Who is on the verge of becoming a QC? Intelligent team players are those most likely to get the backing of instructing solicitors. Helen Mooney talks to City litigators about who they have been most impressed by at the commercial Bar

Today's commercial barristers need to be different. They can no longer get away with the 'eccentric genius' profile that still persists in some media depictions of the profession. They must understand the clients they are representing as much as their solicitors, and one of the main attributes instructing law firms insist on is that they are team players.

Not only must they have the skills needed to win work and cases in the 21st century commercial arena, the process put in place to achieve the status of Queen's Counsel (QC) since 2005 has meant that the hurdles to jump from pupil to silk have got higher. And questions remain about the future of the Silk system. Last month the selection panel warned that the second round of QC awards was unlikely to be announced before January – 18 months after the first batch of silks were unveiled under the revamped kitemark. Delays to the current round are partly due to changes to the entry criteria to streamline the application process. But more worryingly, signs that the relaunched Silk award is struggling to maintain its predecessor's place as an established part of the legal calendar have raised questions over the model's future.

That said, solicitors are still quick to name their silks of the future, evidence that there is no shortage of talent at the top commercial sets. Senior juniors in the general commercial field likely to apply and take silk in the coming years are, on the whole, practising in a relatively small number of the highest rated commercial chambers – Blackstone Chambers, 3 Verulam Buildings, One Essex Court, Brick Court Chambers, Fountain Court and Essex Court Chambers produce the majority of names mentioned by instructing solicitors as being future stars at the Bar.

Sonia Tolaney of 3 Verulam Buildings (pictured right) is rated highly and used prolifically by the top City firms. She is "user-friendly, confident and capable", according to many litigation partners. Slaughter and May's dispute resolution partner Sarah Lee rates her: "She has a very good reputation and is definitely emerging as a barrister to watch," she says. Lee says Tolaney is "practical and commercial" and has a good spread of mainstream commercial work. She is also praised for her courtroom skills, and as Lee puts it, "she knows how to make a judge listen".

Linklaters litigation and arbitration partner Mark Humphries agrees: "She is good with clients and does not put her foot in it." Humphries adds that Tolaney is a "horrendously enthusiastic worker" who is able to produce a lot of material in a short period of time. He says Tolaney shone when she worked with the firm, which represented Credit Suisse on the Eggborough power station case.

Alain Choo Choy at One Essex Court (pictured left) is another oft-mentioned barrister tipped for silk. Matthew Shankland, litigation and dispute resolution partner in the London office of Weil Gotshal & Manges, says Choo Choy is "really very, very good. He is practical in his approach to the work and is extremely accessible to lawyers and clients alike". Ted Greeno, a litigation and arbitration partner at Herbert Smith, adds that Choo Choy has a very good reputation.

James Goldsmith and James Nadin at One Essex Court are also singled out for praise, with one partner calling them "bloody good barristers". White & Case's dispute resolution partner John Reynolds says that they are both "absolutely outstanding, bright and hardworking". He predicts they will be leaders in the future.

Others that City litigators identify as standing out from the crowd include Dan Toledano, also at One Essex Court. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's head of dispute resolution Ian Terry rates Toledano, having worked with him on a number of big cases. Herbert Smith's Greeno agrees and says Toledano is a "good all-rounder" and tips him to make silk. Philip Carrington, a fellow Herbert Smith litigation partner, also tips Blackstone Chambers' Adam Lewis for silk. Carrington says he is already "routinely treated as a silk" and is one in all but name. "He has to be one of the leading sports lawyers in the country. For him, making silk I would have thought would be a no-brainer," he adds candidly.

Among the junior junior set, Ben Strong of One Essex Court is regularly mentioned. Although Slaughters' Lee admits she is perhaps slightly biased (Strong left Slaughters as a senior associate to retrain as a barrister), she says being an ex-solicitor has really helped him. "He understands the pressures solicitors are working under," she says. Other juniors to watch out for include Roger Masefield, Alec Haydon and Michael Bools, all at Brick Court Chambers and all tipped to be silks of the future.

So what are the attributes that make these barristers stand out from the crowd, and why do the partners who have worked with them feel that they will become QC? Of course, winning cases is very important; barristers need to be able to show off their skills in the courtroom and impress the judges they are presenting to. They need to have the vigour and the intellectual ability which enables them to think on their feet and have the right tricks up their sleeves to triumph in commercial litigation. As one partner puts it: "Their advocacy on the day in court has to be top-notch – if you get a difficult judge they need to be persuasive and persistent, like all good salespeople." Solicitors believe barristers need to have the right mixture of doggedness and charm, which ultimately wins the day. As another says: "You do not persuade people by shouting at them."

Barristers that have good judgment and are able to foresee what is likely to happen when a case gets to court are, perhaps obviously, highly rated by solicitors, who in turn feel that they can then brief their clients appropriately. According to Clifford Chance's litigation and arbitration partner Iain Roxborough, "a good barrister will help you to define a strategy to win or to get a win of sorts – a tactical win. The best will try to deliver a strategy with you and your clients which will produce success", he adds.

Other necessary skills include analytical ability, sharp intellect, enthusiasm, and confidence. Solicitors still seek barristers who are good draughtsmen and have a commercial understanding of the clients they are representing. Most solicitors treat and use senior junior barristers as silks in all but name and expect them to act accordingly. They expect the barristers they instruct to be thinking tactically and looking ahead – just knowing the law is not enough.

One over-ridingly important trait, mentioned time and again by the solicitors interviewed, is that barristers must be able to work in a team with the solicitors and clients they are working for. Partners want someone who is fun to work with and who can slot into a team with ease to work together on a case. As White & Case's Reynolds says: "Life is too short to surround yourself with people who are difficult prima donnas.There are some such prima donnas out there, but I would not work with them – they do not work well in a team." Solicitors believe that if barristers are prepared to work in a group with other lawyers, a more potent mix of skills can emerge, leading in turn to a better outcome for the client.

According to Weil Gotshal's Shankland: "The barristers they work with have to be capable of working as if they are a member of my team, which is precisely what they will be doing." He says that he does not want a barrister who thinks that they are the only person who can bring something to the table, a trait that counters the necessary team spirit required to win a complex commercial case.

Partners increasingly need lawyers who can act on an international stage. As one partner put it: "Trial lawyers in other jurisdictions simply do not have this bizarre split profession, so they just do not get it if they [barristers] are exhibiting odd behaviour, and neither do clients."