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Being a barrister is about more than advocacy, courtroom appearances, and focusing on comprehensive legal matters.
On a recent podcast of the Lawyers Weekly Show, Victoria-based family law barrister Ashleigh Morris explained that life at the Bar involves far more than what is taught during formal training.
From managing the realities of self-employment and developing relationships with solicitors to pricing your work, Morris highlighted that in building visibility and discovering a professional niche, barristers must seek a range of challenges beyond the law itself.
Throughout the discussion, Morris reflects on the lessons he has taken on board ever since coming to the Bar, the misunderstandings of the profession, and what aspiring barristers should understand before making that next step.
The business behind the barrister brief
Morris highlighted that the profession also requires a strong understanding of the business responsibilities that come with being self-employed.
“The appeal of being a barrister is more about the work that you do as a barrister, but the fact that you’re essentially running your own business, that necessarily comes with that,” Morris said.
“I certainly underestimated just how onerous that task would be.
“The best marketing that I can put out there is to actually develop those relationships and to nurture those relationships.
“Because at the end of the day, you have to work with these people.”
Learning to put a value on that work is another integral aspect of creating a sustainable practice.
“It can be quite difficult to state your value and what you should be pricing yourself at, especially if you don’t have a great deal of guidance for what the ballpark is in that particular field,” Morris said.
“At the end of the day, as barristers, we are running a business, and so there is a lot of work that goes into the administration of that business, nurturing relationships, marketing, self-promotion.”
Progressing at the Victorian Bar
For Morris, a career at the Bar essentially means building expertise and discovering an area in which you can establish yourself in a professional manner.
“The law is always changing, it’s constantly evolving, and so there is this continuous intellectual rigour that I suppose pushes you on to continue wanting to do more and to expand more,” Morris said.
“When I started out, I was kind of open to doing a few things; I was doing criminal law, I was doing children’s law, personal injury, and family law.
“As you get through your career and you want to be doing some more challenging things, you do have to sort of specialise and choose something that you can really become an expert in.”
Establishing visibility remains a fundamental part of professional advancement, particularly when practitioners aim to cultivate their standing and secure complex instructions.
“It is very much a profession that lives or dies by visibility; in this day and age, we are a highly digital profession,” Morris said.
“Those who do well, they truly love that exercise.
“They truly love advocacy, and I think that that’s an imperative part of a career at the Bar.”
