I first was introduced to Mark by a friend when I was 23. Having graduated pretty well I was working in finance and doing ok in many ways and working like a dog. But I kept thinking is this it? Do I really want to do this for the rest of my life?

As I became more and more disillusioned, I felt bad because I had so much to be grateful for, yet felt anything but. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect by meeting with Mark but I thought why not. I was earning good money and if I couldn’t use some of it to try and be happier then what was the point of having it.

I found talking to Mark really easy, which was surprising in some ways, although he asked a lot of questions some of which I found frustrating. In particular he said more than once that ‘I could be anything that I wanted to be’.

One day he asked me when I was young if there was anything that I used to really dream about doing and to tell him the next time we met.

The fact is that I was embarrassed to say what it was I dreamt about doing, which was to be a barrister. First because I was not qualified to be one and secondly my family’s chequered past involved several people, including my father, being very much on the wrong side of the law. So the very idea seemed impossible.

Anyway to cut a long story short, Mark encouraged to at least keep an open mind. He introduced me to a barrister friend of his, who was really inspiring. 

So I did evening classes to get the right A levels and was then offered a place at Oxford University to study law, which is when I gave up my job in the City. Now 10 or more years later I am a barrister.

I really needed some help and encouragement to be honest with myself and then some ongoing support to keep me on track. I guess Mark believed in me and my dream often way more than I did. To even ask if it was money well spent would be insane. 

We are still in touch and just knowing that he will reply to my text or answer the phone if I call, has always been and is very reassuring.

– James S