Anton Doyle
Current Employer/Organisation Name
Crown Prosecution Service
What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?
As soon as I left I enrolled onto the Bar Course in Nottingham (September 2022) before finishing that with a very competent in May 2023. Soon after I began work as a paralegal at a national firm of solicitors in the North West (Manchester/Liverpool) in the interim before starting my pupillage. I worked there for 15 months before leaving in August 2024. I then began pupillage with the CPS South West in October 2024. During my first 6 months until April 2025, I was shadowing my supervisor before ‘getting on my feet’ shortly afterwards. I now regularly attend in court myself and manage my own case load, including trials, sentencing hearings and other hearings both in the Crown courts and magistrates.
Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?
I chose to become a barrister for a variety of reasons: I cannot sit still for prolonged periods of time so being in an office was never going to work, I enjoyed public speaking and the ability to curate arguments at a minutes notice was appealing, and being directly involved with the cases and being hands on right from the beginning to help achieve a just outcome for those involved within the criminal justice system also drew me to becoming a barrister.
The thing I enjoy the most is two-fold: a) learning something new everyday – no two days are ever the same, and b) being inspired by the people you work with everyday from the paralegals, solicitors, opposition counsel, police officers, victims, and the judges.
What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?
The multifaceted approach to the course mixing law with business enabled a unique approach to legal arguments and business concepts alike.
What did you most enjoy about studying here?
Being by the beach and of course the summers.
Why did you choose to study at Exeter?
It was a place I had never been to before and so I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore another part of the country.
What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?
Advocacy, negotiation, thorough legal analysis and lateral thinking.
What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?
Be resilient. The doors you want to open won’t always open on your first attempt so developing thick skin early on will only benefit you greatly.
What are your plans for the future?
To continue to develop a busy and interesting practice and hopefully be called to the Irish Bar and Caribbean bar to enable international practice (long term).
