It is not so long ago that solicitors crept respectfully into barristers' chambers. They sat silently through an arcane speech and crept, tea and coffee-less, quietly away. We are more demanding these days.
Barristers recognise that they too are providing a service.
This might be as a tough advocate or as a very clever academic lawyer in a specialist area. Counsel should be able to understand the clients' commercial concerns and apply the law to the real world. He must be able to give clear advice which the clients can follow, even where legal argument is complex. If the barrister is approachable and friendly with clients, so much the better. He must be a team player, willing to work with us and the clients and get stuck into the dispute.