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Before I qualified as a solicitor, I spent several very happy years practising at the Bar. It was an experience I look back on with great fondness, though I will readily admit that business development was something of a mystery to me at the time. How to market myself effectively, build a sustainable practice and nurture relationships with instructing solicitors were questions I found genuinely challenging to answer.
Fast forward 20-or-so years, and as a law firm partner, I now have the privilege of seeing things from the other side. That dual perspective has been invaluable. It has given me a real appreciation of what makes the solicitor-counsel relationship work; what makes it thrive. Technical excellence and deep knowledge of the law are, of course, a given on both sides. What I want to explore here are the softer, less tangible qualities that I genuinely value when instructing counsel.
The clerks’ room has evolved considerably in recent years, reflecting the broader commercialisation of chambers. Gone are the days when relationships were built primarily over a pint; today’s best-performing clerking teams operate with real commercial sophistication – structured quarterly check-ins with firms, two-way referral tracking and proactive relationship management. And rightly so. Your clerks are the face of your practice. In many respects, they are your head of sales. A smooth, responsive and genuinely helpful clerking experience will translate directly into more instructions. What does that look like in practice? It means returning calls promptly. It means engaging with the brief with curiosity and creativity. When a first-choice barrister is unavailable, the best clerks don’t simply offer an alternative name, they ask questions: what is the client like? What kind of advocate will work best with them? What is the client’s overall budget for the matter? That kind of collaborative, client-focused problem-solving is a genuine differentiator. It keeps instructions within chambers and builds the sort of trust that makes a solicitor reach for the phone rather than looking elsewhere.
Whether you are developing a new area of practice or looking to expand your base of instructing solicitors in an existing one, the good news is that the bar for making a strong first impression is not especially high. A well-targeted, personalised email to a solicitor practising in your area, followed by an offer to meet for a coffee, will, in my experience, be well received more often than not. Solicitors are always looking to build their networks of trusted counsel, and there is a genuine mutual interest in forging those connections. In the best long-term relationships, referrals and recommendations flow in both directions. The investment is modest; the returns can be significant.
I am often asked how much weight solicitors place on a barrister’s social media presence. Speaking for myself, I would say it can be a useful, though by no means essential, tool, but only when used for a specific and relatively narrow purpose: showcasing thought leadership. When I am proposing counsel to a client, they will frequently conduct their own due diligence. What I want them to find is a professional, considered online presence with intelligent commentary, insightful observations and evidence of genuine expertise. That kind of content acts as a powerful validating tool before an instruction is even placed. What is less compelling, for me, at least, is a feed dominated by case victories, personal lifestyle content or posts that feel primarily self-promotional. There is absolutely room for personality and a human touch; the key is striking the right balance, which admittedly takes some thought. One final point worth making: an inactive or empty LinkedIn profile can actually be more damaging to your professional image than having no profile at all. If you are going to have a presence, make it count.
One of the qualities I value most highly in counsel is a genuine curiosity about the client and the matter, not just the legal issues, but the human context surrounding them. An instruction is rarely the whole picture. Beneath it sits a lay client with their own priorities, anxieties and expectations about how the matter should be handled. The more counsel understands about them, such as whether they are a repeat client, what success would genuinely look like, and how they would prefer a conference to be conducted, the better placed the whole legal team will be to deliver the service their client deserves. In my practice, counsel are very much equal participants in the legal team, bringing a distinct and vital strategic perspective. Open, regular communication, often by phone rather than email, is the most effective way to ensure everyone is aligned and working towards the same goal.
Collaboration and communication are never more important than in the run-up to a conference or hearing. The client’s best interests are always best served when the entire legal team is agreed on strategy and approach, and that requires counsel and solicitors to communicate regularly, share thinking openly and stress-test advice together before it is delivered. Surprises in conference can undermine client confidence and create unnecessary friction. A quick call beforehand to align on approach costs very little time and pays significant dividends.
One of the sets I instruct most regularly has made the development of its junior members a genuine priority. Senior barristers and clerks actively introduce juniors to solicitors, and team-to-team events at the junior end of the profession are actively encouraged and facilitated. This approach is smart for everyone involved. Junior solicitors are building their own networks now, with an eye to the briefing relationships they will develop as their careers progress. Chambers that invest in those connections early will reap the rewards for years to come. It is succession planning in the truest sense, and it speaks well of a set’s culture and values.
What I value most about my relationships with counsel is exactly that, the relationships themselves. The law can feel transactional at times. But the working relationships I treasure most are those where there is genuine human connection: where I know something about the person beyond their practice, what interests them, what their life looks like outside of work. That kind of connection is not just good for the soul, it is good for clients too. When you truly know and trust the counsel you work with, you can match the right barrister to the right case with real confidence. That, ultimately, is what great collaboration between solicitors and the Bar looks like. And it is well worth investing in.
