The 2026 International Women’s Day theme is ‘give to gain’, aiming to help gender equality through abundant giving. In this blog, 5 of the brilliant women on our Young Barristers’ Committee (YBC) share one piece of advice they would give their younger selves.
YBV Vice Chair Yaa Dankwa Ampadu-Sackey is a family law barrister specialising in children law and is a Special Educational Needs mediator.
“Trust your judgement and instincts. You do not need to compromise your values to succeed. Maintain your confidence and curiosity and remember that resilience and authenticity will always be your greatest strengths.”
Pippa Pudney is a Court of Protection barrister based in Leeds. She specialises in deprivation of liberty issues and is co-author of a book on the topic (Bloomsbury, 2024).
"Be brave. Entering a profession dominated by more experienced brains will feel daunting, but it will bring with it a challenge that is fulfilling to tackle. Spending hours reflecting on each piece of advocacy is not productive. Choose to learn from every experience, and be kind to yourself in the process."
Brittany Buckell is an employed barrister at Capsticks LLP specialising in professional regulation.
"Trust yourself more. It sounds like an obvious piece of advice but it is one I sometimes struggle with. Encounter an issue you haven’t had before? Your instincts normally aren’t wrong - trust them. Doing a particular type of hearing for the first time - you do always figure it out and prepare. Worried you aren’t very good at blending in with other barristers - you’re probably fine, and even if you don’t exactly, so what? You will throughout your professional life get through many ‘firsts’ and you’ll even get good feedback along the way - try not to be so surprised each time. Embrace any ‘otherness’ you may feel and realise that you worked hard and deserve to be in the same room as everyone else."
Phoebe Whitlock is a probationary tenant at Lamb Chambers. She practices in civil, commercial, technology and intellectual property law. Phoebe has extensive in-house experience as a solicitor at a number of large and small technology companies.
"I would tell my younger self to say yes to unexpected opportunities, even when they feel intimidating or outside the plan. I never intended to practise as a solicitor but it has ultimately made me a better barrister as I have been on the other side! It also extends into the personal. I never thought I would run the London Marathon but I did! You should be open to experiences that you never could have imagined."
April Lamai is a barrister at No5 Barristers’ Chambers. She specialises in personal injury and criminal law.
"The advice that I would give my younger self, fresh out of the Bar course, with no job and desperately seeking to secure pupillage, is that delay is not denial.
"Like many people on their journey to the Bar, I set myself stringent time limits for when I needed to accomplish specific milestones. For example, I expected to be called to the Bar at 22, I wanted to obtain pupillage by 23, and I aimed to be a qualified practising barrister by 24. However, as life would have it, several factors affected my timeline and ultimately prevented it from planning out the way I wanted it to.
"The delay seemed like denial, and I almost gave up.
"However, thankfully, I reminded myself that my aspirations were more important than my time limits. I subconsciously constrained myself by implementing those limits. Therefore, I got rid of them and allowed myself to pursue my goals freely – and that is when I struck gold at the Bar.
"On this International Women’s Day, I encourage you not to place time limits on yourself and to not see delay as denial."