Thread by @AdamWagner1

For what it’s worth, a few barrister tips from an imperfect barrister after 9.5 years in practice

(Thread) #bartips

Pupillage is best seen as election campaign where your chambers colleagues are the voters.

Don’t ever get drunk during pupillage. Ever.

Treat your Bar contemporaries well - and that means from uni onwards. You never know when you will meet again and given how small the Bar is you almost certainly will

It’s difficult to emphasise how small the Bar is. You can’t afford enemies so don’t seek them out.

No decent judge or opponent will ever look down on you for fiercely defending your client.

A good barrister is never unintentionally rude.

Winning a case is like setting out on a sea voyage. Your preparation is building the boat but the judge is the weather. You can build the best boat but no one can predict the weather!

Dealing with judges is all about being bamboo - supple and bendable, not brittle and breakable.

Listen to judges, not just what they say but their body language. Adapt to them because unless you’re the world’s best advocate, they probably won’t adapt to you

Be brutally honest but polite and sensitive in your advice to clients. It’s what they instructed you to do.

Never be afraid to admit ignorance. In the long run it will help you.

Buy Adobe Pro DC! Going paperless has changed my practice and in a way my working life. Can’t recommend it enough.

Preparing a case is like setting out on a sea voyage. Your preparation is building the boat and the judge is the weather. You can build the best boat but no one can predict the weather!

Dealing with judges is all about being bamboo - supple and bendable, not brittle and breakable.

Advocacy is about persuasion. So is cross examination if you think about it.

Learn the difference between tactics and strategy. Experience will teach you this.

Losing is an important part of barrister life. There is nothing wrong with wallowing but don’t do it for long and try to learn at least one thing from every loss.

Winning is part of barrister life too. But don’t be arrogant enough to think it’s always because of your input.

Always complement your juniors and opponents if you think they deserve it.

When you pick up a set of papers imagine you are on the other side for a bit. It will help you figure out the real issues.

Say yes to everything for the first five years. Go everywhere and don’t be afraid of any area of law if it gets you into court.

Don’t be a court snob. Better to spend a few years doing small cases which you are running than big cases where you are sitting in the back of court listening (a mix is best)

Know your White Book! Or your the relevant equivalent to your practice area.

Stand your ground! Pick your red lines before you go into court so you know which are the ones you will risk everything for.

Be brave! As you get more experienced you will know instinctively the difference between bravery and foolhardiness. But you’ll never know for sure.

Be out and proud! Be a public barrister. Represent your profession and vocation and fight for the rule of law in and out of the courts.

Experience can’t be bought or read. But it will come.

Nerves are natural. I am sometimes physically ill before a big hearing. I know other barristers are too. It gets a bit better but it can just be a part of life.

Look after your mental health. Don’t work all night if you can avoid it. It’s just a job. Don’t get into bad habits which will make your days longer but your career shorter.

Work from home! It’s an advantage we have that others don’t and if properly managed it can make the job easier to handle

Don’t be afraid of telling people you are stressed or worried. Share problems. Stewing can corrode your mental health.

Don’t watch lawyers on TV after 7pm! That’s a personal one but I find it helps me sleep.

The Bar has survived because it’s an amazing support network. Use it. I often ask for help and in 10 years nobody has ever turned me down.

As you get more senior offer help to people more junior. They need it and it costs you nothing.

Leave your chambers room door ajar so people know they can come and discuss cases. If your door swings shut, get a doorstop! That’s what I did when I moved chambers

Personal one: don’t be afraid to change chambers if your heart is telling you it’s time.

Reputations are difficult to build but easy to ruin. Remember that when deciding whether to do something ethically dubious which may give you an advantage

Always book the train before the one that will get you to court just in time

Never ever ever be late for court. That’s even more important than not getting drunk during pupillage!

Be independent and fight for justice. That’s the point of the Bar. And that doesn’t just mean in court.