As an Irish pupil barrister, St Patrick’s Day was an auspicious day to start second six. After 20 weeks of in-house advocacy training, six months of outstanding supervision, countless days shadowing members of Chambers in courts across the country and surviving the pupil mock trial, what could possibly go wrong?

Yet on the way to my first court appearance, I was worried about doing it all ‘wrong’. Later, my co-pupils (Gabriel, Katie and Jon) admitted feeling the same. That was reinforced a few months later at an imposter syndrome workshop at Chambers, where attendees agreed that feeling fear is normal! Here are four things I found helpful to feel the fear and advocate anyway as a new pupil.

1. A rising tide lifts all boats

I am one of four co-pupils in Chambers. During first six, we had weekly advocacy sessions covering everything from bail and bad character applications to closing speeches and pleas in mitigation. Over 20 weeks, our trainers created a culture where we were encouraged to perform our best advocacy but also to ask questions and experiment with different styles and approaches. Being comfortable trying new things and making mistakes improved the quality of everyone’s advocacy and we all celebrated when submissions found favour or commiserated when a point didn’t land.

In second six, my co-pupils’ advice and support continues to be generously shared and enormously welcomed. We share resources and meet up after court to share the highs and lows. Members of Chambers are always happy to help and all four of us are grateful and regular recipients of live remote-court-assistance via WhatsApp from those who have gone before us.

2. Be patient

Week by week in advocacy training, we worked towards making more good and fewer bad points. There were times when the notion of running a full trial felt terrifying. Now, six months in, we all regularly prosecute and defend trials.

Like any skill, advocacy improves with practice. Our trainers openly shared tips for developing our skills but agreed that there is no substitute for practice. The learning curve is undoubtedly steep and every week has peaks and troughs. But before long, you’ll have moments where you realise how much progress you’ve made and a last-minute application or first appearance will be routine.

3. See one, do one

If you’ve read Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt, you may recognise his description of junior doctor training as ‘see one, do one, teach one’. Thankfully, no one expects pupils to teach anyone anything – but watching before doing in court can help settle nerves.

In every training session, we learned both from our trainers and from each other. Be reassured that you’re learning more than you think by watching others. I pick up new turns of phrase and arguments every time I’m in court and when I can, I sit in before my case is called on to watch others advocate and get a sense of the judge’s style and approach. I found that very helpful especially in those early weeks when everything was so new.

4. Do it as yourself

One of the best things about our training was its emphasis on individuality. No single model of advocacy was imposed on us. Our trainers often shared what their different approaches would have been in the same scenarios. Watching each other on our feet during the final mock trial illustrated just how effective our different advocacy styles were.

When we began second six, our lead advocacy trainer Ali Bajwa KC sent us a good luck message, encouraging us to ‘be liberated from the formality of training, and do it as yourselves’. That message stuck with me and I hope it helps you too.

Good luck in these first few months of pupillage – you’ve got this!