Barrister alumni

Michael Humphries QC, Inner Temple

As a prospective undergraduate in the 1970s, it was the intellectual discipline of the law that first attracted me. I also came to realise that, like almost no other career, the law allows you to specialise in almost any aspect of human endeavour. Lawyers specialise in media law, commercial law, human rights law, criminal law, shipping law or, in my case, planning law.

Many law students actually practise as solicitors or barristers in private practice, but many go into other careers with the intellectual rigour that a law degree brings. Leicester, for me, had the balance of having both a top law department and a more intimate scale than some other universities.

I was called to the bar in 1982 and specialised in town and country planning law. I became a Queen's Counsel in 2003 and a Master of the Bench of the Inner Temple (one of the four Inns of Court) in 2010.

I have been involved in promoting some of the largest development schemes ever, including projects such as Heathrow, Terminal 5 and, currently, the Thames Tunnel. I have lectured extensively at seminars and written numerous articles and a book.

I had a great time at Leicester and would thoroughly recommend it - indeed, I met my wife at Leicester!