How to establish your credibility as a junior barrister

When a barrister is credible others tend to have confidence in their knowledge, judgment, and ability to do the job.

What is credibility?

Credibility relates to your trustworthiness to do your job. It’s about being believable and reliable and is based on a combination of factors, including competence, expertise, honesty, and consistency. It’s a quality that’s communicated quietly and confidently.

A credible barrister is one who has built their reputation over time, over years. So how can you start to build credibility at the Junior Bar if you don’t yet have a track record?

The building blocks of credibility

The challenge for junior barristers is not yet having had enough time to establish a reputation. It takes time, sometimes years, to establish credibility. Here are the steps you can take to communicate that you’re on the right track.

1. Communicate your academic ability

Your clients need to know that you’re smart enough to deal with their case. Reassure them by including on your CV, websites, and social media details of the following details:

• Academic qualifications
• Awards
• Scholarships
• Prizes
• Moots

2. Communicate your experience

No-one achieves tenancy without having jumped through multiple pro bono hoops. Include a section in your bio about your volunteer experience and the level of independence entrusted to you.

If you are an experienced junior who has accumulated experience from outside the Bar, include this in your bio too. Experience gathered in the world beyond the Bar shows that you can bring fresh and new perspectives to your reasoning.

3. Communicate your knowledge

Even if you haven’t yet worked on a case in a particular area of law, you may have developed deep expertise from your reading, writing and research.

Choose the right platform for your audience – for example, your Chambers’ website, LinkedIn, academic journal, industry magazine, podcast – and publish your knowledge in the places where your target clients spend their time. Here’s a guide to help you get started.

Steps to build your credibility

1. Networking

You may have heard the phrase – your network is your net worth. Building your network has never been easier with social media but the ease by which you can build your contacts list isn’t a guarantor of its quality.

Invite people into your network whom you consider to be credible and nurture those relationships. You will start to build credibility by your association with people who have carefully established their own.

2. Referrals

Referrals are probably the best way to win new instructions. A referral from someone with an established reputation is a proven way to demonstrate your credibility.

You are not in control of your referrals but if you engage with the world with integrity, humility and reliability you will start to build trust with your network as a barrister they are happy to refer on to their network.

3. Testimonials

Related to referrals are written testimonials. These are a written representation of your credibility based on your clients’ direct experience of working with you. Testimonials are a very powerful way to show credibility.

You may not feel comfortable asking for testimonials from clients. If this is the case, take a look here for how to ask for one, and the best time to do it.

Tips to develop your credibility over time.

1. First impressions

Recently I supervised a graduate consultant in her first job. She is extremely capable but lacked the confidence to convey her skills, knowledge and experience. She had become stuck in the narrative of not having the credibility for her job and it was holding her back, unnecessarily.

You will meet many, many people during the course of your career at The Bar. Choose your narrative and introduce yourself confidently to each of them. Have your one-liner ready that conveys your skills and experience so you can establish your credibility during the first conversation.

2. Contribute to the debate

Making substantive contributions in debate and conversation is an ideal way to further bolster your credibility. If you know your target clients are interested in a particular topic, participate in the debate and add something meaningful to the discussion.

If a junior barrister is seen to be giving sound advice or having an interesting view or perspective they will gain a legitimate and reputable standing in their network more quickly than those who listen in nodding agreement.

3. Commit to maintaining your credibility

Having established your credibility by following these steps, commit to maintain your credibility.

Showing integrity, keeping current with Court of Appeal cases, fostering relationships and your network, and being continually responsive to requests will help cement your reputation as a credible and capable junior barrister.

In summary

Credibility is something that takes effort to achieve and even more effort to maintain.

Displaying your technical skills, sharing your knowledge, seeking out referrals, making a good impression, and contributing meaningful ideas can all help you acquire and maintain credibility. It’s worth the investment of time for your long-term success.