While most lawyers practice for at least a few years before going to the Bar, Geraghty went straight to the Bar without practising.

The excitement then truly “set in” for Geraghty once she passed the bar exam – but she felt a lot of pressure beforehand, particularly when approaching chambers.

“I think the decision where you do your readership, so that’s your first year as a barrister, is one of the most important decisions that you’ll make. I think there’s probably an inclination to just apply to as many as you can, but I would advise people to really research, know what’s important to you, what you’re going to need. When I knew that I was going to be in Canberra, Blackburn is the oldest and most reputable chambers, so that’s where I wanted to be, so I approached them early.

“I know a lot of people wait until after the Bar because you just simply don’t know if you’re going to pass. And it’s a difficult call to make to, say, can you hold off my readership until I sit again? But that was the first step for me. Decide the chambers that you want, apply, then you sit the bar exam. Then the next decision is to find your tutors. They can change your life at the Bar. I have two who are the most generous people with their time and advice, and that has just started me on the best possible path I could have asked for, because it can be very lonely and isolating,” Geraghty said.

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Geraghty then did her bar practice course, which she described as a “crash course in advocacy”, before starting her reading year.

“The reading year will be different depending on your level of experience. So, as someone who came straight to the Bar, my tutors are really involved in my practice. For someone else who doesn’t need to rely on them as much, their life in that reading year could really be identical to if they were a barrister. I don’t think you’re allowed to take direct access briefs. I certainly don’t. But if you were to, you’d have to get your tutor to sign off on it,” she said.

“You have to do a minimum amount of days observing criminal trials and civil trials. You have to have advice signed off on, just little things like that. And they’re checkpoints to make sure that you do have the capacity to be out on your own at the end of that year.”

In terms of choosing her chambers, Geraghty said those entering the Bar have to be honest about what’s important to them – and for her, that was the clerk.

“When you have your own practice, a lot of the time [the clerk is] going to be the first point of contact. So, when I called Blackburn to inquire about the readership, I made a point of chatting with the clerk and getting to know him. And I actually think it’s a really good starting point. Mo is approachable, he was friendly, he had an endless amount of time for me. So, I could be confident that when I have solicitors inquiring about me or going to chambers, that that’s the reception that they would get. And that’s something that’s really been helpful for me.

“Beyond that, I would research the barristers who were there. What appealed to me was the diversity of practice of the barristers at Blackburn because that gave me an opportunity. There’s a depth of experience across all fields there, and that really appealed to me. The president of our chambers is a silk. He has an extremely busy practice, and if I knock on his door and say, I need your help, I would have no idea he has anything going on at all,” she added.

“Whereas I think there are other people who are coming to the Bar because they want to be able to work independently and they want to be able to hit the ground running and take off, so things would be less important to them. So, I think the best way when you look at your chambers is to say, what do I need? I knew that I would be someone who would rely heavily on the network, the level of experience. And it was really important to me to go somewhere with that reputation.”

Tutors and mentors were also especially important for Geraghty when she was just starting out – and said for those looking to go to the Bar, these people will be “your greatest source of knowledge”.

“One thing that I can guarantee anyone going to the Bar is that you’re going to get conflicting advice in almost all areas. People on the practice course said to us, take every opportunity that comes your way. If someone comes and offers you work, say yes and figure it out later, because you don’t know where it will lead. But then someone else will say to you, don’t take every opportunity. Be realistic about what you can do and do what you take well. So, it’s an interesting experience in that year, knowing what advice works for you,” she said.

“And I’ve been able to answer those questions by having really honest conversations with my tutors, and I think I can do that because our values really closely align. I think that I’ve been really lucky that things happen to fall that way. But again, it just comes down to at the beginning saying, what do I want and what do I need? And then researching the individuals who can help you with that.”

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Vicki Geraghty, click below: