Pupillage Vacancy Information
4 Stone Buildings is a leading litigation set, specialising in complex and high value disputes, often with an international element. We focus on specialist commercial areas, in particular banking, company and insolvency, commercial fraud and financial services law in court and international arbitration. We are active in many offshore markets including the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
As a set, we are flexible and dynamic. With a long and successful history, we pride ourselves on our ability to adapt to and drive change in the commercial world around us. We are at the forefront of legal developments in our specialist fields. So, for example, many of our members are involved in the FinTech and cryptoassets sector. Members are regularly instructed in the leading cases in our practice areas, appearing often in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The legal directories consistently rank us as one of the top sets at the Bar in our core areas.
Members hold significant positions within the legal world. We have the Chair of the Charity Commission, a recent Treasurer of Lincoln’s Inn, the Attorney General to HRH the Prince of Wales and a Judge in the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey. Recent former members include two High Court Judges and a Judge of the Insolvency and Companies Court, and several of our members are Deputy High Court Judges.
In addition to being academically accomplished and leaders in their profession, our barristers also have a wide variety of outside interests - which we strongly support. These range from volunteering in the charity sector to music and sport. One of our barristers is a Women’s British Triathlon Age Group Champion.
As regards pupillage, we have both the work and accommodation for new members. Our intention is to have two pupils each year and to recruit those pupils who meet the required standard. We believe that pupils are in Chambers to learn rather than to be tested and should be given the best opportunity to demonstrate to us that they should be retained as tenants. Showing this commitment to expanding by recruitment from the bottom of Chambers, we have taken on all our pupils in the last five years. What we look for in a pupillage applicant is good academic achievement or aptitude, ideally demonstrated by a first class or good second class degree (but not necessarily in law). However, mere intellectual ability is only part of it: a successful candidate must have the confidence and ambition to succeed, the common sense to recognise the practical advice a client really needs, and an ability to get on well with clients, solicitors and other members of Chambers and the clerks.
We aim to give all our pupils the knowledge, skills and practical experience they need for a successful career at the Bar, and to help make the transition from academic life to practical, real life at the Bar. We also believe that it is important for pupils to see as much as possible of the different kinds of work in Chambers. This enables them to judge whether our work suits them, and enables different members of Chambers to assess the pupils.
Each pupil therefore normally spends time with four pupil supervisors during the year. All pupils work in their pupil supervisor's room, read their papers, attend their conferences, draft pleadings and documents, write draft opinions and accompany their pupil supervisor to Court. However, if other members of Chambers have particularly interesting cases in Court, pupils will be encouraged to work and attend Court with them. More generally, we are a friendly set, with pupils treated very much as part of Chambers during their time with us. They are fully involved in the activities of Chambers and are invited to all social events.
As with all Chambers, pupils are now assessed against the competencies set out in the BSB’s Professional Statement for Barristers, further details of which are found (along with other materials relating to pupillage generally) on the BSB’s website at www.barstandardsboard.org.uk.
Our pupillage award for pupillage commencing in October 2026 is £80,000 per annum of which £50,000 is payable in monthly instalments in the first 6 months and £30,000 is payable in monthly instalments in the second 6 months. Pupils can also draw down part of the award in the year prior to pupillage on request to Chambers.
We pride ourselves on our integrity and inclusivity while providing excellent client service. We also pride ourselves on being great team players, both within Chambers and with clients. We promote a friendly and supportive working environment in which our members can thrive. We make no distinctions of social, educational or economic background or circumstances. We will never allow discrimination on grounds of race, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, disability, age or religion or belief; nor will we allow harassment, victimisation, bullying or an unsafe working environment. Any such conduct would be contrary to our principles of fairness. It would also be unlawful.
We are signatories of the Women in Law pledge, and have members of Chambers that sit on the Bar Council Pro Bono and Social Responsibility Committee, the Chancery Bar Association’s Equality and Diversity Sub-Committee and the Board of Advocate. More generally members carry out significant amounts of pro bono work alongside their professional commitments.
We are also committed to ensuring that a career at the Bar is available to all, irrespective of background. We participate in a wide range of schemes to enhance knowledge of the law and access to pupillage, including Bridging the Bar, 10,000 Black Interns, the Middle Temple Access to the Bar Scheme, International Lawyers for Africa, the Bar Placement Scheme, Leducate, and the COMBAR Social Mobility Mentoring Scheme.
Our ED&I code is available on our website at ED&I and CSR - 4 Stone Buildings and further information about our EDI policies and initiatives can be obtained from our EDI Committee who can be contacted by email through pupillage@4stonebuildings.com.
Pupillage applications from eligible candidates cannot be fairly processed without our seeing relevant references. It would assist us greatly if you could arrange for your referees to write to us at the same time as submitting your application. References can be submitted by email to pupillage@4stonebuildings.com
Additional details about 4 Stone Buildings and about pupillage can be found under the pupillage tab at www.4stonebuildings.com.
A copy of our Pupillage Policy can be found on our website at Pupillage – 4 Stone Buildings.
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. (200)
3. Please give an example of a situation, whether in a legal context or otherwise, in which you had to advocate for a position? In your answer explain the circumstances, how you approached the argument and what you gained from the experience. (200)
4. If you could make one significant change to English law, whether by adding a new legal principle or statute, or by removing one, what change would you make and why? (150)
5. How do you manage multiple competing pressures on your time/deadlines? In your answer you may like to give examples of situations in which you have faced such pressures and to explain how you dealt with them. (150)
