Starting your practising period as a pupil barrister

Lucky Thandi, Midland Circuit Junior, barrister at 1 High Pavement

Lucky Thandi is a criminal barrister at 1 High Pavement Chambers in Nottingham. Her practice spans across the East Midlands and beyond, both prosecuting and defending in cases ranging from serious drugs and firearms offences to murders and manslaughters.

Lucky’s career started in-house with a local firm of solicitors where she had a solely defence practice. Since joining Chambers, she has gone on to become a Grade 3 Prosecutor.

Whilst much of Lucky’s time is consumed by her practice, in her spare time she enjoys running 5ks to improve her time, strength training at the gym, baking cakes and shaking up espresso martinis at home. She is also a keen collector of 50ps, which she has done for many years.

George Bennett, Senior Practice Manager at Outer Temple

George has been a clerk for over 15 years, working at some of the leading commercial and chancery sets.

George has had exposure to a number or areas of law and clerked at all levels. He takes a leadership role in managing and developing client relationships both domestic and international, maintaining and improving service levels, strategic development, and management of counsel and their respective practices, as well as diary management and fee negotiation.

Kate Traynor, Barrister at Landmark Chambers

Kate is a specialist property barrister with particular expertise in interrelated areas, including tax, insolvency, and rating law. She frequently appears in the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chambers), the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), the High Court and the County Court and has recently appeared unled before the Court of Appeal.

Rumen Cholakov, Barrister at 3VB

Rumen has a particular interest in complex civil fraud cases. He appeared as sole counsel in Nexo Capital Inc v Georgi Shulev & Others [2023] EWHC 1646 (Comm) and achieved the dismissal of Nexo’s heavy summary judgment/strike out application in its entirety.

Rumen has frequently acted in banking disputes, appearing both led and as sole counsel in matters involving loan and bond agreements, bankruptcy, and insolvency proceedings.

Procedurally, Rumen has significant experience in commercial arbitration as well as interim applications and relief in court.

Jonathan Lawrence, Partner at Place Campbell

Jonathan has been a qualified FCCA for over two decades, and a partner at Place Campbell for 17 years. His expertise and experience in tax, particularly in matters related to Barristers, ensures he is able to provide invaluable insights and advice to his clients. 

Jonathan has played a pivotal role in the integration of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT, showcasing his commitment to staying at the forefront of industry advancements.

Rachel Krys, Equality & Diversity Consultant

Rachel Krys has been a consultant to the Bar Council Equality Diversity and Inclusion team since 2019 supporting projects to improve the retention and progression of women and under-represented groups at the Bar. Rachel delivers equality, fair recruitment, mentoring and harassment training for the Bar Council and bespoke consultancy for chambers.

Rachel has been an equality and human rights campaigner for more than two decades and has worked with large and small employers to tackle discrimination, analyse, and improve equality outcomes and promote inclusion.

Place Campbell’s relationship with the Bar goes back 60 years and we now act for over 2,500 barristers and 70 chambers. Our depth of experience makes us the preeminent barrister-specialist firm of Chartered Certified Accountants.

From the newly qualified barrister undertaking pupillage to the KC taking judicial appointment, we understand the pressures facing members of the Bar so our aim is simple, to make dealing with your financial affairs straightforward and effective so that you can concentrate on your practice.

We believe that the way to do this is by having a close working relationship, which is why each client has their own manager who will work with them. This enables us to provide a complete range of services from VAT compliance to financial planning that reflects their individual needs.