Boyle's Law

She strides up the granite steps of the courthouse on Washington Street, Cork. Helen Boyle, junior counsel, is decked out in the full regalia - the wig, the tabs and the gown. "It's like a uniform," she says.

"It's a great job. It's one of the best I could ever do. There's a huge variety. You meet all sorts of people. It can be very entertaining as well as stressful in short bursts.

"You get to see slices of people's lives from criminal to family law to personal injury cases.

"You need a brass neck - and health and the stamina of a horse. You can be in court all day. You'd have to hang around waiting for your case to get on, which is one of the downsides. Then, if you have a case that's running, either it will settle or it's in front of the judge. Then you have to come back and do paper work."

Boyle, barrister at law, has no family connections in the legal profession. It's not a prerequisite, she says. "Most barristers have no family connections."

Originally from Mitchelstown, she went to the Presentation Convent primary and secondary school. At the start of her third-level studies in UCC she had no idea that she would want to practise law - but, she says, "at the end of my legal education I wanted to be a barrister." After completing a civil law degree in UCC, she went to Leiden in the Netherlands for three months on an EU exchange programme. With a scholarship from the Irish American Bar Association, she then did a three-month internship in Los Angeles working with two federal judges. This opened her eyes to the excitement and challenge of being a barrister.

"It was interesting because at the time they were sentencing two of the police officers for the beating of Rodney King. They were tried in the federal court.

"Effectively the eyes of the world were on that court."

Subsequently, she went to the University of Edinburgh to study for a master's in law. On her return she went to King's Inns for two years for her barrister-at-law degree.

While studying here she worked with the Victim Support association. "You see things from a lay perspective, and meet people who are not used to coming to court. I realised when I was there that court is traumatic for most people. I try to bear it in mind."

While at UCC, Edinburgh and King's Inns, Boyle was always keen on debating. "Debating is certainly an advantage but it's not the same as being in court. In debating you can play to the audience, you can tell jokes. In court it's serious most of the time."

Boyle was a member of the winning team in The Irish Times Colleges' Debating competition in 1996. She was called to the bar that year and started her devilling, doing one year in Dublin and the next year in Cork.

"I had two excellent masters. It's very important." Now she is building her reputation as a barrister. Her work involves "putting up your witnesses, stating the case to the judge, dealing with any legal arguments and cross-examining witnesses that the other side puts up."

Court is mostly finished by four o'clock, she says. Then it's back to the office for consultations, preparation of papers and negotiations. Like many young barristers, Boyle also tutors third-level students.

"It's a very long haul, it takes a very long time to become established - about five years from when you enter the Law Library. You would have to give it at least five years before you break even."