After the over-the-top coverage enjoyed by the ‘barrister hottie’ rankings last month, in which the tongue-in-cheek listing of London’s most attractive male barristers was extensively reported in the press, and dominated Twitter for what seemed like years, but may only have been one day, it was to a rather quieter reception that ‘hot barrister birds – the definitive list of the hottest birds at the bar’ emerged. That may have been because this was, in fact, a ranking of actual birds – pigeons, to be precise – in homage to the original barrister rankings. Paparazzi shots of the most attractive pigeons in legal London are accompanied by commentary that, ‘this distinguished silk enjoys a relaxing stroll around Lincoln’s Inn Fields, and your Hot Bird Spotter would be more than happy to stroll with him… Despite being troubled and overworked by some weighty and important case, he still manages to retain a devilish sparkle’, and, ‘every girl likes them rough and ready sometimes, and this guy really fits the bill, as he sneaks down Southampton Buildings for a quick cigarette. He’s the Christian Bale-type you saw shepherding the more ripe-looking girls behind the bike sheds at school… Now he’s a battle- scarred criminal barrister who has seen the dark underside of humanity’.

The legal world still awaits – with some trepidation – the ranking of female barristers promised by the two American women behind the original ‘barrister hottie’ ranking of male counsel. Obiter suspects the female listing may ruffle a few more feathers.