Name: Carmine Conte Chambers: Blackstone Chambers Location: London University: University of Melbourne Degree: Law and arts (politics)
that needs addressing urgently, it just has to be done. For example, while preparing for an injunction application, there’s often no time for anything beyond the work it requires. That can be stressfuland a bit frustrating.” However, it gets better over time: “As you become more senior, you tend to have more control over your diary, and so can manage your time better. But the nature of the job means that it can remain unpredictable – even for QCs – because the English legal system is an adversarial one, and so by very definition you can’t control what the other side does.” Making it at the Bar Carmine recognises the competitive nature of the profession, particularly when wanting to practise commercial law at the highest level. “Given all the benefits of being self-employed, many people are attracted to life at the Bar (especially in London), so it’s frighteningly competitive to get a look in,” he says. He offers his advice on the four essential skills or attributes that you need to succeed at the Bar: “The first – and most essential – attribute is good judgment. Clients take it for granted that you’ll know the law well and are across all the facts, but what they really want is for you to identify the critical points that’ll win the case, and then present their best case on those points to the judge. The next skills, or attributes, are more obvious: intellectual ability and industry. You must have the stamina to put in the hours necessary to get on top of the material, but then be able to analyse that material and present the key arguments in a clear and convincing way. The last skill is good temperament. To excel at the job, you need to stay objective at all times, remain calm under pressure and have the strength of your own convictions when times get tough.” So, if you enjoy a little hard work, making arguments on your feet and never knowing what might come next, following in Carmine’s footsteps might be an option worth exploring.
barristers like one or two Queen’s Counsel (QC).” It’s this variation, that “keeps the job interesting and challenging in equal measure”. In terms of a high point, Carmine recalls a recent “tricky” case in which his client needed an urgent ‘search order’. “Search orders are normally obtained at the start of proceedings, involving a few solicitors searching only one premises, and a settled form of court order. This case was tricky because it involved several large search parties searching multiple sites, years after the proceedings had started, and during the pandemic.” Carmine says: “To obtain and execute a search order in such unusual and challenging circumstances – all without a glitch – is one of my career highlights so far.” The best and the worst of it Most agree that advocacy lies at the heart of the job and, for Carmine, it provides the most enjoyable aspect. “On the first day of my advocacy course at university, my lecturer said that ‘inside every excellent advocate is a frustrated thespian’. He wasn’t wrong.” He adds: “Everything you do as a barrister involves an exercise in persuading someone, be that a client, a judge or someone on your team. Whether it’s in writing or orally, it takes time and effort to change someone’s point of view (especially when there’s a lot at stake). It can be very exacting. However, you know the job is right for you if, regardless of the outcome, the moment you finish your submissions you’re completely exhausted, but you can’t wait to do it again.” Given this, Carmine advises aspiring barristers to “get involved in mooting to identify whether you enjoy oral argument. Mooting offers a flavour of what life will be like for a commercial law barrister (especially when you become more senior)”. Perhaps both a blessing and a curse, for a commercial law barrister the job is unpredictable. “The profession is equivalent to a roller-coaster at times. If you’re working on a case and an important development happens
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