Week one on my feet was probably one of, if not the biggest learning curve of my life so far. But it was fun!

This account reflects the experiences of Josh Sykes during the first week of his second six, which commenced on Monday 16 March 2026. Josh has been practising under the supervision of his pupil supervisor, Jane Brady, whose guidance continues to support his development as he adapts to life at the Bar.

On my first day, I had a prosecution sessions list at Leeds Magistrates’ Court. Despite preparing for five trials, only one ran, as it went over the time estimate. The trial involved three charges, namely:

(1) Intentional strangulation,

(2) Threatening with an offensive weapon in a private place, and

(3) A public order offence of using threatening / abusive / insulting words / behaviour to cause harassment / alarm / distress.

I called two prosecution witnesses and conducted my first two sets of examinations-in-chief. This was the advocacy that I had struggled with most at Bar School, so it was a good feeling to get to the end and not have been pulled up for leading the witnesses!

The case was closed for the Crown and the defence called the defendant to give evidence. After a 25-minute examination-in-chief, it was my turn to cross-examine him. The complainant and family were sitting at the back of court, so I had an audience for the first cross-examination of my career. The defendant was angry, short-fused, interrupted, asked me questions, wouldn’t answer the questions asked, and then called the Chair of the Bench ‘love’ (never a wise move)! As a result of that, during my cross-examination, I was able to pull out, for the first time, “If you would just answer the question asked, we will be done a lot quicker” as well as “I’m not here to answer your questions; you’re here to answer mine”.

All-in-all, it was a good first cross-examination, as after the 55 minutes of deliberations which followed closing speeches, the Bench returned ‘guilty’ verdicts for the Intentional Strangulation and Threatening with an Offensive Weapon, but ‘not guilty’ to the public order offence.

A result I was happy with and a result the complainant and his family were happy with also!

Tuesday saw me attend a first appearance hearing in the Magistrates Court for Failing to Provide an Evidential Sample of Breath, requiring me to give legal advice for the first time.

Thursday, I attended York Magistrates Court for an Application to Suspend Disqualification from Driving Pending an Appeal, which was successful. This was an entirely new concept for me, having never seen this in my first-six, so it was nice to know I had prepared and conferenced correctly.

Friday, to end the week, was sessions in the Road Traffic court. Something I had, once again, never seen before! An area of criminal law with reversed burdens of proof. I did not know what to expect or really how to prepare, but I was able to conduct multiple cross-examinations in:

• Special Reasons arguments;
• Trials for Failure to Provide Information about who was driving; and
• Driving whilst on a mobile phone.

In an effort to learn, I asked the legal advisor and the defence solicitor in one of the cases, “What could I have done differently in my cross examination?” which, to my surprise, was something the legal advisor had not heard come from prosecution counsel before. This reflection was only improved when I returned to chambers at the end of the day, to discover that the senior clerk had received an email from a senior solicitor I had been against that day, praising me!

So what did I learn in my first week?

I think the more apt question is ‘What didn’t I learn?’, as the answer to that is a whole lot shorter.

Every second of every day I was learning, experiencing new things and growing with confidence. On a reflective note, I came away knowing I could have approached certain things differently and other things I would do exactly the same next time.

As long as I set out to be a little bit more prepared every time that I step foot in court, then I know I am doing something right! That is my main take away from my first week.