Park Square Barristers

Crime, civil, Regulatory

Crime

Charlie successfully completed his pupillage under the supervision of Dr Chris Wood and is now a tenant at Park Square Barristers.

During the course of his 'first six', Charlie has observed a wide range of hearings in the magistrates' court, the Crown Court and the Youth Court. He has observed both prosecution and defence barristers. His first six has primarily involved the observation of RASSO trials, however Charlie has also had the opportunity to observe a number of interesting cases, including conspiracy to supply, inciting racial hatred and manslaughter.

Charlie has also been able to observe cases closer to his own level of experience, including road traffic offences, burglaries and private school non-attendance prosecutions. As a result of him observing advocacy in court, Charlie has been appointed as a Grade 1 Prosecutor by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Charlie has also undertaken marshalling at South Tyneside Magistrates Court. This allowed Charlie to gain a unique perspective from behind the Bench. Charlie was able to get an insight into the thought process of a trial judge during recesses, which he believes has improved his advocacy significantly. This marshalling also helped Charlie to become more familiar with the criminal court procedure and process.

Charlie has recently graduated with a first-class Masters in Law at Northumbria University. During the course of his degree, he also completed his Bar Vocational Training, achieving a grade of 'Outstanding'. Notably, he excelled in his witness handling module, 'Criminal Professional Practice'. He investigated the topic of international environmental space law for his Legal Research Dissertation. Beyond his academic achievement, Charlie has participated in numerous international moots, most notably a moot hosted by New Delhi University that concerned international extradition law.

Outside of work, Charlie enjoys cinema, rock-climbing and basketball.

Personal injury & clinical negligence

During the course of his 'first six', Charlie has observed a number of hearings in the County Court. These cases had a focus on personal injury, particularly injury caused by road traffic collisions. These road traffic collision cases were of varying levels of seriousness, and included both fast track and small claims. Charlie was also required to write opinions and summarise legal research under the supervision of a civil barrister in order to properly advise clients.

During the course of a placement, Charlie was able to witness a number of serious injury claims. He spent a week with a Claimant solicitors' firm and was able to see first-hand the pre-trial correspondence stages of a personal injury claim. He was able to observe the exchanging of Part 36 offers between firms in a serious workplace accident claim. He believes that seeing the claim from the perspective of a solicitor will allow him to understand his professional client much more.

Charlie has recently undertaken a mediation accreditation course with the Society of Mediators which he eventually hopes to utilise in his civil practice.

Charlie has recently graduated with a first-class Masters in Law at Northumbria University. During the course of his degree, he also completed his Bar Vocational Training, achieving a grade of 'Outstanding'. Notably, he excelled in his opinion writing module, 'Civil Professional Practice'. He investigated the topic of international environmental space law for his Legal Research Dissertation. Beyond his academic achievements, Charlie has participated in numerous international moots, most notably winning a moot hosted by the University of Sarajevo that concerned international maritime arbitration. In addition, Charlie also placed as a finalist in a commercial negotiation competition hosted by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution in London.

2023 - Pupil at Park Square Barristers, Middlesbrough

2023 - Grade 1 Prosecutor

2024 - Tenant at Park Square Barristers

2023 - Member of Society of Mediators

2021 - Member of Honourable Society of Gray's Inn

2023 - 2023 Northumbria University LLM (Hons) First Class Honours

2023 - Northumbria University Bar Vocational Training Distinction

2022 - Northumbria University Contribution Roll, Newcastle upon Tyne

2022 - Finalist, Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution’s Negotiation Competition, London

2023 - Winner, MediateGuru’s International Maritime Arbitration Moot, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

2023 - Northumbria University Contribution Roll, Newcastle upon Tyne