Why are so many wannabe barristers insufferable?

what is a barrister

The guy that makes the coffee in Starbucks etc.

Every wannabe barrister I have met has been pompous, arrogant, conceited and over-the-top.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

Funnily enough though, every real, practising barrister I have met has been pretty laid back and decent.

Interesting choice of thread "topic" - mind if I ask what inspired it? (I don't recall seeing you around Legal before, is all!)

thanks

Winding you up. It's a lawyer. The coffee guy is a Barrista

Posted from TSR Mobile

The guy that makes the coffee in Starbucks etc.

Anecdotal + talking to law student friends.

Do you disagree?

I don't know what it is but every wannabe barrister I have met (pre-pupillage) has just been insufferable: very pompous, arrogant, inflated sense of intelligence, wants to bring the courtroom to everyday discourse, etc.

But I reiterate that I have the utmost respect for practising barristers, as all of those who I have met have been nice, laid back and opposite to the above.

Sure, it's anecdotal but I am just asking if anyone has had a similar experience.

Anecdotal + talking to law student friends.

Do you disagree?

I don't know what it is but every wannabe barrister I have met (pre-pupillage) has just been insufferable: very pompous, arrogant, inflated sense of intelligence, wants to bring the courtroom to everyday discourse, etc.

But I reiterate that I have the utmost respect for practising barristers, as all of those who I have met have been nice, laid back and opposite to the above.

Sure, it's anecdotal but I am just asking if anyone has had a similar experience.

One man's arrogance is another man's assertiveness. I think the Bar is so competitive and requires a high degree of "confidence" (both in terms of public speaking and in having a thick skin) that to an extent it will attract and breed personality types which fit those characteristics. If we had a normal distribution curve, the people who have "too much" confidence in their abilities (as you'd put it) would be in the minority. The reason they're so noticeable is because they push themselves forward and attract negative attention - unlike the majority of their wannabe barrister peers.

I've met a few people who might fit the description you gave, but equally I've also encountered a significant number of people who were perfectly friendly and who happened to want to be barristers. I suppose what I'm saying is that maybe it's not "so many" who are insufferable as much as the "insufferable" ones are "so noticeable".

One man's arrogance is another man's assertiveness. I think the Bar is so competitive and requires a high degree of "confidence" (both in terms of public speaking and in having a thick skin) that to an extent it will attract and breed personality types which fit those characteristics. If we had a normal distribution curve, the people who have "too much" confidence in their abilities (as you'd put it) would be in the minority. The reason they're so noticeable is because they push themselves forward and attract negative attention - unlike the majority of their wannabe barrister peers.

I've met a few people who might fit the description you gave, but equally I've also encountered a significant number of people who were perfectly friendly and who happened to want to be barristers. I suppose what I'm saying is that maybe it's not "so many" who are insufferable as much as the "insufferable" ones are "so noticeable".

I don't know what it is but every wannabe barrister I have met (pre-pupillage) has just been insufferable: very pompous, arrogant, inflated sense of intelligence, wants to bring the courtroom to everyday discourse, etc.

You have just described to a t a friend of mine who wants to be a barrister.