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As a Junior Clerk, I once overheard the phrase ‘a good clerk is like a swan’, calm and graceful on the surface, but paddling furiously beneath the water to keep everything moving. It’s an image that perfectly captures the clerks’ role, composed and controlled, even when the work beneath the surface is relentless.
Clerks will understand the need to balance the demands of barristers, solicitors, and clients, each with their own pressures and expectations. They absorb tension, manage emotion, and find solutions before others even notice a problem has arisen. Through it all, they must remain poised on the surface, showing stability when everyone else is under strain.
This quiet professionalism is intended. It’s the product of emotional intelligence, the ability to understand, regulate, and respond to emotions, both our own and of others, with composure and empathy. In an environment where stress is contagious and time is valuable, emotional intelligence is what allows clerks to navigate through difficulties and stress with control.
The swan principle reminds us that composure is not an absence of pressure, but control over it. It’s what transforms a demanding, unpredictable profession into one defined by calm and confidence, the kind that keeps Chambers running smoothly.
The emotional shock absorbers of Chambers
When tensions rise, clerks are often the first in line. Barristers may express frustration about last minute listings or listing changes, fee negotiations, or diary clashes. Solicitors, focused on their clients’ interests, may press for immediate answers or express dissatisfaction with particular outcomes or decisions. Balancing these competing demands requires more than just efficiency, it requires steadiness, empathy, and composure under pressure.
At the forefront of every decision must be the client. At the heart of everything a clerk does, should lie the understanding that our actions, choices, and communications have a direct impact on a client’s life. It is this awareness, the ability to show empathy, staying calm and client-focused, that defines the professionalism of the modern clerk.
Common triggers
Understanding what sparks tension is one of the most valuable skills a clerk can develop. Being aware gives you time to prepare your mindset and approach a situation without reactivity. In a busy clerks’ room, there are familiar moments that will test a clerk’s patience and their ability to handle stress.
One of the most common is last minute listings or a sudden change in the diary or counsel. These moments can cause increased stress for the entire legal team and client, particularly for barristers who pride themselves on preparation or for clients who have built a rapport with a particular barrister, who can no longer represent them. Clerks often become the first point of contact for that frustration. Remaining calm, reassuring, and trying to find solutions helps to alleviate tension for everyone involved. Sometimes, there isn’t a perfect solution, but how the matter is handled can relieve the tension and make the outcome easier to accept.
Another common source of tension arises from fee disputes. Money disputes are always emotional, as barristers often feel it is a reflection of their professional worth. When there is confusion or disagreement about billing, matters can flare quickly. The role of the clerk in these scenarios is to remain objective, communicate with transparency and find common ground.
Pressure from barristers is a well-recognised challenge for all clerks’ rooms. Demands for diary flexibility, career progression, forward planning, organistation and time restraints can feel relentless. In these moments, emotional intelligence becomes the clerk’s greatest skill, understanding the pressures behind requests, setting clear boundaries, and managing expectations, while preserving relationships. Regular practice meetings can be key to this, discussing individual needs and expectations, any reasonable adjustments that might be required, checking in on well-being and showing care and understanding.
There are times when client dissatisfaction becomes unavoidable, particularly with the increase in public access work. Even when the cause lies outside of the clerk’s control, they are often the first person to whom a client will express disappointment. Listening carefully, acknowledging concerns, and offering clear advice on next steps can transform frustration into reassurance. Transparency is always my preferred option. Being transparent means communicating openly about progress and problems. When something has gone wrong or an expectation cannot be met, explaining the situation clearly and at the earliest opportunity prevents frustration from escalating. Solicitors are far more likely to accept difficult news when they sense that nothing is being hidden from them.
All of these scenarios present a test of composure. By recognising triggers early and understanding the impact that decisions have on all parties, clerks can respond with clarity and empathy, rather than defensiveness. The ability to appreciate pressure points and to manage stressful situations calmly, is what sets a clerk above the rest.
Tools for emotional regulation
Emotional regulation is not about suppressing feelings and being expected to never react, it’s about awareness and control. It’s the ability to stay calm and in control when situations are becoming problematic. In a role as people focused as clerking, this is one of the most valuable skills to learn and implement.
The simplest tool is the pause. Take a breath. That short pause often prevents words or decisions made in frustration and is often the difference between escalation and resolution.
Learn to show empathy. Showing an understanding of how others feel builds trust and respect, but taking on their emotions as your own will drain your own energy and will cloud your judgement. Professional empathy is about recognising someone’s experience without carrying their stress.
It is vital to maintain perspective. Alot of the pressure that clerks encounter comes from the issues within the legal system, deadlines and workload expectations, the backlogs, court closures, funding issues and other problems that will be all too well known to the clerking profession. Recognising that stress is often systemic, not personal, will help clerks to remain objective and focus on solutions.
Together, these practices will enable clerks to project a calm authority. They are the tools that keep communication constructive, protect wellbeing, and reinforce the confidence required to reassure.
Identifying and diffusing tension early
Tension is easier to prevent than to resolve. Clerks often develop an intuitive sense for when an interaction is beginning to turn into a conflict. This can be as simple as noticing subtle changes in tone, attitude or a dig in an email, a lack of patience during a conversation or silence from a usually vocal barrister, can all be early warning signs that frustration is building. Recognising these cues early allows intervention before the tension escalates.
Once tension is identified, the aim is to de-escalate. Acknowledge the emotion in a calm way. People like to feel heard and validated. Providing information and transparent communication can often ease anxiety almost immediately.
Stay factual and focus only on what is within your control. Emotion tends to escalate problems. The earlier tension is recognised and acknowledged, the easier it is to redirect it and find solutions. When clerks combine emotional awareness with professionalism, they not only prevent disputes, but also strengthen the trust and respect between themselves, barristers, solicitors and clients.
Handling mistakes with grace
In this profession, and any profession in fact, mistakes will be made. We work in fast paced, high-pressure environments, where expectations are high. What is needed in a clerk is not perfection, but the ability to respond to mistakes with integrity. The true indication of professionalism lies not in avoiding error completely, but in how you handle it when it occurs.
The first and most important step is to acknowledge the mistake quickly. Trying to conceal a problem often does far more damage than the mistake itself. Take responsibility. Avoid blame, excuses, or defensiveness and instead, focus on what can be done to resolve the situation. Taking ownership demonstrates maturity and reliability. It tells others that you are committed to solutions rather than self-protection.
A sincere apology can be one of the most powerful tools in the workplace. The best apologies acknowledge the impact of the mistake, while explaining the steps taken to fix it.
Finally, move forward. Don’t allow one moment to undermine your confidence or define your competence. Everyone makes mistakes. A well-handled mistake can actually enhance your credibility. In a profession built on trust, the way a clerk responds to a mistake often speaks louder than the mistake itself.
Conclusion: Calm is the key to clerking
The swan principle is more than just a metaphor, it is a mindset. It reminds us that composure in clerking is not about appearing unaffected, but about handling what lies beneath the surface.
Every day in Chambers brings pressure and unpredictability, yet clerks remain calm above the waterline, guiding others with reassurance and confidence, all whilst working tirelessly beneath it to keep everything running smoothly.
The most effective clerks are those who understand that their calm presence has a ripple effect, it calms barristers, reassures solicitors and builds confidence.
To embrace the swan principle is to lead by example, to remain calm in the face of chaos. In doing so, clerks uphold not only the smooth running of Chambers, but also the values that define our whole profession, integrity, diligence and respect.
By Zoe Preston
Director and Senior Clerk of Great James Street Chambers
