Bernadette MacQueen: Judge of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)
“Whether completing an inspection of a property, listening to legal argument, considering new legislation or keeping up to date with case law, the work is varied and stimulating. I hope my experience gives you the confidence to make an application.”
Background
I had completed my law degree and Legal Practice Course and was searching for a training contract in order to qualify as a solicitor when I spotted an advert for a trainee solicitor post within local government. I sent off an application, went through the interview process and, to my absolute surprise, was offered the job! I still remember that interview as there was a scenario question about the legal advice I would give to councillors in a committee meeting which had strong echoes of the JAC recruitment process – but more of that later!
I loved the range of work within local government and particularly enjoyed the housing work I was completing. Houses in multiple occupation and housing conditions became areas of special interest to me. Having this experience has really helped me when sitting as a Fee-paid Judge in the Property Chamber. In particular, gaining experience of the legislation relating to houses in multiple occupation stood me in good stead when sitting as a judge deciding whether to make Rent Repayment Orders in situations where an offence of failing to license a house in multiple occupation had been committed. Further, my local government experience really helped me to understand public procurement processes; these can often be relevant in cases requiring determinations as to the payability and/or reasonableness of service charges.
After my oldest son was born, I thought I would be able to return to work after maternity leave full-time and nothing would change – I was wrong! Whereas before, being a solicitor was my life, I suddenly had this lovely little person to look after (note – I did not find him lovely this weekend when he returned from university with seven loads of washing!) I decided I needed a job where I could work part-time without having a case load. This led me to HMCTS and the role of Legal Adviser to the Magistrates.
I loved this role as I got to see the workings of the court room, exercise delegated powers and conduct hearings in crime and then the family jurisdiction. I worked my way up to a Legal Team Manager role, but ultimately wanted to broaden my work further. I spotted a Senior Legal Manager in Tribunals role and was fortunate to be appointed. This post involved me working closely with judges to develop the role of Legal Officer. Legal Officers are members of HMCTS staff who complete para-legal work in a range of tribunal jurisdictions. This experience allowed me to see just how interesting and varied the work of the Property Tribunal is and to learn aspects of the law that the Tribunal deals with.
The application
When a few people said to me that I should apply to be a judge, I thought they were joking. I thought that being a judge was something that other people did! I am grateful for the people who persuaded me that I should make an application, because it was the fact that others thought I could do it that made me have a go.
The application process is hard, and the best piece of advice I can give is don’t underestimate the time it takes to put together an application. Start to gather your competency examples early and keep a running record of different examples so when you come to make the application you will be ready.
The role
Even though the application process is hard, it is worth it! It is an absolute privilege to sit as a judge. There are strong working relationships between the judges, professional members and lay members of the tribunal as well as the court staff.
A challenge that I have found is the range of applications that are dealt with by the Property Chamber. However, the training that is provided is excellent and the Property Chamber allocates cases carefully, so I have been able to gradually build up the range of cases that I deal with. I also benefitted from the strong mentor programme which is in place for new judges. The work of the Property Chamber is incredibly interesting, and no two days are the same.
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