Julie Norris, Partner in Kingsley Napley’s Regulatory team, acts in the legal services sector, advising law firms, solicitors, and barristers on regulatory compliance, investigations, adjudication, enforcement, and prosecutions.
Before I qualified as a solicitor, I spent several very happy years practising at the Bar. It was an experience I look back on with great fondness, though I will readily admit that business development was something of a mystery to me at the time. How to market myself effectively, build a sustainable practice and nurture relationships with instructing solicitors were questions I found genuinely challenging to answer.
Fast forward 20-or-so years, and as a law firm partner, I now have the privilege of seeing things from the other side. That dual perspective has been invaluable. It has given me a real appreciation of what makes the solicitor-counsel relationship work; what makes it thrive. Technical excellence and deep knowledge of the law are, of course, a given on both sides. What I want to explore here are the softer, less tangible qualities that I genuinely value when instructing counsel.
The clerks’ room has evolved considerably in recent years, reflecting the broader commercialisation of chambers. Gone are the days when relationships were built primarily over a pint; today’s best-performing clerking teams operate with real commercial sophistication – structured quarterly check-ins with firms, two-way referral tracking and proactive relationship management. And rightly so. Your clerks are the face of your practice. In many respects, they are your head of sales. A smooth, responsive and genuinely helpful clerking experience will translate directly into more instructions. What does that look like in practice? It means returning calls promptly. It means engaging with the brief with curiosity and creativity. When a first-choice barrister is unavailable, the best clerks don’t simply offer an alternative name, they ask questions: what is the client like? What kind of advocate will work best with them? What is the client’s overall budget for the matter? That kind of collaborative, client-focused problem-solving is a genuine differentiator. It keeps instructions within chambers and builds the sort of trust that makes a solicitor reach for the phone rather than looking elsewhere.
Whether you are developing a new area of practice or looking to expand your base of instructing solicitors in an existing one, the good news is that the bar for making a strong first impression is not especially high. A well-targeted, personalised email to a solicitor practising in your area, followed by an offer to meet for a coffee, will, in my experience, be well received more often than not. Solicitors are always looking to build their networks of trusted counsel, and there is a genuine mutual interest in forging those connections. In the best long-term relationships, referrals and recommendations flow in both directions. The investment is modest; the returns can be significant.
I am often asked how much weight solicitors place on a barrister’s social media presence. Speaking for myself, I would say it can be a useful, though by no means essential, tool, but only when used for a specific and relatively narrow purpose: showcasing thought leadership. When I am proposing counsel to a client, they will frequently conduct their own due diligence. What I want them to find is a professional, considered online presence with intelligent commentary, insightful observations and evidence of genuine expertise. That kind of content acts as a powerful validating tool before an instruction is even placed. What is less compelling, for me, at least, is a feed dominated by case victories, personal lifestyle content or posts that feel primarily self-promotional. There is absolutely room for personality and a human touch; the key is striking the right balance, which admittedly takes some thought. One final point worth making: an inactive or empty LinkedIn profile can actually be more damaging to your professional image than having no profile at all. If you are going to have a presence, make it count.
One of the qualities I value most highly in counsel is a genuine curiosity about the client and the matter, not just the legal issues, but the human context surrounding them. An instruction is rarely the whole picture. Beneath it sits a lay client with their own priorities, anxieties and expectations about how the matter should be handled. The more counsel understands about them, such as whether they are a repeat client, what success would genuinely look like, and how they would prefer a conference to be conducted, the better placed the whole legal team will be to deliver the service their client deserves. In my practice, counsel are very much equal participants in the legal team, bringing a distinct and vital strategic perspective. Open, regular communication, often by phone rather than email, is the most effective way to ensure everyone is aligned and working towards the same goal.
Collaboration and communication are never more important than in the run-up to a conference or hearing. The client’s best interests are always best served when the entire legal team is agreed on strategy and approach, and that requires counsel and solicitors to communicate regularly, share thinking openly and stress-test advice together before it is delivered. Surprises in conference can undermine client confidence and create unnecessary friction. A quick call beforehand to align on approach costs very little time and pays significant dividends.
One of the sets I instruct most regularly has made the development of its junior members a genuine priority. Senior barristers and clerks actively introduce juniors to solicitors, and team-to-team events at the junior end of the profession are actively encouraged and facilitated. This approach is smart for everyone involved. Junior solicitors are building their own networks now, with an eye to the briefing relationships they will develop as their careers progress. Chambers that invest in those connections early will reap the rewards for years to come. It is succession planning in the truest sense, and it speaks well of a set’s culture and values.
What I value most about my relationships with counsel is exactly that, the relationships themselves. The law can feel transactional at times. But the working relationships I treasure most are those where there is genuine human connection: where I know something about the person beyond their practice, what interests them, what their life looks like outside of work. That kind of connection is not just good for the soul, it is good for clients too. When you truly know and trust the counsel you work with, you can match the right barrister to the right case with real confidence. That, ultimately, is what great collaboration between solicitors and the Bar looks like. And it is well worth investing in.
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