Trying to be humble on social media is so last year
The time of year is upon us again. In the wake of the release of the new Legal 500 directory yesterday evening, lawyers across the country have wasted no time in taking to Twitter to brag about their success.
In this sense it has been a marked contrast from 2014, when humblebrags were all the rage.
Giving a sense of the prevailing 2015 mood is Littleton Chambers’ barrister John Mehrza, who simply tweeted the new directory’s gushing comment about him.
UK Bar 2015 @thelegal500 directory on Sport: ‘He knows the law, but equally importantly he knows how sport works.’ #L500UK2015 #legal500
— John Mehrzad (@JohnMehrzadLaw) September 17, 2015
Others, such as PwC Legal head of global immigration Julia Onslow-Cole and Eversheds’ Paul Verrico, tempered their brags with words like “delighted” and “proud” as they sought to give a vague nod to the concept of humility.
Delighted to be named as a 'Leading Individual' & proud @AndreaAlsLegal Sapna Patel Lyudmyla Davies & Kelly Whiter also mentioned #legal500
— Julia Onslow Cole (@JuliaOnslowCole) September 17, 2015
Vproud to be in @legal500's @eversheds health & safety first-class team 'proactive and conscious of the risks and benefits to clients’
— Paul Verrico (@paulverrico) September 17, 2015
Meanwhile, a few supposedly top lawyers revealed themselves to totally misunderstand the concept of the humblebrag as they delivered straightforward boasts which they juxtaposed with the #humblebrag hashtag. Wait a second, fees for pro bono work..?
"He always pitches his fees just right when doing pro bono work" #legal500 #humblebrag
— Caspar Glyn QC (@CasparQC) September 16, 2015
And finally, there were the handful of lawyers still humblebragging like it was 2014.
Apparently new Legal 500 say I'm "A strong advocate who delivers" – hoping rest of quote wasn't "pizzas on his moped"
— PJ Kirby (@kirby_pj) September 16, 2015
Legal Cheek will forgive all if they donate generously to Sean Jones QC’s billable hour appeal, which currently stands at an unbelievable £185,177.02.
Want to brag about your #L500UK2015 ranking? Worried people will judge you? Donate https://t.co/rriO6jLlWF and use #BHHB and brag away!
— Sean Jones (@seanjonesqc) September 17, 2015
Congratulations to all those who featured this year.