With a steady downward trend in the number of pupillages over the past ten year – 456 first six pupillages recorded for October 2010-September 2011 – it is surprising that the number of BPTC enrolments remains so high. Interestingly, The Guardian reports that UK university applicants drop by 12% before tuition fee rise. Will this trend feed through to law? I suspect not.
As Zoe Saunders, a family barrister at St John’s Chambers, notes in a most interesting article in The Lawyer today…
I presume that any student who signs up to the swingeing BTPC course fees really does want to become barrister rather than using the BPTC as a bizarrely expensive way of moving on to do something else.
The article is a good read if you are considering a career at the Bar.
Paul Gilbert has a subtle article in The Lawyer today – a very interesting perspective on What makes a great lawyer?
This is hard…after all, after the law degree, law school, training, qualifying, trying to make your way, putting up with partners behaving like four-year-olds and working your socks off…of course it should be about you!
…But it isn’t.
It’s not really even about what you know. Obviously you have to know a great deal about the law; your technical skill set is precious and important and is your ticket to play; but it doesn’t make you a great lawyer.
It’s not about who you work for either…having a successful letterhead to write on is an advantage, might open doors, might do some of the early hard yards in helping you build your personal credentials – but at the end of the day it is just a letterhead and does not make you a great lawyer.
So what does?…
October 22, 2011:
“Working for Clients & Customers: It’s Not About You, Dude. Ever.”
http://www.whataboutclients.com/archives/2011/10/working_for_cli.html
What a What About Clients/Paris? coincidence!
Paul’s right
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