Barrister gives birth after leaving Supreme Court in taxi
Amy Stout was 37.5 weeks pregnant
It’s been an extraordinary 24 hours for family barrister Amy Stout, who had to get a taxi from the Supreme Court as she was due to give birth.
Stout, a barrister and head of pupillage at London chambers 3 Dr Johnson’s Buildings, was in the top court on Wednesday at 37.5 weeks pregnant. “What could possibly go wrong?”, she tweeted.
Fast forward a few hours, and Stout had an update for her followers: “To answer my own seemingly rhetorical question — baby was born at 3.30am,” she wrote. “I ended up getting a taxi from the Supreme Court to the hospital (only 5 mins away). What a day!”
To answer my own seemingly rhetorical question: baby was born at 3.30am. I ended up getting a taxi from the Supreme Court to the hospital (only 5 mins away). What a day!
— Amy Stout (@AmyJStout) March 23, 2022
What a way to cap off a Supreme Court appearance!
Many congratulations to Stout and her new bundle of joy. The Supreme Court ought to send the tot one of their teddy bears.
In 2020 a law student made headlines when she gave birth during her bar exam. Brianna Hill ended up having to complete the exam from a hospital ward the next day — and passed.
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6 Comments
Anonymous
Congratulations, but what does it say about the Bar when a mother-to-be at full term feels obliged to keep up a full schedule of work, including court appearances? That doesn’t feel like the healthiest working culture ever.
Anonymous
When I used to tutor, a prominent QC told me that he was desperate for his youngest son to pass his boarding school entrance exams because he wanted him “out of the way”.
Dom
As a former boarding school teacher, I can confirm that the feeling is mutual amongst many of the pupils.
Dom
Does it have to be the culture? People also make personal choices, sometimes prioritising work over everything else.
Anonymous
What does it say about the Bar? This individual case says about nothing about the Bar at all. It is crazy to try to draw generalisations about the Bar or make assumptions about why counsel might have appeared at the Supreme Court in these circumstances. A lot of barristers seriously enjoy their work and get a kick out of big occasions. Every barrister I know would be absolutely devastated to miss an appearance in the SC, which for all but a tiny handful of megastars is something that only comes around now and again (if at all). It may be that counsel “felt obliged” to appear, but I reckon it is a lot more likely that wild horses wouldn’t have prevented her from appearing.
Anonymous
The fear for me was that my child might not be able to name the case or court I was in, but would definitely remember that I wasn’t around.
There’s more to life than work.
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