The Bar is one of the most powerful professions in the country – it produces prime ministers, millionaires and the judges who shape our law. It’s a glamorous world which attracts thousands of would-be barristers every year but only one in five students will ever get to present a case in court – only the brightest and the very best survive.

As this series, a co-production between the BBC and the Open University, continues, Birmingham divorce barrister Louise brokers a financial settlement while her colleagues in family law investigate the case of a child with a fractured skull.

The hard-up students have their first interviews for pupillage – an apprenticeship in a set of barrister’s chambers. With huge competition and newly qualified barristers facing an average debt of £35,000, the pressure is on to juggle their jobs with interview preparation.

Friday 21 November
9.00-10.00pm BBC TWO