Despite it now having been stated judicially that lawyers need not be paragons of virtue, barristers are increasingly scrutinised by the BSB for what they say and do in some areas of their private lives.

How should general counsel approach decision making? Intuition or data-driven decisions? I would argue it’s actually a bit of both but, without the data, those decisions can be unstable.

The pressure to perform drives incredible careers and much success but does come with a cost at times. A global pandemic has added even more complexities into our personal and professional lives.

The chambers of the 17,000 or so practising barristers in England and Wales face, arguably, their greatest time of challenge and controversy since advocates first took up arms in the early 13th century.

As we go back to work, we will not – and should not – forget the lessons we learnt during lockdown. I really hope that we drive change as a result and create a positive legacy for our industry.