Every young lawyer remembers the first time they stood at the rostrum. The file is ready, the law is settled in your head, and yet the moment you open your mouth, something feels missing. That “something” is rarely legal knowledge. It is communication skill, and unlike case law, nobody hands it to you in a textbook.
I learned this the hard way, and I am still learning it. This article is part of the training course I ran for young lawyers and law graduates. I am writing it the way I would explain it to a junior sitting across from me in chambers.
It starts with copying the right people
Nobody develops a courtroom voice in isolation. Long before I understood there was a science behind body language, I was already copying it, without realising that is what I was doing.
When I watched Barrister Salman Safdar argue, I tried to copy his measured, methodical delivery, the same calm control that has made him one of the most sought-after criminal defence advocates in the country. When I watched Azam Nazeer Tarar at the rostrum, I tried to absorb how a lawyer who has spent decades in constitutional and criminal work, and served as Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council, commands a bench without raising his voice.
That is the first lesson of any real Bar course: find advocates whose style genuinely lands with you, watch them closely, and copy deliberately rather than waiting for it to happen by accident. My own formal training at the University of the West of England, Bristol reinforced this. Advocacy sessions there were built around structured observation and correction. Once I recognised the method, I realised I had already been practising pieces of it on my own, without a name for it.
The three-stage method every young lawyer should run
Once I understood the structure, I began breaking communication training into three stages, and this is what I now teach. It works whether you have three years of practice or three months.
1. Practice If you are not yet in a courtroom regularly, sit in the gallery and watch a live proceeding. Notice which words a good advocate stresses, which lines he throws away casually, and how his body carries itself throughout. Then rehearse your own argument out loud, exactly as you plan to deliver it, before you ever say it in front of a judge.
2. Reflection Record the practice session on your phone. Almost every young lawyer already has the habit of filming things; this time, film with a purpose. Then listen to the audio alone first. Ask yourself honestly: did I stress the right word, or too many words, or none at all? This single habit, listening back to your own voice, is something I still do today.
3. Consolidation Fix what the reflection stage exposed. You do not need a senior mentor standing over your shoulder for this part. Go back to a recording of yourself from a year or two ago and you will likely wince at something. That discomfort is healthy. The moment a lawyer starts believing he has nothing left to correct is the moment his growth stops.
Posture carries more weight than most young lawyers realise
A good rostrum posture is simple to describe and hard to hold under pressure: the full weight of your body settled on your hips, not slouched, not leaning back, not swaying sideways. Your voice coming from the diaphragm rather than the throat. Whether you are appearing before the Lahore High Court or working your way up toward the Supreme Court of Pakistan, judges are effectively taking a mental note of your argument as you speak. Restless movement, fidgeting, or an unnecessary shake of the head breaks that concentration, sometimes at the exact moment your strongest point is being made.
Language is a tool, not something to feel embarrassed about
A lot of young lawyers feel self-conscious the first time they have to argue in English, and just as many feel the opposite pressure to prove themselves in it. Neither feeling should slow you down. What matters is not which language you are more comfortable in, English or Urdu, it is how deliberately you train in it.
I borrow a structure from the IELTS framework I studied before my Bar training in England: reading, writing, listening, and speaking, trained as four separate modules rather than one vague goal of “getting better.” Read judgments and legal writing widely. Write submissions that are crisp rather than padded. Listen to recorded arguments and audiobooks until you can hear rhythm, not just words. And speak, out loud, regularly, until your delivery feels less like a tool you are switching on and more like a natural extension of how you think.
Set your own target, then train for it
Every lawyer eventually has to answer a quiet question: what am I actually building toward? If your ambition is to practise steadily in a smaller district court, that is a legitimate and respectable path, and it deserves its own kind of preparation. If your ambition is to reach the High Court rostrum, the Pakistan Bar Council, or the Attorney General’s office one day, the target changes, and so should your training intensity. Read more, write more, and treat every appearance, however small, as a rehearsal for the one that matters most.
Why this belongs on LinkedIn, not just in chambers
A Bar course is not only about how you sound in court. It is about how consistently you show that skill to the people who send you the next brief. Performance is what earns the next client, the next referral, the next recognition from a senior. Increasingly, that recognition starts online before it starts in the corridor outside a courtroom.
Young lawyers in Pakistan are building professional visibility on LinkedIn the way earlier generations built it purely through bar politics and word of mouth: sharing a short reflection after a hearing, writing about a judgment that shaped their thinking, or simply showing up consistently enough that a senior advocate, or a prospective client, recognises the name before the introduction. Treat your Bar course training and your LinkedIn presence as the same discipline. One builds the skill, the other lets the right people see it.
The takeaway
Legal communication is trained, not inherited. Watch the advocates whose style genuinely speaks to you, whether that is Barrister Salman Safdar’s measured control or Azam Nazeer Tarar’s grounded authority, then practise, record, reflect honestly, and correct. Do that consistently, on and off the rostrum, and it stops being a technique you perform and becomes simply how you argue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Bar course, and do I need one to practise in Pakistan? A Bar course, in the sense used here, is structured training in courtroom advocacy, communication, and professional conduct, distinct from your LLB or bar exam. It is not a legal requirement to practise, but it closes the gap between knowing the law and being able to argue it persuasively in front of a judge.
How long does it take to develop good courtroom body language? There is no fixed timeline. It depends on how consistently you practise, record, and review yourself. Lawyers who treat it as an ongoing habit, not a one-time course, keep improving years into practice.
Should young lawyers in Pakistan argue in English or Urdu? Whichever language you can deliver with the most conviction and precision. Confidence and clarity matter far more to a bench than the choice of language itself.
Is watching senior advocates enough, or do I need to record myself too? Both are necessary. Watching senior advocates gives you a model to aim for; recording and reviewing your own delivery is what actually corrects your habits.
How does LinkedIn help a young lawyer’s legal career in Pakistan? It builds visibility beyond your immediate chambers or bar association. Sharing consistent, thoughtful legal writing helps seniors, peers, and potential clients recognise your work before you ever meet them in person.
About the Author
Barrister Muzamil Kaisrani is a Barrister-at-Law of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, London, called to the Bar with Distinction, and a registered Advocate with the Punjab Bar Council. He holds an LLM in Criminal Law and Family Law from the University of the West of England, Bristol, and an LLB from the University of London.
He leads Kaisrani Law Associates in Lahore, handling civil, criminal, corporate, and family matters, and has also served as a law lecturer teaching Contract Law, Criminal Law, and Constitutional Law. He writes regularly on courtroom advocacy and legal practice in Pakistan, drawing on his own training and experience at the rostrum to help law students and junior advocates sharpen their skills.
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