National prize puts Barunpal on the path to the Bar

A University of Leicester law student who has lived in the city his whole life has been awarded a national prize recognising the country’s most promising aspiring barristers.

Barunpal Singh, who begins his final year at Leicester Law School this autumn, has received the Neuberger Prize from Lincoln’s Inn, one of the four Inns of Court responsible for the training and qualification of barristers in England and Wales.

Named after Lord Neuberger, the former President of the UK Supreme Court, the prize has been awarded since 2015 to outstanding students at universities outside the Russell Group. Students cannot apply directly: each university may put forward just one candidate, chosen by its law faculty. Winners receive a cash prize, free membership of the Inn, a mini-pupillage and a place at a summer school.

For Barunpal, the nomination came out of the blue. He said: “I was sitting revising one day with my friend and got an email saying the law school had nominated me. It’s not something I would have thought would happen.

“I still can’t quite believe it. There’s a lot of imposter syndrome with it. I feel very fortunate and very proud, but also very flabbergasted. I think that’s the only word I can come up with.”

His route into law began with a rather different ambition. “Weirdly, I wanted to be a police officer when I was younger,” he said. “Then I got interested in who actually charges people and who prosecutes them in court, and I started looking into the role of a barrister.”

At 16 he took work experience at an immigration assistance firm, his first insight into the legal world, before studying Law at A-level and choosing it for his degree.

It is in family law that he has found his calling. After completing a mini-pupillage in a family set, he developed a particular interest in public and private children law.

“That’s the area I really enjoy, because I find it so rewarding to help children in such bad conditions,” he said. “Children who find themselves having a horrible childhood can go on to have a childhood which is much better for them, where they can actually grow and be children.”

He is also drawn to cases involving domestic abuse and sexual offences, and is writing his dissertation on the impact of religious courts on women’s rights.

Barunpal signed up for mooting in his first term after spotting a message in a fresher group chat, and went on to become Treasurer of the Pro Bono Society, working as a legal researcher on a project examining miscarriages of justice. He takes up the society’s presidency in his final year.

“I don’t think we as undergraduates get the chance to do impactful work for the community as much as people in the legal profession can,” he said. “There’s such a focus on community impact, which is so rewarding.”

Doing that work in his home city gives it an extra dimension. “It’s much closer to me than it is for most people, because I was born and bred in Leicester and I’ve lived here my whole life,” he said.

“Helping people who you recognise in shops and see walking on the street day in and day out is quite rewarding. They may know you, or be complete strangers, but there’s still some connection there.”

He credits the Law School and its student societies with getting him through both his degree and his prize application. “That’s one of the things I like about the University. A lot of people are willing to help you,” he said. “It’s a very close-knit community. During exam season, everyone was helping each other and the older years were giving us advice on what they’d found useful. You never feel like you have to struggle alone.”

Barunpal will spend his final year applying for a Lincoln’s Inn scholarship towards the Bar course, followed by pupillage, the year of supervised training that leads to practice as a barrister.

“It just depends where the wind takes me, really,” he said. “Whatever happens, happens for a reason. So wherever I end up, I’m not too worried, because my aim is to get to the Bar.”