A trained actor traded the stage for the real-life drama of the courtroom, a Call to the Bar has heard.

Izabella Arnold, whose first degree was in theatre and dance, was welcomed to the legal profession at an online sitting of the Supreme Court on Monday.

Ms Arnold admitted she had an “unconventional” route to the Bar, but that she was convinced it was a good grounding for a legal career.

She said: “Throughout my education I experienced many successes and honours, but none of them would have been possible without much failure and rejection.

“Resilience, sacrifice, diligence, honesty and commitment to the cause are all values instilled in me through my years of training and love for the theatre.”

Ms Arnold added that, like many, she had lost a job because of the global pandemic, which made her goal of joining the Bermuda Bar seem even more distant.

She paraphrased a line from the hit musical Hamilton and said: “I told myself I am the one thing in life I can control and I was not throwing away my shot.”

Ms Arnold said the last year of work at legal firm Walkers had been a “whirlwind” and the staff had become a family of mentors and colleagues.

She also thanked her parents for their love and support.

Ms Arnold said: “I come from a line of carpenters, farmers, grocers, nurses, carers, artists, musicians and teachers and without their hard work and sacrifice I would not be here today.”

Ms Arnold will join the insolvency and dispute resolution team at Walkers.

Peter Dunlop, a partner in the firm, said Ms Arnold was a pupil at Warwick Academy and studied theatre and dance at the University of Texas.

Mr Dunlop added: “That’s not such a strange degree as it may seem, considering that we are all frustrated actors, really.”

But he said Ms Arnold changed tack and enrolled at City University in London, where she was published twice in The City Law Review with writings on the legal battle for same-sex marriage in Bermuda.

Mr Dunlop added that Ms Arnold had picked up her work ethic from her family and her work at Walkers had been first-class.

He said that despite a “baptism of fire”, she had shown good grace and a willingness to learn.

Puisne Judge Larry Mussenden congratulated Ms Arnold on her accomplishments and said that she had undoubtedly made her family proud.