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Pupillage Interview > Interview Questions > Flashcards

Interview Questions Flashcards

1
Q

Weakness on written application

A
  • Hobbies

Communication
 Client
 Solicitor
 Colleagues

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2
Q

Why Family Law

A
  1. Interest
    a. The majority of people experience the family court, it involves an array of different people.
    b. Formulating what is right, argument of facts
  2. Experience
    a. Mini-pupillage
    b. Volunteer experience
    c. Compared to Commercial Law
  3. Skills involved
    a. Confidence
    b. Listening
    c. Negotiation
    d. Empathy
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3
Q

What makes family law different from other areas of law?

A
  1. Skills Involved
  2. Interacting with people of all walks of life
  3. Changing areas of law
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4
Q

Why a barrister?

A

Apply it: when did you decide?

  1. Advocacy
    a. Seeing small part of someone’s life.
  2. In court often
  3. Self-employed
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5
Q

What are your strengths

A
  1. Perseverance
    a. Case worth over 100 million euros.
    b. Document Review – over 3million 100 thousands documents.
  2. Empathy/listening
    a. FRU
  3. Team player
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6
Q

What are your weaknesses

A
  1. Self-doubt
    a. Folder
  2. Competitive
  3. Like being prepared
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7
Q

What do your friends say about you

A
  1. Put people at ease
  2. Push myself
    a. Academic
    b. Personal
    c. Trying to find ways to improve
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8
Q

What have you learnt from Candey

A
  1. Communicate with solicitors
    a. Feel confident providing legal advice to solicitors/clients. Making professional judgments about a situation.
  2. What solicitors want from Counsel
    a. Knowledable
    b. Confident
    c. They can talk to.
  3. Appreciate the work that solicitors do
    a. From paralegals to solicitors
    b. Creating bundles/communicating with clients
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9
Q

How has BREXIT impacted family law

  1. Jurisdiction
A

a. BEFORE
b. Proceeding instituted before the end of the transition period, the EU rules on international jurisdiction continue to apply in the UK
c. Lis pendens applies, wherever the case is brought first, applies.
d. AFTER
e. MSs apply its national rules of international jurisdiction

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10
Q

How has BREXIT impacted family law

  1. Recognition and Enforcement
A

a. BEFORE
b. Brussels IIa applies, e.g. divorce judgment will be recognised.
c. AFTER – EU rules don’t apply, relevant international conventions applies
i. DIVORCE – divorce proceedings initiated in EU MS after end of transition period – 1970 Hague Convention on recognition of divorces + legal separations. UK is a party, but only 12 EU MS are contracting parties.
d. Court in jurisdiction of England will recognise divorces granted in EU MS even if proceedings started after time. BUT, not nullity or civil partnerships as we now follow the 1970 Hague Convention. EU MS party to this are not many. Countries such as Germany is not signed up so now necessary to recognise it. Poland is part of the hague convention 1970 but this convention does not recognise civil partnerships so they may refuse to recognise a civil partnership separation. Some countries have opt outs as well.
e. Court in jurisdiction of England will recognise divorces granted in EU MS even if proceedings started after time. BUT, not nullity or civil partnerships as we now follow the 1970 Hague Convention. EU MS party to this are not many. Countries such as Germany is not signed up so now necessary to recognise it. Poland is part of the hague convention 1970 but this convention does not recognise civil partnerships so they may refuse to recognise a civil partnership separation. Some countries have opt outs as well.
i. Child Maintenance – 2007 Hague Convention applies. UK expressed intention to sign and ratify this. This will apply between EU and the UK to requests and applications. Here, all child support orders are still effective between UK and EU, except Denmark,
ii. Contact Orders - No automatic enforcement of contact orders under 1996 Hague Convention, need to look at how the local jurisdiction will interpret and enforce the contact orders
f. Where international convention doesn’t apply = recognition and enforcement of UK judgment is governed by national rules of MS in which recognition/enforcement sought.

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11
Q

How has BREXIT impacted family law

  1. Legal aid
A

a. AFTER - Under B11a legal aid was available on a means tested basis for recognition and enforcement (apply for recognition of contact order). BVut cannot any more get legal aid for recognition or enforcement unless exceptional case.

