A little over a year ago, I was interviewing Sir Richard Branson on the terrace of his Caribbean hideaway on Necker Island. There had been a problem with my flight from Miami, so his PR had rustled up a private jet. As travel editor of this paper for ten years, I might not have matched the salary of some of those I interviewed, but I certainly sampled their red-carpet lifestyle.

So last year, when I left to become a law student, there were more than a few raised eyebrows. And occasionally, such as when I’m studying promissory estoppel in a grey London library, I raise a rueful eyebrow too in memory of some of my 100-odd overseas assignments for The Times, from Antarctica to Zimbabwe — the like of which are, for now, beyond my budget.

After 20 years as a journalist, I can hardly claim that I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since watching To Kill a Mockingbird at the age of 12. But as my career progressed from local papers to various nationals and finally The Times, I had increasing contact with the lawyers who were involved with my stories and features. I became interested in how they looked at the world, and how they used their intellect and professional training to achieve, in a different way, what journalists strive to do.

For all the delights of exotic travel, what I really enjoyed was nailing a lie. It’s a privilege to have a job where you can expose rip-off hotels or travel companies, or help readers to win compensation for ruined holidays. I even wrote a book on it, The Times Holiday Handbook. Interviewing travel industry lawyers made me realise how much more powerful your case can be when you can fall back on a clear knowledge of the law.

So last year I left The Times and started studying for the Graduate Diploma in Law at the College of Law in London. I’m studying part-time over two years, while working part-time as a freelance journalist. Once I complete this course in the summer of 2009, I hope to train as a barrister.

It has meant a huge change in status. I’ve swapped dinners at Nobu and The Ivy for lunches at Pret; black cabs for buses. “Cath who?” they ask at check-in, as they seat me next to the loos in goat class. Calls to former close contacts often go unanswered and my mantelpiece no longer groans under glossy invitations (though my new student friends invite me by text for “cheeky cocktails”, sighing at my lack of a Facebook profile). Worst of all, I no longer face the Maldives or Barbados dilemma each January — though I hope, having met holidaying lawyers in both, that such a delightful problem may resurface one distant day.

Studying again, 20 years after my first degree, has been a shock. After years of sitting at a computer, I’m back in the library using pen and paper. No longer distracted by e-mails or the urgent demands of editors, I sit and read for hours: a rare pleasure. Lectures are, apparently, downloadable, though I prefer to rock up and listen the old-fashioned way. Intense, three-hour written exams necessitated a quick return to the osteopath.

Along the way I have had some fabulous work experience, not least marshalling for Mr Justice Eady in the Max Mosley case, in which Mr Mosley won damages against the News of the World. A week in the law department of The Times sent a shudder through former colleagues as I tried to spot legal problems with their copy.

Mini-pupillages in sets as diverse as 5 Raymond Buildings and Lamb Building have given me insights into the varied life of a barrister, from responding to a libel claim to defending an alleged rapist. Watching Trevor Burke, of Charter Chambers, the top criminal silk, defending in a leading Crown Court drugs trial was a masterclass in advocacy. Mr Burke might not put it this way, but producing rabbits out of hats and tap-dancing before the judge isn’t so terribly different from keeping an editor happy on press day.

TIPS FOR MATURE STUDENTS

* Some firms and chambers say that they welcome applications from older candidates because workplace experience is valuable when dealing with clients and colleagues. Many post the CVs of staff on their websites so you can see what backgrounds they have.

* Most firms and sets expect your degree to be a first or a 2:1, but mature students may find that experience counterbalances a 2:2.

* Older applicants may find that recounting their career highlights helps their application to stand out from the mass of photofit CVs supplied by 21-year-olds.

* Specific skills may be in demand. For example, a medically qualified candidate may find work in medical negligence cases, while someone with a scientific background may be suited to intellectual property.

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