A former Berkeley Institute pupil has been Called to the Bar as a lawyer for Conyers Dill and Pearman.

Elizabeth Blankendal, 24, recently completed a year of pupillage at the firm and is now a qualified associate in its corporate department.

She was Called to the Bar before Chief Justice Narinder Hargun at the Supreme Court on Friday.

Ms Blankendal thanked her mentors, Conyers director Sophia Greaves, Kimberley Caines-Best of HSBC, Christa Schweizer of Ascendant Group, Barclay Simmons of ASW Law and Wanda Armstrong of KPMG.

She said: “The guidance from people experienced in the industry was really helpful and has made my progression to this point very smooth.”

Ms Greaves said: “We are very pleased to welcome Elizabeth as an associate at our firm and we congratulate her for reaching this milestone in her career.

“Elizabeth is a talented, young Bermudian woman. I have no doubt we can expect great things from her in the future.”

As a child, Ms Blankendal wanted to be a paediatrician, but switched her ambitions to law because she did not enjoy science.

She experienced family, criminal and corporate practices working as a legal intern at local firms during summer vacations, before deciding to focus on corporate and commercial law.

She joked that she was looking forward to better weather than she experienced while studying in Bristol, in Britain.

She said: “After six years in the UK, I’d had enough of the climate. I was lucky to be able to join the top firm in Bermuda where I could get exposure to high-quality work without remaining in dreary London weather.”