Most of my job involves closely reading documents and cases and then coming up with an interpretation of them which best suits my client’s case. Studying English at Cambridge was thus invaluable training, as it taught me how to read carefully and well. It also taught me how to marry a close reading of the words on a page with broader theories and ideas, how to construct and present a coherent argument, and how to conduct detailed research. I use these skills every day. I have not regretted my choice of degree for a second, nor have I ever felt it limited my career options. I would study English again in a heartbeat.
Where will English take you? Law
The compatibility of literary and legal study is well established, although more visible in other countries. Boston University argues there is much 'common terrain' between the two disciplines 'including textual analysis and interpretative techniques' and the role of theory and rhetoric. Or, as Professor Peter Brooks at the University of Virginia puts it, 'if the law paid more attention to the narrative analysis of what it’s up to it might learn something from that. It would learn that - first of all - storytelling is not innocent. The way you go about it makes a lot of difference to the result you come up with.'
Indeed, Rod Rosenstein, former US Deputy Attorney General, argues that 'the law demands precision and requires close reading' and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said one 'of the distinctive skills of our profession is to discern ambiguities, inaccuracies, and insufficiencies that would not occur to the ordinary' person. These are all skills central to the study of English at Cambridge. It's not surprising therefore that many English Faculty graduates have gone on to take a law conversion course after their degree and have excelled as barristers or solicitors.
3 Alumni in Law
Anthony Julius, Solicitor-Advocate
Jesus College, 1974
Anthony Julius is one of Britain’s most prominent solicitor-advocates and Deputy Chairman of law firm, Mishcon de Reya. His career has included representing Diana, Princess of Wales, and successfully defending the historian Deborah Lipstadt when she was sued by Holocaust denier David Irving, as represented in the film Denial. He has continued to bring literature and law together through his writing on subjects including T. S. Eliot, art, antisemitism and justice, and as UCL’s Professor of Law and the Arts. You can read his reflections on interdisciplinarity in The Cambridge Journal of Law, Politics and Art:
Kate Gallafent, King's Counsel
Trinity College
Kate Gallafent was appointed King’s Counsel in 2014. She is President of the UK’s National Anti-Doping Panel and chairs the International Cricket Council’s safeguarding body. To help commemorate the centenary of the 1919 Act that enabled women to enter the legal profession, she worked with primary-school children to create History Rocks: Women in Law. Reflecting on the project, she said: “Exploring the historic achievements of women in law with such curious and enthusiastic young minds makes me feel hopeful for a more equal future.”
Christina Russell, Barrister
Trinity College, 1988
Christina Russell is a barrister at 2 Hale Court and is an expert in white-collar crime, extradition, and international legal cooperation. During her early career, she was a junior barrister in one of London’s leading criminal chambers and practised in crime – both prosecuting and defending, developing a specialism in white-collar crime. Subsequently she worked within various public bodies. Her international experience is extensive – extradition, INTERPOL, Mutual Legal Assistance.