Today's TV crime dramas spur many fantasies about a career as a good brief. But first remember that curbs on the legal aid budget mean that today's criminal lawyers get a raw deal financially in return for their efforts. Of course there are notable exceptions: probably the biggest household name at the criminal Bar is Michael Mansfield, QC, a sure-fire role model for students wondering about a career in criminal (or civil rights) law. He reportedly makes £300,000 a year from his cases, 95 per cent of which are funded by legal aid on rates set by the Treasury.

But the days of the Mansfields are numbered under proposals to curb payments in long complex trials. Nor do most young barristers reach such heights and fame. Instead, they remain the financial underdogs of the legal profession representing, for the most part, society's underdogs. So if it’s big bucks that motivate you, then think again - unless you go into the more lucrative field of privately funded criminal fraud.

Look at the qualities required in the job: hard work, dedication, commitment, steely determination. Amateur dramatists who like to strut their stuff need not apply. There are still a few large characters left at the Bar; but the jury advocate who theatrically regales the court is largely out of fashion. Rather, a successful criminal lawyer needs to be disciplined, measured and thorough - with a degree of toughness. Students must be thick-skinned enough to be regularly unpopular in some Establishment and media circles (the lawyer jokes will grate after a while).

Yet equally important is emotional intelligence. It's vital, for instance, that you get on with the police, even when they are not getting on with you. Communicating well with clients and adaptability are important, too. Terry Elson, who has trained many lawyers through the psychological testing, profiling and coaching company Ovation XL, says: “Criminal lawyers need to be more flexible mentally. That’s how they win cases.”

What about their psychological profile and motivation? Criminal lawyers may be turned on by the high drama and deep intrigue of the crime scene, or have a greater emotional commitment to justice for those who can least afford or expect it. Robin Johnson, managing director of Ovation XL, says that the police, like the military, are "trained carefully to follow set procedures" which means that criminal lawyers need to "think of the situation from the police officer's point of view, rather than thinking of things from the criminal lawyer's angle alone".

You need also to know the importance of body language and tonality, he says, as in verbal communiciation "only 7 per cent of the impact is the words".

For the present, students and criminal lawyers do not receive any such awareness training, unlike family, corporate, employment and property lawyers - and the police - who all routinely receive emotional intelligence training and psychological profiling/testing. Still, you could argue that they get by well enough without: look at Michael Mansfield for instance. But, then, he is exceptional.

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