Having had an extremely unorthodox and varied career, I decided to retrain as a barrister and completed my legal studies in four years of intensive part time study while successfully managing a busy London pub. Having commenced pupillage in September 2019, I am about to commence my second six and be in a position to take instructions. My aim is to build a barrister practice which best utilises my diverse experiences, ideally specialising in criminal law, licensing (particularly in relation to premises) regulatory crime, and possibly prison law. My previous role at the PPO honed both my investigative skills, and my ability to produce high quality reports for publication to a tight deadline; it also provided me with a direct insight into the mindset of prisoners and prison culture. As a Crown court clerk prior to that, I gained a unique insight into the workings and procedures of a criminal proceedings, which few junior barristers will have benefited from.In my many years as a pub manager, I forged a formidable reputation for troubleshooting pubs with extreme problems, both in terms of violence and disorder and poor profit performance. I was always exceptionally successful in both aspects, and learnt many lessons at the coal face, which enable me to understand the issues facing licensees. These experiences have also enabled me to understand people from a wide variety of backgrounds, as well as how to manage people and a large, busy businesses. Prior to attending university for my first degree, I worked for five years as an underground coal miner. I believe that my wide ranging experiences undoubtedly give me a unique and unorthodox perspective, which is invaluable as a barrister.