Barristers as Backpackers

Lawyers are highly educated researchers who sell their services. They want to show clients that they’re working efficiently. That means using every second to the max. Not wasting time means engaging in a constant flurry of activity. Tourists want to see as much of a new place as possible. They settle into hostels or Airbnb’s and crowdsource the local and global communities for sightseeing recommendations. During my week-long trip to England, I decided to use my experience as a lawyer to be the best possible tourist—or, at least, the most efficient one.

Though I was in a rush, England certainly wasn’t. It has taken thousands of years to pack in so much history, which I discovered after making the two-train and two-bus journey to Stonehenge. It was worth it to see one of the seven wonders of the Middle Ages, a circle of stones set up in 2500 B.C. I also visited Oxford Castle, its Mound, its Christchurch College set against the backdrop of the River Thames, the Randolph Hotel for high tea, and the souvenir shop. I was later meeting with a friend who had just had a baby, so I bought an infant hoodie that read, “Born to go to Oxford” to support her Tiger Mother mentality, as well as a goblet and a Union Jack umbrella as mementos for my family.

As a self-professed “book nerd,” I couldn’t resist popping into Stratford-upon-Avon, the town housing William Shakespeare’s birthplace and grave. The gift shops had tons of Shakespeare memorabilia, including quotes such as “To be or not to be, that is the question” and “All the world’s a stage.” The latter line came from As You Like It. I know this fact from extensive personal research – i.e. I went to see the play that the Royal Shakespeare Company put on that night in the Swan Theatre.

I traveled on to the Tower of London, which housed torture chambers and the Crown Jewels. There was a jewelry gift shop at which I purchased a crown in the style of Queen Elizabeth II on a gold chain.

I visited the ancient Inns of Court, specifically Gray’s Inn, where lawyers host their own group meetings and are origin stories for the legal profession in the United Kingdom. The Denver equivalent of these buildings is far more modern: it is the Colorado Bar Association’s office at 1290 Broadway.

All of this wandering made me hungry. It’s a good thing England is famous for its Indian food. I ordered a South Indian masala dosa and mango lassi to keep myself energized for all the trekking. There was also a fair share of pub food at places like The Turf and The Eagle and Child, where ordered a classic British drink. It’s called Pimm’s, a gin and fruit concoction that made even the most experienced drifter tipsy.

Even without the Pimm’s, I was essentially a tipsy traveler – or, at least, a giddy one. I was on a flight of fancy, where the world was my oyster and I wanted to explore every corner, as a barrister-backpacker!

(published in the June/July 2019 issue of The Docket, the Denver Bar Association magazine)