Alex Cisneros

Current Employer/Organisation Name

No5 Chambers

What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?

After I graduated in 2012, I moved to India to work in a human rights NGO. I then moved back to the UK and working in the House of Lords while completing the BPTC part-time. I commenced pupillage at No5 Chambers in 2016 and now practise as a tenant in Public Law.

Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?

It sounds cliché (and it is), but I genuinely wanted to help people. I saw the law as a tool to achieving that and the Bar specifically as a way of making a difference in people’s lives. The flexibility of the Bar was what initially drew me to it. It is a profession where you dictate where your career will take you, some colleagues have ambitions to become judges, others want to be politicians or activists. The thing I enjoy most though is the variety. I love the fact that I could be in court one day representing an asylum seeker and sat at home the next writing advice in my PJs.

What did you enjoy most about studying here?

I studied at the Cornwall Campus. My favourite part of the Cornwall Campus was the mix of students. Exeter University shares the campus with Falmouth University and so most of my friends now are in the creative industries having studied film or fine art. Getting that diversity of perspective really set the Cornwall Campus apart from any other university. It made the experience of studying quite a dry subject like law quite interesting. Plus… I lived 15 minutes walk away from two beaches, what’s not to love?

Why did you choose to study at Exeter?

Obviously Exeter is a great university and I’ve benefitted from its reputation while searching for jobs. What drew me to the University especially was the mix of research disciplines that the lecturers specialised in. They sounded like interesting people and I wanted the opportunity to learn from them.

What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?

I was the Master of the Moots in Cornwall. Mooting and Debating are natural allies to a career at the Bar where I am asked to advocate on behalf of a client every day.

What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?

Don’t think that you need to rush into the Bar. The average age of people starting out is 28 – you have time. Do something that interests you first, it will help with pupillage applications and allows you the opportunity to save up.

What are your plans for the future?

I hope to continue practising at the Bar and then the world.