Vacancies

2 Bedford Row – 12 months – September 2024

Equality Diversity and Inclusion

2 Bedford Row Equality Policy commits Chambers to:

• The practical application and promotion of principles of equal opportunity and diversity, and
• The communication of that commitment and those principles to Chambers’ members, employees, other workers, service users and the public at large.

Equality & Diversity - 2 Bedford Row - Barristers Chambers

How to Apply

Aspiring barristers are invited to apply to chambers between Wednesday 4 January 2023 and Wednesday 8 February 2023 using the Pupillage Gateway application system to search for the relevant Pupillage Vacancy and selecting ‘Apply for this pupillage’.

In addition to the standardised Bar Council questionnaire, candidates will be asked to respond to the following questions from Chambers:

1. Why do you believe you will make a good barrister? In your answer, please identify any relevant experiences or skills that you believe may help you in your career. (1,500 character limit)
2. Why do you want to join our Chambers? In your answer, please give reasons why you want to join 2 Bedford Row. (1,500 character limit)
3. What 'advocacy' experience have you had (does not need to be legal/formal advocacy)? This can include mooting, debating, pro bono work, teaching and formal presentations at school or university.  Advocacy in courts or tribunals can also be included. (1,500 character limit)
4. What is the greatest challenge you have faced so far? This can be either a personal challenge or a professional one.  Please identify what skills you used to overcome that challenge and how those skills will assist you in a career at the bar. (1,500 character limit)
5. Please provide an example which demonstrates your analytical and legal skills. Please identify the situation that needed addressing, the task you undertook, what actions you took and the outcome. (1,500 character limit)
6. What challenges face the criminal Bar now and in the future and how will you deal with them? Please identify particular challenges facing a barrister in the early years at the criminal bar (both professional and personal) and the skills and techniques you would use to address them. (1,500 character limit)
7. Is there anything else you would like to tell us? If there is anything that you would like us to take into account when assessing your application, please let us know.  This can be anything in either your personal or professional life which may impact or have impacted upon your application (e.g. significant personal difficulties that may have affected your academic record or where reasonable adjustments may have been necessary. (1,500 character limit).  If you do not have anything to write here, please copy and paste the whole of the following text into the answer box:  

   Not applicable.   Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

About AETO and Structure of Pupillage

2 Bedford Row is known for its strength in depth, from the pupils in the magistrates’ court to more senior members appearing in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.  There are currently 18 silks and 58 juniors who are tenants within Chambers.

Chambers has consistently been ranked by Chambers UK and Legal 500 as a top set and has been ever-present in ‘Band 1’ for criminal and fraud sets,

2 Bedford Row has been awarded ‘Criminal Set of the Year’ on a number of occasions in recent times, along with the individual awards given to members of Chambers in criminal and regulatory fields, including ‘Silk of the Year’ and ‘Junior of the Year’. Chambers won the ‘Crime and Extradition Set of the Year’ award at the Legal 500 Bar Awards on 5^th October 2022.

This proven track record of success across the board is attributable to Chambers’ investment in the professional development of pupils through in-house advocacy training and lectures, as well as in the continued professional development of its tenants. This ensures that members of Chambers remain at the cutting edge of the profession.

As well as boasting some of the biggest household names at the defence bar, Chambers has a former First Senior Treasury Counsel, as well as a former standing counsel to the Health & Safety Executive and former standing counsel to HMRC.  The result is that, both historically and currently, members of 2 Bedford Row routinely prosecute and defend in the most high-profile cases in the country.  Examples include:

• R v Wayne Couzens - the murder of Sarah Everard
• R v Harbi Ali – the murder of David Amess MP
• R v Levi Bellfield – notorious serial killer convicted of three murders
• R v Adebolajo and Adebowale – the murder of Lee Rigby
• R v Larcombe and others – News of the World phone hacking
• R v Al Jarah and others – Unaoil bribery scandal

Many members of Chambers are in the top level of prosecution panel lists, including the Health & Safety Executive List A of Special Advocates and Level 4 of the Crown Prosecution Service list for panel advocates.  In addition to this, many tenants sit as legal assessors for professional regulators, as well as being instructed to appear before such tribunals.

Members of Chambers are frequently engaged in high profile appellate and public inquiry work.  Examples include:

• The Post Office Appeals and inquiry
• The Grenfell Inquiry
• The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
• The Brock House Inquiry.
• The UK Covid -19 Inquiry.

Chambers moved to its current premises in 2000 and has continued to go from strength to strength, with members frequently advising and appearing all over the world.  It is now an internationally recognised and respected set.  Former members of Chambers include distinguished members of the judiciary, who sit in the High Court, Crown Court and as District Judges.

Bedford Row’s experienced clerking team, led by John Grimmer, is known for the high quality service delivered to both professional and lay clients.

2 Bedford Row offers three 12-month pupillages per annum.

Upon completion of 12 months pupillage, Chambers practice is to invite some, or all, pupils to complete a further six months training prior to consideration of any tenancy applications.  In exceptional circumstances a tenancy application will be considered after completion of 12 months pupillage.

Pupils at 2 Bedford Row have the opportunity to work on high profile cases with some of the leading criminal practitioners in the country.  Pupils spend their first six in the company of their pupil supervisor; usually attending Court every day.  They will also assist other members of Chambers so that they are exposed to as many different areas of Chambers’ expertise as possible.

During their 12 months ‘on their feet’, pupils appear on a daily basis in the Magistrates’, Crown and Youth Courts in a wide variety of criminal matters.  They will continue to have a supervisor who is always available should advice be needed.

Throughout pupillage, pupils will be given the opportunity to attend external training events as well as attending regular, bespoke advocacy training sessions provided by Chambers.

We aim to recruit tenants from our own pool of pupils.  Since requiring most pupils to complete 18 months of training, over 80% of pupils have successfully achieved tenancy in Chambers.  Those who have not been successful have almost invariably found a tenancy in good chambers elsewhere.