Thriving at the Bar: Balancing commitments, self-doubt, and combatting the instinct to over-prepare

Please note this event is online-only.

The Bar is a competitive environment that demands a level of intellect and work ethic that challenges us to be at the top of our game. We tend to love a good challenge. We know how to work hard and we care about delivering good outcomes for our clients. There have certainly been times in our lives where this was not a problem, when we had the energy and time to deliver, and benefited from applying all our energy in this pursuit. Our work ethic was rewarded. 

But as our reputation and caseload builds, and our personal responsibilities outside of work multiply, we tend to reach critical mass. Simply working harder is no longer possible or sustainable. But the expectations to deliver (both our own and others’) remain. We begin to fear that we will mess up at trial, that we won’t impress our clients, or that we will be out-argued by our opposition. We start to question our motivation and our belonging in this space. These doubts often fuel the assumption that the Bar is incompatible with our lives (for example, with family commitments), and many choose to leave. 

This workshop will be delivered by clinical psychologist and former researcher in the neurosciences, Dr Desiree Dickerson. In this session, we will seek to normalise the challenges, the doubts, and the fears, that we face in this competitive environment; we will explore our thought and behavioural patterns surrounding our work and our abilities, look to developing better work habits, and increase our resilience to stress.

This session is hosted by the Talent Retention Working Group, whose initiatives seek to provide support to barristers who are either returning from time out of practice or switching practice areas.

If you have any queries, please contact g.dorey@middletemple.org.uk.