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12
Q

How has BREXIT impacted family law

Windrush

A
  1. Right of children in care to stay here
    a. Windrush situation – LA working hard to get settled stautus on children. Fear when they are 18 they are not entitled to certain benefits/education, health treatment, housing etc. So need to apply before June for this. Need to keep an eye on looked after children
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13
Q

What are we unsure about with BREXIT?

A

Nothing about enforcement of financial orders.

No one EU court to determine any dispute between jurisdiction/interpretation issues.

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14
Q

Biggest failure

A
  1. FRU?
    a. Saying I understand
    b. Professional boundary
  2. Not appreciating the things I used to do (eye)
    a. Cheer
    b. Skydiving
    i. Skills: adapting/appreciating
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15
Q

What can you add to chambers?

A
  1. Contribute to articles/Seminars

2. A friendly, helpful team player

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16
Q

Case you disagree with

A

= Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX [2020] READ
= As the dissenting remarks of Lord Carwath (supported by Lord Reid) stress, awarding damages in the civil court for conduct that is unlawful in the criminal court is contrary to the principle of coherence or consistency in a single system of law [66].

17
Q

Best advocacy seen

A

• Sir Phillip Moore

o Skeleton Argument/witness skeleton

18
Q

Worst advocacy seen

A

• CMC Remote
o Spoke fast
o Inflexible
 Didn’t respond to either the judges questions, or his general demeanour

19
Q

1) Benefits of remote hearing

A

a. Backlog
b. Client perspective
c. Professional perspective

20
Q

2) Negatives of remote hearing

A

a. Some cases are not suitable
b. Client perspective (Nuffield Report)
c. Professional perspective

21
Q

1) When you have convinced someone of something?

A

a. President cheer – hiring a hall

b. Skills: Preparation, listening, empathy, quick on feet

22
Q

2) Name time you had to argue to someone on shaky grounds (bad arguments)

A

a. Grays Inn moot – argue for someones sexual history to be disclosed.

Skills:

23
Q

Why will you make a good barrister?

A

Two reasons:

1) Empathetic / listener
a. Vulnerable clients/Litigants in person
b. Facing the worst moments in their life
c. Learnt how to manage expectations
2) Advocate/Negotiation
a. Supreme Court moot
b. Negotiation competition

24
Q

What’s the most important skill in family law?

A

1) Communication – falls into two parts
a. With client
i. Delivering bad news
1. SPIKES – delivering bad news requires
2. Appropriate terminology; and
3. Assessing how the client is reacting/degree of distress + tailoring.
SPIKES = Setting up, Perception, Invitation, Knowledge, Emotions with Empath + Summary.
ii. Understanding their needs + objectives
b. With Judge
i. Clear + Concise

25
Q

What did you see with Sir Phillip More

A
  1. The importance of written advocacy
  2. The reasoning of judges
  3. The importance of being flexible in oral advovcacy
26
Q

What could we be doing more of in the Family Court

A
  1. Opening courts later/more to deal with backlog

2. Assisting clients better in remote hearings

27
Q

Should Courts remain open during coronavirus

A 
Yes 
1.	Backlog 
2.	Some cases not suitable for remote hearing
No 
1.	Risk to health 
a.	Client 
b.	Professional
28
Q

Why would you not do commercial law?

A
  1. Less advocacy – fam law in court all the time
  2. Not as interesting
  3. Interacting with clients
29
Q

How will you maintain a practice in this climate?

A

1) Building strong relationships with lay and professional clients
2) Getting involved in extra things – talks, training, writing articles
a. LexisNexis Blog
b. Legal Researcher – Legal design
3) Keeping my online profiles up to date with recent cases.

30
Q

What law would you change and why?: POLYMAY

A

Strongest arguments for:
1) Equality, right to private life. Right to enter into a contract with whoever they want.
ECHR – margin of appreciation, so wouldn’t come under

Strongest arguments against:
1) The risk of abuse
Polygamous marriages, largely confined to Muslim families, are only recognised in Britain if they took place in countries where they are legal, such as Middle Eastern states, Pakistan and Zambia.

Gender inequality index – disparity between male and female achievemenets, measured in: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market. It ranges from 0 to 1.

England GII = 0.12
Iraq – 0.540
Yemen = 0.83 – Men allowed to marry more woman but woman not allowed with men.

Pupillage Interview (2 decks)

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