Making a case for a career at the Bar

As we are talking especially about the Bar this week, I thought we might try using the skills that are essential if one is to be a successful barrister to assess whether you have what it takes. You are probably familiar with the 'cab rank' rule under which barristers are expected to take the next case that comes along without picking or choosing, or taking a position on the strength of a case (ethical considerations notwithstanding). This highlights what (most) barristers are paid to do: plead a case based on the information they have available to them as skilfully and persuasively as possible. In any given case, the same advocate would be expected to make a convincing case regardless of which 'side' they were employed to plead for.

But the fact that a barrister can present both sides of an argument does not mean they are unaware of, or do not have an opinion on, the strength of the respective positions being taken. Indeed, a keen awareness of each side's strengths and weaknesses is crucial in deciding how to proceed (including throwing in the towel). The need for somebody to dispassionately gauge the strength of a case and make the best of it is the main reason the Bar exists! If you do not work out responses to your opponents' strengths and assess how to hide your own weaknesses, you are merely burying your head in the sand. That's what clients (might want to) do, but as their professional adviser, you must not.

"So, what has this to do with career choices?" Well, I invite you to analyse your desire to train at the Bar with a barrister's forensic rigour. In other words, you need to come up with two distinct arguments: the first, why you should definitely pursue the goal of becoming a barrister; the second, why you absolutely should not train at the Bar. You should be able to make an extremely good case for each as there are plenty of arguments on either side. Some of the pro Bar arguments are to do with the interest and variety the job offers, the intellectual stimulation, the camaraderie, the status, the potential rewards, maybe even the dressing up! On the other side you might want to think about the difficulty of getting to the top, the up-front investment required, the possibly rocky future of the Bar, the cuts in funding of the legal sector, as well as a multitude of other factors on either side. There is plenty of material to work with: facts and figures, opinion pieces, fine words, news and even satire.

There is almost certainly no right or wrong answer to how you should proceed but if you are unwilling to be extremely rigorous in your thinking and genuinely objective in your decision making … well, I'll leave that for you to work out.