John Swift QC, barrister, Monckton Chambers
I didn’t have any legal experience before I became a pupil and none of my family had a background in law. We were a Merseyside family whose business from the nineteenth century was in stevedoring in the ports of Liverpool and Birkenhead where I learned the ropes, literally, in my vacations.
Changes at the Bar
The Bar has changed from when I was called in that the talent just gets better. It’s great to see how the pessimists are constantly being proved wrong about the future of the Bar. It was pretty stuffy when I started: bowler hats, spats, pinstripes and a combination of military and public school backgrounds, usually both. Now it’s dress down day unless the client arrives.
Working as a competition law barrister
The area I work in – law and economics – is fascinating, changing and at the interface between the state and the individual. A very distinguished silk said to me years ago: ‘Your work is always the same: anti-competitive agreements and abuse of monopoly’. Correct – but each of these cases is different and their outcomes affect the future of businesses and the economy.
