1. Walk don't run - your career is a marathon not a sprint.
You don't have to achieve everything today. Build your experience at a pace that works for you. Learn from everything you do and plough that knowledge into the next challenge. There can be a temptation to think "I should be at this stage" or "I need to be doing that case" before you are ready.
The danger is that you put extreme pressure on yourself which can be unsustainable, will lead to burn out and can result in career damage rather than gain.
2. This brings me to my second point - don't compare yourself to others.
But X is doing Y and Y is already doing Z is unhelpful. You are not X or Y but your own person, with your own skills and expertise which will be different to your peers. Focus on you and what you want. I remember in my final year at LSE most of my peers had decided that the solicitor profession was for them and were making applications to Magic Circle firms for placements. I frantically started the same but realised very soon into that process that it wasn't my path. That insight is important to have even very early on in your career.
3. You belong here, own your space and place.
The Bar is a diverse place. Yes, there is plenty more work to do on inclusion and that work continues under the excellent leadership of Kirsty Brimelow KC and across the profession. The Bar serves the public, and the public must see itself represented in the Bar to have confidence in the justice system. Celebrate your unique skills, your personalities, your accents and your backgrounds, don't hide them or think you must fit a particular mould.
4. Your career path is unlikely to be linear.
Where you expect to be may not be where you end up or you may find yourself getting there via a different route. I speak from experience on this. My career path was far from what I anticipated when I was called to the Bar, but I am doing exactly the sort of work I wanted to do and have achieved all and more than I ever hoped for regardless.
5. Don't think of setbacks or hurdles as end points but rather jumping off opportunities.
There will be occasions during your career path when you receive disappointing news or rejections. Ask any of us in practice and I guarantee every single one of us will have received a "no" at various points in our careers. I know many excellent friends and colleagues who applied twice or more for silk. I was elected as Vice Chair on my second "go". I wasn't taken on as a tenant. So many examples but, to be blunt, it hasn't stopped me. What it did was encourage me to find another way, to build resilience and to think more creatively and laterally.
6. Maintain your outside interests. The Bar is hard work.
No one will tell you otherwise and neither should they. It is an important job in the sense that you are providing a vital service to the public, in whichever discipline you choose to practice. It is a job that should be done to the best of your ability and competence. Sometimes that involves long hours, difficult decisions, emotionally charged scenarios. What will keep you grounded is having a life and interests outside the job. Perspective is vital. Opportunities to get out of your head likewise.
Maintain those interests and be a rounded person.
7. Forge relationships and network where you can.
The Bar is incredibly collegiate. People want to help. People want people to do well. People want the profession to thrive long after those of us at the senior end have left it behind. Use that to forge a community for yourself and to learn from others and their experiences.
Join an Inn, join your specialist bar associations when you are in practice, join your Circuit. All of which do incredible, often unsung, work to ensure everyone can do their best. Equally, remember that the Bar is a small world. Reputation is important. People will remember you. If you behave badly, you will be remembered for it. If you behave well and are collaborative in your work, others will want to help you.
A brilliant friend and I came up with what we term the “Oh” test. When you walk into a robing room and someone asks who you’re in trial with and a name is said, invariably the reaction will be one of, “Oh, amazing, really great, fair and pragmatic” or “Oh. Yes. Well, good luck with that!”. Be a good Oh and not a bad Oh!
8. Everyone experiences nerves.
There may be the odd one or two who will tell you, “I am never nervous”. Maybe unicorns do exist, but I have invariably been a sceptic of this sort of declaration. Full disclosure; I get nervous before any big presentation, speech or piece of advocacy. I am not afraid to say it. I would be rather concerned if I didn’t feel that sense of trepidation or anticipation.
Rather than fighting it, use it. Recognise that, physiologically, nerves feel the same as excitement. Your body reacts in a similar way to both. Use those feelings and turn them into excitement; I am about to show what I have done with all my preparation.
Be prepared as best you can in all that you do so that some of those nerves become easier to manage and recognise that you do not have to be perfect.
9. Lists are your friends.
I am often ribbed for my colour coded lists and schedules. I am an unashamed list lover! They provide clarity of thought, a path through difficult days or conundrums and stave off the feelings of overwhelm or “too much to do in too little time”. They help with overthinking (of which I am the queen!) and ensure perspective. What do I need to do, when do I need to do it by, what are my priorities and, realistically, how long will this task take me. They help when you are having conversations about workload or expectations and can ensure you are productively moving forward rather than spiralling out of control. Productivity not panic is key. Lists also help with reminding you of what you have achieved.
When you do something well, whatever it is, write it down in a file. The opposite of a Mean Girls Burn Book if you will. A collection of all the occasions you did a thing and did it well. It will be a useful recourse for when you are making applications or reminding yourself that you are good enough. Lists also help with what you want to achieve and in goal setting. Where would I like to be in 6 months, 12 months, 2 years, 5 years etc. Having a plan makes it easier to work out what you then need to do to achieve it. Lists are your career satnav. You would not set off on a long journey without a map, don’t take a freestyle approach to your career either.
Most importantly - good luck and enjoy. The Bar really is the best job in the world.
Heidi Stonecliffe KC is Vice Chair of the Bar Council for 2026. She was the first employed barrister to take up the post in the Bar Council’s 132-year history.
She was called to the Bar by Inner Temple in 1996 and practises in criminal law. Since 2006, Heidi has worked for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
In 2020, she became the first woman in the CPS to take silk.