American is Youngest Person in 600 Years to be Called to the UK Bar at the age of 18

[sanantone]

This was posted on another forum. Gabrielle Turnquest passed all of her bar exams making her a barrister in England and Wales. After doing a little research on what a barrister is, I've gathered that it is almost the equivalent of a paralegal with a little more freedom and responsibility. She was also called to The Bar in the Bahamas.
Gabrielle Turnquest: Florida 18-year-old becomes youngest ever barrister in UK | Mail Online

I thought this story would be interesting for us here because Turnquest is from Florida and graduated from Liberty University in Virginia at the age of 16. It makes me wonder if she was homeschooled and attended online. I also wonder if she completed her Graduate Diploma in Law by distance. This is the school she attended.
Postgraduate | The University of Law

[askmo24]

I read this article the other today and was absolutely amazed. She comes from a very motivated family as her sister passed the same bar at 22. I wish her much success at everything she wants to do in life.

[GMT]

A Barrister is nothing like a Paralegal, a Barrister is a fully fledged Lawyer and a huge deal as they are the ones with rights to work the court room.
In England we have 2 types of "Lawyer", a Solicitor who mostly deals with paper work (divorce etc) and Barristers. These are the guys you see wearing the horsehair wigs in the movies etc.
It takes a long time to become a Barrister. Both Solicitors and Barristers start with the basic law degree L.L.B. (Bachelor of Law, which is a first degree in the U.K.) and then they split. the Barrister goes on to do another year of schooling and then onto a 2 year stint of pupillage under another Barrister. Then and only then will a Barrister be able to practise as a Barrister .... "called to the Bar" as such.
It's extremely cut throat and pupil places are not easy to get.

The girl in the article did a graduate diploma as she had a previous Bachelors which "technically" gives her the equivalent of the British Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B) and so I find the article a little confusing. It's not factually correct, and possibly has been written by someone who has no idea what education a Barrister in the U.K. requires. It takes a lot more than just a GDL.

To be able to take the Bar exam anywhere in the U.S. I think will take a lot more than a GDL too. New York and California are normally the easiest to apply for but you'll need at least an L.L.B. from the U.K.

Of course, all my extensive background legal knowledge could be a thing of the past as things could've all changed while I've been buckling down and doing my straighterline courses .... but I doubt it

... Ok, I re read the article, so she did the 1 year extra schooling, but she hasn't done her pupillage so she is not a Barrister in the U.K. These reporters annoy me sometimes when they paint pictures for people which are not true.

[Jonathan Whatley]

This was posted on another forum.

I also posted it here in August. :p

[sanantone]

A Barrister is nothing like a Paralegal, a Barrister is a fully fledged Lawyer and a huge deal as they are the ones with rights to work the court room.
In England we have 2 types of "Lawyer", a Solicitor who mostly deals with paper work (divorce etc) and Barristers. These are the guys you see wearing the horsehair wigs in the movies etc.
It takes a long time to become a Barrister. Both Solicitors and Barristers start with the basic law degree L.L.B. (Bachelor of Law, which is a first degree in the U.K.) and then they split. the Barrister goes on to do another year of schooling and then onto a 2 year stint of pupillage under another Barrister. Then and only then will a Barrister be able to practise as a Barrister .... "called to the Bar" as such.
It's extremely cut throat and pupil places are not easy to get.

The girl in the article did a graduate diploma as she had a previous Bachelors which "technically" gives her the equivalent of the British Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B) and so I find the article a little confusing. It's not factually correct, and possibly has been written by someone who has no idea what education a Barrister in the U.K. requires. It takes a lot more than just a GDL.

To be able to take the Bar exam anywhere in the U.S. I think will take a lot more than a GDL too. New York and California are normally the easiest to apply for but you'll need at least an L.L.B. from the U.K.

Of course, all my extensive background legal knowledge could be a thing of the past as things could've all changed while I've been buckling down and doing my straighterline courses .... but I doubt it

... Ok, I re read the article, so she did the 1 year extra schooling, but she hasn't done her pupillage so she is not a Barrister in the U.K. These reporters annoy me sometimes when they paint pictures for people which are not true.

This is all new to me. I just read that a barrister can't do certain things without being under the direction of a solicitor.

I also posted it here in August. :p

Oops.

[sanantone]

A Barrister is nothing like a Paralegal, a Barrister is a fully fledged Lawyer and a huge deal as they are the ones with rights to work the court room.
In England we have 2 types of "Lawyer", a Solicitor who mostly deals with paper work (divorce etc) and Barristers. These are the guys you see wearing the horsehair wigs in the movies etc.
It takes a long time to become a Barrister. Both Solicitors and Barristers start with the basic law degree L.L.B. (Bachelor of Law, which is a first degree in the U.K.) and then they split. the Barrister goes on to do another year of schooling and then onto a 2 year stint of pupillage under another Barrister. Then and only then will a Barrister be able to practise as a Barrister .... "called to the Bar" as such.
It's extremely cut throat and pupil places are not easy to get.

The girl in the article did a graduate diploma as she had a previous Bachelors which "technically" gives her the equivalent of the British Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B) and so I find the article a little confusing. It's not factually correct, and possibly has been written by someone who has no idea what education a Barrister in the U.K. requires. It takes a lot more than just a GDL.

To be able to take the Bar exam anywhere in the U.S. I think will take a lot more than a GDL too. New York and California are normally the easiest to apply for but you'll need at least an L.L.B. from the U.K.

Of course, all my extensive background legal knowledge could be a thing of the past as things could've all changed while I've been buckling down and doing my straighterline courses .... but I doubt it

... Ok, I re read the article, so she did the 1 year extra schooling, but she hasn't done her pupillage so she is not a Barrister in the U.K. These reporters annoy me sometimes when they paint pictures for people which are not true.

It looks like the first thing I read was way off. After reading a couple of more articles, I see that a barrister is nothing like a paralegal.

[GMT]

It looks like the first thing I read was way off. After reading a couple of more articles, I see that a barrister is nothing like a paralegal.

Lol I certainly had to read the article couple of times myself to make any sense from it.

The legal system in England is difficult to understand at the best of times, even for a native; I only "get it" due to looking at the Lawyer road myself, but the whole US/UK thing is a complete nightmare to manoeuvre.

Still, if you're looking at working in England and find the L.L.B. daunting (like most people, including myself), I see a "fast track" here ... i.e. using a "test out" degree from a regionally accredited college in the USA and then doing the GDL before choosing your legal pathway Solicitor/Barrister.

This pathway to becoming an English Lawyer would be VERY attractive to a lot of people on this little island