Pupillage

January 2026 – The submissions window opens on Pupillage Gateway

We offer up to two pupillages for a period of twelve months starting in October every other year, provided that the candidates from whom we receive applications meet our criteria for selection. These include ability, both practical and academic, personality and aptitude, together with the commitment and flexibility to face the challenges of a changing and demanding profession.

We offer two pupillages every other year (rather than one every year) so that our pupils are able to support each other through the process. Every pupil we take on has the potential to be offered tenancy provided they successfully complete the pupillage period.

February 2026 – The submissions window closes on Pupillage Gateway

We choose pupils on merit alone and do not discriminate on grounds of ethnic origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion or disability. As a Chambers, we support the objectives of the Bar Council Equality and Diversity Code and try to ensure that our recruitment policies are in line with the Bar Council’s “Fair Recruitment Guide 2015 (A Best Practice Guide for the Bar).”

March/April 2026 – Invitations to interview

The aim of our interviews is to enable you to demonstrate your potential as a barrister and to assess our potential as your future colleagues. We do not expect to find the finished product, nor do we wish the process to be any more stressful than it already is. We have all sat the other side of an interview table (some of us more recently than others!) and want to ensure that whatever the outcome you have had an opportunity to show us what you can do. The interview process will also include a legal problem. Should you wish, we are happy to provide feedback on your performance in the hope that this will assist you with other interviews if your application to us is unsuccessful.

May 2026 – Offers of pupillage

Pupils taken on for pupillage in October 2027 will be granted an award totalling £70,000, comprising a grant of £40,000 payable in regular instalments throughout the first 6 months of pupillage together with guaranteed earnings in the second 6 months of pupillage of £30,000. Guaranteed earnings refer to fees billed – there may be some delay between when clients are billed and when those bills are paid, but we strive to ensure this period is as short as possible. You are entitled to keep any earnings you make above this amount. Up to £10,000 may be drawn down by way of loan before the commencement of pupillage for the purpose of assisting with tuition fees and the like.

May 2026 to September 2027- Between acceptance of offer and arrival

We will invite you to come to Chambers long before your first day of pupillage. We also invite new pupils to visit chambers before they start to meet our Head of Pupillage, Chief Executive, Senior Clerk and their pupil supervisor and mentor. This is to let them see how Chambers works and who to go to if their pupil supervisor is unavailable. We hope that Chambers’ layout and ethos means that you can always find someone to talk to whether it’s about a case or a problem.

You will be provided with the following documentation before you start pupillage by Catherine Calder (Chambers Chief Executive), so you are aware of how Chambers is run and what you can expect:

• Pupillage Policy
• Equality and Diversity Policy
• Reasonable Adjustments Policy
• Parental Rights Policy
• Data Security Policy
• Harassment and Victimisation Policy

October 2027 – Pupillage begins!

You will start with your first supervisor for 4 months: you will be “non-practising” during this period and the first two months of the second half of your pupillage. Your working hours will generally be 9:00am to 6:30pm Monday to Friday. It is inevitable that pupillage entails a very steep learning curve, particularly during the first 6 months. You will need evenings and weekends to recuperate. Pupillage is a marathon and not a sprint! You’ll find that much of the first 3 months is spent with your pupil supervisor, but then gradually you will start undertaking work for other members of Chambers and accompanying them to court. The aim is to ensure that you not only have the broadest training possible, but also that you meet and work with a wide variety of barristers in Chambers.

Throughout pupillage – mentorship and feedback

During your pupillage you will be given feedback on every piece of written work you undertake and a corresponding written report will be sent to the Head of Pupillage and your pupil supervisor (unless the work was set by your pupil supervisor). The work will be graded in accordance with fixed criteria to ensure uniformity and objectivity. Every 3 months you will have a short meeting with the Head of Pupillage to discuss your progress and any concerns you may have. You should not be in the dark at any stage during your pupillage either about how you are performing or what lies ahead during the rest of your pupillage.

Pupillage is intellectually demanding and we believe that your efforts should be directed to acquiring the necessary skills to become a good barrister, as opposed to worrying unnecessarily. To this end, we also have a mentoring system. A mentor is appointed every year to provide pupils with pastoral care on a confidential basis where appropriate. In addition we have a welfare officer in chambers who will offer support to pupils and provide another confidential avenue through which pupils can seek advice where appropriate.

February 2028 – Second supervisor and second 6 begins

After 4 months you will change supervisors with your second 6 starting 2 months in. During your second 6 you will work with your supervisor, but you will also have your own cases and court appearances. You will begin to work directly with solicitors and Chambers’ clerks. This is the next major step to becoming a fully-fledged barrister.

June 2028 – Third supervisor and interim reports

Starting your own work is exciting, but you are not expected to manage alone. Asking questions (even if only where to stand) is part of the process! We aim to give pupils as broad an exposure to the different aspects of Chambers’ work as possible. Of course, you may already have your own ideas about which areas of law interest you, but we urge you to keep an open mind. By the end of the 12 months you should have met and worked with a broad cross-section of tenants from our silks to our most junior tenants.

Around the beginning of June, interim reports on your performance will be prepared and sent to Chambers as a whole by your pupil supervisors along with a recommendation about your application for tenancy. The contents of the reports will be discussed with you before they are sent to the rest of Chambers, so you have an opportunity to comment. A report will also be provided to Chambers by the Senior Clerk, which will include any feedback received from solicitors on your performance and the clerking team’s views on how you have worked with them. Again, you will be told about the feedback both from solicitors and clerks before it is circulated around Chambers.

September 2028 – Members of Chambers vote

The decision about tenancy is taken by Chambers as a whole and is subject to commercial conditions at the time. Final reports will be prepared, discussed with you and then circulated. They will then be considered at a Chambers’ meeting, at which a decision will be taken about your tenancy application.

October 2028 – Tenancy begins!

You begin your own practice but you are not left alone. You will be paired with mentors in different practice areas who are there to answer any questions you may have. The staff team will check in frequently to find out what you are enjoying, what work you would like to do more of and what work you might need more time to prepare for.