It is a powerful thing, to...
to know the law and know your shit
and then be creative and work within those parameters
to kind of seek justice for the person.
It almost... One thing,
the reason why I want to become a barrister
is because I feel like there's a lack of barristers
that know what's going on on the ground,
that actually know about people.
Leila Taleb went to university and got a law degree.
Now, she has her sights set on getting into law school
to become a barrister.
She knows it'll be tough.
Competition for places is fierce,
and there aren't many working-class women
at the top of this profession.
My mum says, "You're really good at arguing."
She used to say, "Leila, become a lawyer,
"because you can argue your way out of anything!"
Bradford is in the top 20
of the most deprived districts in the UK.
Leila grew up here, in the BD3 postcode.
I suppose some areas of BD3 are quite rough,
but I have great memories here.
This is quite a nice street, you know?
And I used to feel, like, quite fearless on these streets.
I remember once someone broke into our house and I...
I just felt like I had to be the hero,
and my dad ran after him
and I ran after him as well!
And I ran all the way down the street, like,
"You're not getting away with it!"
I've only actually recently, in the last few years,
started to think that I can actually be a barrister.
It doesn't really matter what background you're from.
Why should I feel like I can't become a barrister?
I'm just the same as everyone else.
I can have this just as much as anyone else can.
My dad wanted me to stay in the house, like,
he hated the fact that I was the most ambitious one
and wanted to do all these activities. He hated it.
It kind of made me who I am today,
and it's kind of made me, like, really tough.
Like, even I think as a kid,
like, I didn't really get upset that much,
I was just like, "Right, no-one's going to..." You know,
"You can say all these things..." But I always had, like, a...
a comeback to something.
Or I would go in my room and listen to Christina Aguilera. Like...
# Can't hold us down
# Nobody can hold us down. #
Literally, like I would literally sing and just dance on my own.
My dad is originally from Algeria.
He came over to Bradford cos he got sponsored to do a degree here.
And my mum is from a white working-class background.
She's born and bred here in Bradford.
There's my older brother, Nassim,
and then there's my younger brother, Sofiane.
My dad would just treat the boys differently to me.
I felt like I had to prove myself.
I felt like, as a girl, you know,
like the boys could do whatever they wanted
and they'd always get, like, praised in a certain way.
Whereas I feel like whatever I did,
there was something that I was doing wrong.
I was on this kind of path,
and I felt like the only way I could achieve freedom
was through education.
There was no other escape for me.
I thought, 'Right, if I can gain knowledge,
'and I can excel, then...
'I'll somehow get out of this situation.'
I can be who I want to be.
When she's not studying,
Leila wants to inspire other young people in her community -
teaching girls about empowerment at a local school.
So, can anyone remember the ground rules of these sessions?
Elle.
Listen to people when they're talking.
Well, we respect one another but it's not like school, you know?
You don't have to call me Miss.
If you want to share something, feel free to share it.
'A lot of the time when I talk to the kids,
'it's evident that they have self-esteem issues.
'They don't like themselves in some way.
'Especially for girls,
'self-esteem is a big one at this age.'
To, you know, give girls the confidence, self-esteem,
make them more aware on healthy relationships.
You know, more aware about, like, inequalities.
It's a time for them to just chat.
Like, they don't really get a chance to do that
because in school it's all about acting a certain way
and just learning the curriculum,
so that kind of gives them the space where they can just be themselves,
and it kind of empowers them, in a way.
You know, when you're lacking confidence, you're thinking,
"How am I going to stand up and defend somebody else?"
Stood in a court in front of a judge,
I wouldn't be able to do it if I didn't have the confidence,
and I think that's why I sort of backed away...
It is a very intimidating profession, very intimidating.
I shit myself all the time,
but I've learnt to just shit myself and just keep walking!
# La-la-la. #
Just keep walking, keep walking, keep walking!
If you keep doing it, then you start becoming more confident.
What is it called when someone forces you to do something
you don't want to do? Peer pressure and...?
Begins with C.
Controlling, yeah.
Teaching part-time also earns her some hard-needed cash
towards her barrister course.
If she's accepted at law school,
her fees will be £14,500 for the year.
This, for me, it's like my bread and butter to earn money
whilst I'm trying to achieve my barrister's course.
But at the same time, it's what I'm passionate about
and I'm lucky that I can actually do something that's quite fun
and that's fuelling my passion, rather than working in Asda's.
But one of the biggest obstacles
Leila faces in becoming a barrister...
is breaking into a profession where, as a working-class woman,
she will be a tiny minority.
During the teenage years, I kind of thought, "I'll be a lawyer,"
but I never kind of thought I was good enough to be a barrister.
I don't know, I just kind of thought...
Mm, maybe that environment's not for me,
because I'm not from a certain class.
I'm not from that kind of aristocratic...
I don't speak a certain way.
Leila will have to undergo an assessment
to win a place at the University Of Law in Leeds.
3,000 students apply each year,
but only half of these will be accepted.
You do have that doubt, like, 'Oh, I just don't belong there.'
They're of a certain, like, class, and they look a certain way.
There's no-one that's like me in there, that's the thing.
You feel like something's attainable if you see yourself represented.
What's the time?
'But then, after meeting certain barristers,'
that did say...
"No, I think you'd make an excellent barrister, Leila,
"we need more people like you."
'So it'd allow me to be like a bridge
'between those that actually need help,
'that, you know, are facing injustices,
'and the legal system.
'That's why I think I'd be a good barrister
'and there is a lack of that,
'so I feel like I'd fit a gap, a gap in the system.'
OK, good afternoon, Sir...
'You need us people that kind of stand up,
'stand up for those that feel like they can't have a voice.'
Forget my background, forget class,
forget, like, whether I'm a woman or not,
forget the fact that I've come from BD3,
I can be who I want to be.