Pupillage Vacancy Information
Up to £15,000 of the £70,000 award may be drawn down in advance over the Bar Professional Training Course year and/or for relevant postgraduate study in the year before the commencement of pupillage (with pro rata reductions in instalments during the pupillage year). This can be discussed as necessary with us at the relevant time. Deferred pupillages are not something we seek to offer but may be granted in exceptional circumstances.
Equality Diversity and Inclusion
We are committed to broadening access and opportunities both at the Bar and within chambers for both barristers and staff. We have an equality and diversity working group that oversees our equality action plan. We have five equality and diversity officers (barristers) and a diversity data officer (a senior staff member). Our current external outreach partnerships include Bridging the Bar, The Sutton Trust, and 10,000 Black Interns. We have signed up to the Freebar Charter and are also are involved in the setting up of All Bar (a new initiative to support those with a disability). We are a Disability Confident Committed employer and have Certification of Recognition from the Bar Council for Wellbeing.
We are particularly proud of the number of female QCs we have and the diverse socio-economic background of our barristers. Our diversity data survey results from 2020 are available on our website, along with our Anti-Racist Statement.
We strive to be an equal opportunities employer and chambers is committed to diversity among our staff and members, including supporting flexible working.
We encourage and welcome applications from women, people of minority ethnic origin, people living with a disability and those who identify as LGBT+, as well as candidates from other groups underrepresented in the legal sector. We will make reasonable adjustments to enable candidates living with a disability to demonstrate their suitability for the role.
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:
- 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)
- 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)
- What areas of practice are you interested in, and why? (max 1200 characters)
- In no more than 100 words, explain the Covid pandemic. (max 500 characters)
We strongly recommend that applicants for pupillage undertake an assessed mini-pupillage with us before completing the Pupillage Gateway application form. However, we will consider pupillage applications from, and do not discriminate against, those who have not done a mini-pupillage. Further information in regard to mini-pupillage can be found on our Mini-pupillage page.
About AETO and Structure of Pupillage
39 Essex Chambers is a leading set based in London, Manchester, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. We have 154 members – a third of whom are KCs. We are one of the country’s largest civil sets with members who are experts in a wide range of specialist sectors and practice areas.
We act for:
- individuals
- public and private companies
- government departments and agencies
- utilities
- NGOs
- insurance companies
- professional indemnity insurers
- local authorities
- trade unions
- educational bodies
- health authorities and trusts
Our barristers are used to working in large teams or as sole advocates. We pride ourselves on our team working and have a large number of experienced silks who are able to encourage and nurture our more recently qualified barristers.
We have a global reach with excellent relationships with leading law firms across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and America. We also accept instructions through direct professional access from recognised organisations and overseas lawyers. Our barristers also undertake pro bono work and act for a number of public interest organisations.
Our Approach
In all of our work we aim to:
- provide an excellent, efficient service to all our clients
- give sound practical advice and explain legal issues in clear terms
- be approachable and work as a team with our clients and their other professional advisers
Structure of Pupillage
We offer up to three funded, 12-month pupillages per year. In 2023, we will be accepting applications for pupillage commencing in September 2024.
Our pupillage award is currently set at £70,000, £5,000 of which will be by way of guaranteed earnings in the second six months. The award is payable in equal instalments across the 12-month pupillage and arrangements can be made for a “draw down” of up to £15,000 in advance to help pay for studies. Earnings for barristers’ own work in the second six months are additional to this award, if they exceed the £5,000 minimum – but the emphasis during pupillage remains on training and it is anticipated that the bulk of pupils’ work will remain for their supervisors rather than themselves.
The assessment of pupils’ competencies is objective, with constructive feedback provided throughout the year. Pupils are not in competition with one another: our aim is for pupillage to be a year of learning and our ambition is to recruit all pupils as tenants if they meet the relevant criteria. As a result we have a high conversion and retention rate of pupils to tenants. We make our final tenancy decision based on the strengths of each individual pupil.
What does pupillage at 39 Essex Chambers involve?
