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If there are now carefully calibrated exercises to assess judicial aptitude we must now have some level of trust in there being a level playing field. This should work to prevent gratutious 'old boy network' style appointments that were commonplace in the past. It is also obvious that private education cultivates confidence and urbanity that will make an individual feel at home when being tested for a judicial placement. It is afterall what friends having been telling them to do for years, either because they have already made too much money or the flow of high value briefs has started to wane. For some it may be viewed as a default position in their career trajectory. As far High Court Appointments this must in some considerable measure reflect the type of work a lawyer has hitherto carried out, with a strong emphasis on intellectual stamina and capability. In that respect solicitors are almost always going to be a the back the queue.