My Journey to the Bar
I was just nine months old when my dad was first diagnosed with cancer — he was 29. I do not think he ever imagined that his life would largely be consumed by a disease with a five-year survival rate of 95%. But 21 years and at least 11 cancer diagnoses later, his final battle was lost. In 2015 he was told he wouldn’t make it through the weekend and was sent home. But I am getting ahead of myself. My story doesn’t start there.
I think it would be fair to say my childhood was far from normal. I was registered as a young carer for both my parents. I also spent a considerable amount of time in hospital visiting my dad and even had one or two birthdays sat by his side whilst he was in intensive care. Imagine being seven years of age, seeing strangers emaciated, hearing cries for help from other patients, all whilst your dad is hooked up to machines. Weirdly, no one ever asked if my brother and I were okay. Which, upon reflection, you would think someone would have. But until I was 21, that was mine and my family’s life.
I did not have the luxury of attending an outstanding high school, but rather I attended a high school in special measures that was actually closed down shortly after I left. Whilst I was on my high schools accelerated learning programme, I think it would be fair to say that dealing with fireworks being set off in the main building sometimes took priority. I got lost in the English education system.
I was so excited about college and studying law. I was determined I was going to be a barrister. When I informed tutors, it was met with complete dismissal. One tutor even told me I did not deserve to be at that college, given my ‘background’, never mind be a barrister. I chose to disagree. Looking back on this conversation, I wonder why that tutor thought it appropriate to make such a remark. College was not easy. My parents received no financial help for me, they couldn’t afford the coach to college, and my dad was back in the hospital.
I thought by the time I got round to picking a university, things would be different, but unfortunately, my dad was diagnosed terminally ill. Because of that, I had to withdraw from the redbrick university I was due to attend and attend another supposedly ‘less prestigious’ university closer to home. I lost my scholarships and bursaries as a consequence.
We are now back in 2015. My dad made it through that weekend, but I would not wish what I saw and what my family went through for the three weeks after that on anyone. One nurse even called him a liar, telling him he wasn’t dying of cancer. Another gave him the wrong medicine and quickly asked for it back the following day after realising. Shortly before he passed away, my mum called my brother and me into our living room. Unable to speak but holding his hands out for me and my brother, he knew he was dying. The rest of that night is a blur. The only other thing I remember is my mum saying she had never seen pain, like the pain she saw in my eyes.
Life continued, I returned to work and university.
I went onto overcome a number of other hurdles. I was diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia. Save for a much-appreciated scholarship from BPP for my year at bar school, I got little to no financial support. For more than five years, I studied and worked full-time to pay for my university education and bar finals.
Part of me never imagined I would get an offer for pupillage. I was just a girl from Skelmersdale who attended a university mocked by some of my peers. I was also the girl with dyslexia — which, according to another peer, meant I wasn’t the ‘best’ candidate. But in or around April 2019, I received an offer for pupillage from Exchange Chambers — one of the best days of my life!
In January 2020, I started pupillage, and in March 2020, we went into the first lockdown. I spent ten months in some form of lockdown. I won’t pretend it was easy; it wasn’t. Pupillage is hard under normal circumstances but in a global pandemic? It is tough. But that being said, pupillage was an amazing learning opportunity, and the support from both of my supervisors, Carly Sandbach and Stephen Connolly, along with that from Chambers more generally, was absolutely invaluable.
On 5 January 2021, I was signed off and voted in as a member of Exchange Chambers. This day is of particular importance, as it was the day I fulfilled the last promise I made to my dad — I became a barrister.
I have learnt that it does not matter where you come from or what life throws at you; with hard work, commitment and determination, you can achieve your dreams! So, what are you waiting for?
Katherine Traynor — Exchange Chambers
https://www.exchangechambers.co.uk/people/katherine-traynor/