From September to July our pupils rotate in turn through each of the four seats – commercial/construction, civil liability, environment and planning and public law. Each seat lasts for approximately two months and involves a mixture of court and paperwork, and enables our pupils to develop strong relationships with their supervisors and each of the areas of practice in which we specialise. Our range of practice is broad and we encourage our pupils to develop similarly broad practices over their first few years.
In addition, we have a wider training programme in advocacy and other issues likely to arise in junior practice such as how to work with clerks, practice management and development and finance and accountancy.
Once the tenancy decision is taken, pupils usually remain with whomever their pupillage supervisor is at the time, although alternative arrangements can be made at that stage, if desired.
Pupillage Supervisors
One of our greatest strengths is the range of areas in which we practice.
Over the course of the year, 39 Essex pupils take a deep dive into four diverse areas of law gaining experience of both public and private law spheres.
We have a number of supervisors each with their own particular practice. Pupils generally have two supervisors for each seat and spend their working days with one or the other, shadowing them in court and in conference, and working on papers in tandem with them. While their work is always managed by their lead supervisors, there are also often opportunities to see interesting work with other members of the relevant team or attend higher court hearings / matters of interest.
Second Six Months
Unlike many of our direct competitors, we place real value on the development of our pupils’ advocacy skills. While our junior tenants do have opportunities to act in big cases and work as part of larger teams, we also pride ourselves on the fact that all of our tenants are capable advocates in their own right. Pupils can therefore expect to be in court on small claims cases or interim applications in larger matters in the second six months of their pupillage. The precise amount of work pupils receive varies from year to year, but the expectation is that they will be in court once or twice a week toward the end of their second six months of pupillage. We operate a system to ensure fair distribution of work among the pupils and this is monitored by the Pupillage Committee. Pupils keep all earnings from such work and do not pay any contribution to chambers on those earnings, beyond the initial £5,000.
As part of the training requirements laid down by the Bar Council, pupils must also attend the advocacy training course provided by their Inn of Court and an “Advice to Counsel Course” provided by the Bar Council. Pupils also usually complete a forensic accountancy course during the second six months (it must, in any event, be completed by the end of the third year in practice). Chambers pays for all of these courses.
In addition, due to our emphasis on early years advocacy, we run our own in-house advocacy training programme providing structured exercises where pupils can practice and learn from senior members of chambers. We address witness handling and real exercises in the sorts of cases you can expect in your second six and early years.
Tenancy
The focus of pupillage is on learning. Pupils’ focus is on shadowing and learning from their supervisors: it follows that there is no expectation that they will do work – or photocopying! – for other members of chambers, nor will other members generally have any input into whether or not they are offered tenancy. We do seek feedback from members for whom pupils work – all fed into our central assessment process – and lead supervisors act as gatekeepers to manage work output. Our pupils are also set carefully moderated work by a shadow pupillage panel and are given focused advocacy training and assessment: these assessments, along with the views of their supervisors, form the basis upon which any offers of tenancy are made. We have a very strong tradition of providing effective assistance in finding third six pupillages or tenancies for those (very few) who are not successful in obtaining tenancy with us and who wish to pursue a career at the Bar.
Life in Chambers
We pride ourselves on our reputation as one of the most approachable sets of chambers at the Bar, with a real focus on work-life balance. We want our pupils to share that experience: accordingly, we operate a strict 9-6pm policy for pupils with – generally – no expectation that they will work overnight or over weekends during what is, inevitably, a very busy and stressful year.
For a snapshot of the experiences of one recent pupil, click here.
Our pupils work hard, but they are also fully integrated into the life of chambers. We operate an open-door policy and generally foster a friendly and supportive atmosphere in chambers. Chambers’ social life includes fortnightly chambers’ lunch, weekly drinks in the clerks’ room and occasional trips to the downstairs karaoke bar. We encourage our barristers to maintain their outside interests and are proud of our marathon runners, trail walkers, jazz musicians, novelists, bakers, band members and visual artists.
