I'm Emily, and I work at the Crown Prosecution Service in the North East as a Crown Advocate. I started as a Pupil Barrister after completing the Bar course, and the Legal Trainee Scheme was my route to hopefully qualifying as a barrister.

When I qualified as a barrister, I took on the role of Crown Advocate Level 1. 

During my Legal Trainee Scheme with the Crown Prosecution Service, I had a pupil supervisor, and we had a really good working relationship. I still go to him for advice now when I need it. For the first six months, I spent a couple of months shadowing him, whether in the magistrates’ court or the Crown Court. I got to see some really exciting things that I didn’t expect.

I had my own mentor in the magistrates’ court, so if I had any questions about that type of work, I could go straight to them, which was really helpful. I essentially had two different people there to support me.

We also had a lot of training courses. You do so much e‑learning that it really helps build your knowledge. By the time you reach the second six months, you’ve developed a full baseline of prosecutor knowledge that you can use. It means you develop much more quickly and get experience across all different types of courts. I don’t think you get that anywhere else – full courses on every type of offence and every type of court you might work in. You build such a strong foundation that continues throughout your career.

There are so many aspects of my work that feel important. I feel a huge responsibility on my shoulders because I’m representing witnesses and victims. When I speak to the witnesses and victims themselves, it really reminds me how important this role is.

If you're thinking about applying for the Legal Trainee Scheme, you clearly have something inside you that wants to do it, and I would say just apply. It’s not a scary process – everyone is really supportive.