Brief Encounter: Max Hardy
Max Hardy is a tenant at 9 Bedford Row, who specialises in criminal and regulatory Law. Max has been the Chair of the Young Barristers’ Committee of the Bar Council, and is a member of the Criminal Bar Association’s Executive Committee. He can be found on twitter at @MaxJLHardy, and is a Kalisher trustee.
Tell us a bit about your daily professional life
I’m in court almost every day. Usually London based but also in Luton and St Albans. I have a mixed practice with slightly more prosecution than defence work. I’ve been a pupil supervisor for some years and usually have a pupil either coming to court with me or finding their feet in the 2nd Six, so I try to check in with them. When court is over there is always preparation for the next day, the next week or the next month – often all three.
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
It is advice that I fail to heed almost every single day – demarcate your professional life from your family life.
What motivates you?
Problem solving.
What is the one piece of advice you would give a young or aspiring barrister?
Own your mistakes. There are very few mistakes that can’t eventually be remedied. Concealing mistakes or, worse, blaming others is a sure route to disaster.
What did you read at university? If you didn’t read Law, why not and has that made a difference?
English Literature. I really strongly feel that undergraduate study is about exploring academic passion. For some people that is law but for many law students, I suspect, it is not.
What three skills are essential to succeed in the Law?
Time management.
Clear decision making.
Careful listening.
Most memorable legal moment?
Calling Jon Snow as a witness.
Best courtroom or chambers etiquette tip?
There are no little people. How you treat the usher and the junior clerk is who you are.
Which mentor/ figure(s) or events have inspired you, supported you, or changed your approach?
A stint working on death penalty appeals in Louisiana showed me what the law looks like when it really is a matter of life and death. We may not have capital cases here but we are witness to and shape events that change lives forever.
Is there anything you would change or do differently, if you could relive your career?
Being a successful pupil and being a successful barrister are not always the same thing. It took me quite a long time to reconcile myself to that fact.
What personal interests or pursuits outside your career have enhanced your legal career?
I really enjoy writing. Criminal law does not involve as much drafting as other areas of law but it does still provide an outlet for that urge although in a formalistic way with a very small audience. I blog about the law but also about parenting which affords me much more freedom to express myself.
What have you learned / realised / taken up / done differently during coronavirus?
Life has become very small but it has not become limited.
How do you relax?
Swimming in rivers when I can get in them and the Hampstead ponds when I can’t. If I ever appear in a seaside court I always take my swimming trunks.