relevant evidence and arguing reasons why the court should support their conclusions. But they also provide expertise in the run up to hearings, advising on relevant law and assessing the strength of a client’s legal case, based oſten on a considerable amount of research. Christina has been a barrister for over 20 years and a Queens


Counsel (QC) or “silk” since 2009. She is one of the UK’s top experts in clinical negligence, acting for both claimants and defendants, along with her professional regulatory work. About 80 per cent of barristers are self- employed practitioners and belong to sets or chambers – groups of barristers who share accommodation and administration including clerks. Christina belongs to one of the most prestigious – One Crown Office Row chambers based at Temple in London. Christina’s involvement in a case usually begins with a telephone


call to her clerk from one of our solicitors. Her workload is always heavy with numerous clients at any one time and a range of cases at different stages – but if space can be found in her schedule she will take on a new case. “Te great excitement is when the box of papers arrives and you


immediately open it to find out what the case is all about,” says Christina. All this material must then be read and digested in order to prepare for the case conference. “If it’s a civil case there will be experts there and you’ll thrash


things out and look for areas of strength and weakness in the evidence. Ten you will give the solicitor and the member the best advice as to whether or not you think there is a robust defence.” Such advice is invaluable to the legal team when considering


whether it would be prudent to pursue a settlement or fight a case in court, and these decisions are always made in consultation with the member. “If it’s a GMC case then it’s a rather more tactical discussion


you’ll have. Not just focused on the evidence,” says Christina. “Te point is that a GMC case is going to go ahead no matter what.”


Days in court A good barrister will be able to digest and analyse a huge amount of information at relatively short notice, says Christina. Even more important the job requires an ability to get at the heart of the matter in every case. “Tere’s no point having a barrister who can’t see the wood for


the trees,” she says. But the barrister’s skill is most on show when before a court or


hearing. It calls for steady nerves and a high degree of intellectual flexibility. “Evidence as it emerges in court can be very different from the evidence that exists on paper before you start, and therefore you


WINTER 2013


need to be adaptable,” says Christina. “You need to think on your feet and expect the unexpected.” Sometimes the evidence can be quite complex – especially in


medico-legal cases. In one recent case involving spinal surgery Christina spent hours with a medical expert learning spinal anatomy and handling surgical instruments used in the procedure. “You rely absolutely on your expert


“ Evidence as it emerges in court can be very different from the evidence that exists on paper before you start.”


to take you right back to the anatomy and the physiology, to treat you as though you’re a medical undergraduate and to try and build up the layers of knowledge you need to have in order to be able to argue the case.” Cross-examining “hostile” witnesses who may be leading experts in their


field can at times be nerve-wracking, she admits. “No barrister who is worth their salt would say they are not apprehensive when a case starts. But you need that adrenalin in order to remain alert and adaptable to do your job properly.”


Born performers When I ask Christina whether a good barrister is born or made, she replies: “I think a bit of both. Tere has to be a degree of enjoyment of performance – it goes without saying that you can’t be afraid of the sound of your own voice. But at the same time I think a good barrister is made.” Christina herself did not start out in law. Aſter studying history


at Cambridge she worked for three years in a publishing company in Newcastle, indulging her passion in modern poetry. But the law had always been an interest and in particular the notion of being an advocate. So she pursued a one-year law conversion course at City University in London before being called to the Bar in 1988. Later she decided to specialise in medical and dental legal work


– her interest fostered by the fact that both her parents were GPs in Newcastle. But she never considered being a doctor herself. “I’m far too squeamish.” Christina’s work as a barrister and QC is not limited to clinical


negligence and medical and dental regulatory cases but also extends to coroner’s inquiries, professional negligence and aspects of employment law. Recently she was appointed counsel to Dame Janet Smith’s review of culture and practices at the BBC during the Jimmy Savile era. Te job offers Christina limited free time apart from at


weekends when she leaves London and travels to her cottage near Alnwick in Northumberland. “I feel my blood pressure drop as I go further and further north,” she says. But it’s a career path she rarely regrets, adding: “It’s a fascinating


job. It is absolutely.”  Profile by Jim Killgore, editor of MDDUS Summons


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