Judging the British Legal Awards brought it all back.

A bunch of eminent (well, senior, at least) lawyers meeting round a table in a semi-basement to decide who should win the awards for International Firm of the Year, M&A Team of the Year and so on. It was second nature to cast doubt on the views of the senior partners from the opposition and to agree respectfully with in-house counsel (the clients!). It took me 10 minutes or so to get the correct mindset – fearless independence, of course.