Why barristers don’t shake hands!

You learn something every day.
As part of our training and presentations we suggest that a good handshake when meeting people is a very important part of creating a good first impression.
At a recent workshop a delegate said, “We don’t shake hands with other barristers.” My eye brows raised to query this comment.
It seems in olden days it came from the custom of showing that there were no weapons in one’s hand so mutual trust and respect could be established before negotiations.
So the barristers say, ‘We don’t need any of that; as a fellow professional we automatically trust each other, hence we don’t need to shake hands.’
Good history!