skills and knowledge by working with more experienced barristers but also, by seeing different ways of doing the job, to reflect on what kind of a barrister you are and what kind you want to be.

Tell us about a sliding doors moment when your career could have gone in an entirely different direction?

As a child and teenager I was obsessed with football and played for Ipswich Town Women’s Football Club and Colchester United’s Centre of Excellence for many years. Aged 17 I decided to focus on my studies, although I still enjoy kicking a ball around the park. It has been wonderful to see how the women’s game has developed but, given the level of talent on show these days, I suspect I made the right decision!

What advice would you give to someone who wants to do the job you do?

Be kind and maintain a sense of perspective. Kindness is an underrated skill at the Bar but, at its heart, speaks to an ability to put yourself in another’s shoes and work collaboratively, be that with your clients, opponents, leaders, court staff, or judges. You can represent your client’s best interests fiercely while still being friendly, polite, and empathetic and some of the best barristers I have ever met are also some of the nicest.

It is also vital to try and maintain a sense of perspective. Legal training involves honing your ability to anticipate the many and varied ways that any given course of action can go wrong, which is a helpful skill when advising a client but incredibly unhelpful if you apply it to every aspect of your life. Not everything is as important as everything else and capacity is finite, so decide where you are going to focus your effort and learn how to switch off when you need to. For me, climbing is the ultimate way to switch off: it is hard to worry about work when you’re hanging off a cliff. Find out what works for you and allow yourself the time to do it, you will be a better and happier lawyer if you do.

What’s your most vivid memory from being a pupil?

I really enjoyed my pupillage, which was essentially a succession of vivid moments. There were lots of firsts that stand out: the first time it dawned on me that I was the person in charge was a big one. As no amount of mooting or shadowing can quite prepare you for how that feels, I was intensely relieved to find out that I enjoyed it! I also have strangely fond memories of the first time an opponent tried to throw me off with robing room banter: he was much more experienced than I was but, once I realised what he was trying to do, it triggered in me what I can only describe as a burning desire to win. This completely distracted me from any nerves I might otherwise have felt and so, in a odd way, I was quite grateful to him. Less enjoyable was the first time a witness went completely off piste while giving evidence, although this was excellent training in the art of holding a poker face and learning to accept the things you cannot control, both of which are fundamental skills for any barrister.

What others say about Jennifer:

“Jennifer is a very quick study with a very practical view of how to manage and run major inquiries. She has a phenomenal attention to detail and rigour when preparing documents.” (Chambers and Partners)

“Jennifer Wright is a real rising star; she is very good.” (Chambers and Partners)

“Jennifer’s client service level is always brilliant.” (Chambers and Partners)