In this Q&A, Connie Trendle shares what drew her to the Commercial Bar and construction law, the types of work and cases she finds most engaging and her top three lessons from completing pupillage.
We are delighted to welcome you as a tenant at Keating Chambers. What are you most looking forward to in your practice?
I am very pleased to be joining Chambers. Pupillage at Keating has been a very rewarding process, through which I have gained a good insight into practice. As I develop my own practice, I hope to strike a good balance between cases in my own right and acting as a junior for other members of chambers. The former are a great opportunity for growing advocacy skills, and it is exciting to be able to take on a matter independently at this early stage of my career. The latter allows for exposure to high value matters, and I look forward to tackling the complexity of such cases and continuing to learn from members of chambers. In addition, I look forward to the new responsibility of providing advice on the general strategy of cases.
During your time at university, you successfully represented a student in the School Exclusion Project. How did that experience shape your views on advocacy?
This experience was very insightful; it taught me that good advocacy is not limited to performance at the final hearing but begins from the moment you connect with the client. In a School Exclusion Project case, the matter is usually very sensitive and personal. It is important to develop a good rapport with the client, support them through the process, and distil their legal case from the personal reality of the difficult situation they find themselves in. Despite the different context, those skills are transferable to my work at Keating, and I have observed the importance of understanding and distilling the case with the client and witnesses at an early stage to encourage the later success of the claim.
What drew you to specialise in construction and commercial law?
I applied to Keating whilst in my third year of university, so my initial focus was on the areas of law that I enjoyed the most, namely, contract and tort. The disputes that come to Keating, whilst in the context of a specialist industry, breed top contract and tort law cases. Whilst construction itself wasn’t something I knew much about before coming to Keating, I was enticed by the opportunity to delve into technical issues which I have found add an interesting dimension to the disputes.
Can you share some of the most valuable lessons or insights you’ve gained during your pupillage?
I learnt so much during pupillage at Keating, so I will give my top three lessons. First, be exacting with the applicable test and equally exacting with your answer. Often you will have an intuitive answer to a legal question that is broadly correct, but spending the time to critique and better that answer allows you to present your point robustly. Second, preparation. The more preparation that you do, the more helpful you can be to your client and to the judge, which leads to quick and clear resolution of points. Third, become well versed in the technical matter yourself before you start drafting. In order to draft a technical matter you need to have a thorough understanding of the technical issue. This means taking the time to gain a thorough understanding, and avoiding merely assuming the expert’s own opinion without understanding the steps they have taken to reach their conclusions.
Are there particular types of work or cases that you find especially engaging?
I particularly enjoy giving merits-based advice alongside drafting work in construction, engineering and energy-related disputes; in particular, those which involve contractual interpretation, delay and/or negligence. I like taking the time to review and understand the factual complexity and to develop strong legal analysis against that factual background. I can see the value in cementing the factual and legal analysis at an early stage and translating that analysis into strong drafting of the claim.
Outside of chambers, how do you like to spend your time?
I am a big fan of netball and a keen player, so that is usually what I am doing outside of chambers. I also like to cook and eat out. I am currently working my way through a long list of restaurants in London to find the best places.
