Equality Diversity and Inclusion
3 Verulam Buildings is committed to upholding its Equality and Diversity policy in recruitment.
We particularly welcome applications from female, disabled and non‐white candidates which groups are, at present, underrepresented at the Commercial Bar.
3VB operates an equal opportunities policy. No applicant for pupillage will be discriminated against based on their race, colour, ethnic or national origin, nationality, citizenship, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, religion, or political persuasion. Recruitment is conducted in accordance with our statutory and regulatory obligations including those arising under the Equality Act 2010 and the BSB Handbook.
The Pupillage Committee and any interview panels are trained in equality and diversity as it applies to recruitment, and Chambers records and monitors its equality statistics.
3VB are accredited as “Disability Confident Committed” and are prepared and willing to make all reasonable adjustments to accommodate disabled applicants, pupils, and tenants. Candidates with a disability are asked to indicate during the application process the nature of their disability and any adjustments they think 3VB might have to make to accommodate them as regards the application process and as regards pupillage and tenancy, in order that Chambers can ensure that such adjustments are reasonable and viable.
3VB is wheelchair accessible and has conference rooms and tenants’ accommodation available on the ground floor.
3VB have a Chambers Equality and Diversity Policy and Action Plan, which is regularly reviewed and updated. This is intended to ensure that we abide by our equality and diversity obligations and to reflect our commitment to fairness and open access. The E&D Policy covers, among other matters, recruitment training, practice development, and fair allocation of work.
In addition, Chambers has policies on parental leave and flexible working, and reasonable adjustments.
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. (max. 1200 characters)
2. Why do you want to join our chambers? In your answer, please give reasons for your choice of chambers and explain why you are interested in our areas of practice. (max. 1200 characters)
3. Why do you think integrity is an important aspect of practice at the Commercial Bar? (max. 1200 characters)
4. Identify a decided case within 3VB's field of work from the last twelve months (and the more recent, the better) that you find interesting, and explain why.(max. 1200 characters)
5. Which skills and characteristics are the hallmarks of a good advocate? (max. 1200 characters)
6. What is the greatest challenge you have faced so far? (max. 1200 characters)
About AETO and Structure of Pupillage
3 Verulam Buildings is one of London’s strongest sets of chambers for commercial litigation and arbitration. Its members are widely recognised as leading practitioners in a variety of the fields that make up international commercial practice: banking, financial services, commercial and contractual disputes, civil fraud, energy, insolvency, insurance, international arbitration, IT and telecoms, media, and professional negligence.
3VB prides itself on its professional expertise and the outstanding opportunities afforded to all tenants to build leading commercial practices. It is a forward-looking set, with excellent practice managers, spacious premises, and first-class facilities.
Pupils sit with four pupil supervisors for three months at a time and are exposed to a broad range of chambers’ work during these seats.
In addition to working with their pupil supervisors, pupils are also asked to work with other members of chambers of all levels. In particular, pupils have a shadow pupil supervisor, who is a more junior member of chambers charged with providing access to smaller pieces of work of the type ordinarily seen by a tenant in the early years of practice.
Pupils sit in the rooms of their pupil supervisor and share their daily professional life, drafting statements of case, researching legal points, writing advices, and attending conferences and trials or other hearings in Court. Whilst pupils have to work hard, sometimes very hard, it is not expected that pupils should work late into the evenings or at weekends on a regular basis.
Advocacy and Education
Pupils also undertake a number of advocacy exercises, usually one each term, during the course of pupillage. These exercises provide an opportunity to practise and develop advocacy skills, with a particular focus on commercial applications. Pupils receive feedback from silks in chambers who are qualified advocacy trainers for their Inns, and a moderator and pupil supervisors also attend these sessions.
During the second six months of pupillage, pupils are given the opportunity to undertake a limited amount of advocacy on their own account, in order to start building up experience and earnings (which are additional to the pupillage award and not subject to any chambers expenses).
Chambers ensures that pupils are given adequate time to prepare for and attend the compulsory training courses in advocacy and other topics provided by the Inns during the pupillage year.
The Tenancy Decision
Pupils are given regular feedback from their pupil supervisors and have reviews at the end of each seat with the Head of Pupillage and the Pupillage Secretary. The three-month review is to assess progress generally and to address any concerns the pupil may have. The six-month review is more significant. Its purpose is to provide a realistic assessment of the prospect of tenancy as well as to provide an opportunity for constructive feedback to help the pupil deal with any areas of weakness in the period leading up to the tenancy decision.
The tenancy decision is usually taken in the first half of July. Chambers has no quota or limit on the number of tenancies as a proportion of pupillages offered, and the intention when offering pupillage is that every pupil who has met the standard required will be offered tenancy. Where a pupil is not offered tenancy at 3VB, Chambers has a strong record of helping pupils find a place at another good set or solicitors’ firm.