I left school early to work ‘to provide food for the table’. I was a forester – lived a number of years in a caravan before working as a retail manager, gaining a diploma in management studies and heading a £15m turnover operation. Then I became a police officer and went on to serve in Bermuda. I’m firearms-trained, and I’ve had weapons aimed at me, but the pressures of a modern lawyer far exceed those I faced in the police service.

While in Bermuda I realised how advanced and fair our legal system was at the time, even though it has many faults. I was offended by the fact that those arrested were often held in what I would describe as ‘an enlarged kennel’ at the back of the police station.

I knew I didn’t want to be a police officer forever. I questioned authority too much and was quite liberal – my nickname was ‘Social Sammy’.

I did my law degree part-time – two evenings a week and 10-15 hours of work on a weekend. When I qualified, I already had over five years’ relevant work experience. I was made a partner upon qualification. Many people who have never been in trouble before in their life are wrongly charged. Often with any private money restrained, an individual lawyer will represent a client on low legal aid rates, taking on a prosecutor with much more resources. It’s becoming an ever increasing challenge – but challenge breeds motivation.

I think when I was younger I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder and thought most lawyers were pompous. That, in reality, is not the case, though too many lawyers still populate advice with superfluous legal padding. Professionals such as accountants and doctors I think respect us. The general public will immediately think ‘fat cat’. It is unfair and a myth. There are thousands of lawyers and young barristers being paid wages which only allow them to get by.

The most common question l am asked by people I meet is ‘how can you defend someone when you know they are guilty?’. It becomes very tiring. At times, I have believed that people were guilty and then through my efforts found unequivocal evidence they were innocent.

I would advise prospective lawyers to consider other options before they commit themselves to the profession. In fact, it is no longer a profession but a business with professional ethics.

Anthony Barnfather is head of the regulatory group, Pannone