Pupillage Vacancy Information
Expenses associated with pupillage, e.g., travel, accommodation, and mandatory courses, will be paid for by Express Solicitors.
Our website sets out the rewards and benefits that people at the various levels in our business enjoy, all in addition to the salary that they receive: www.expresssolicitors.co.uk/about/careers
Express offer most of our employees a 3/2 alternate remote working pattern, helping to provide a healthy work/life balance. We provide laptops and full IT support in getting home offices set up to ensure that our employees have everything they need.
Health & Wellbeing
We understand that the working in the legal industry can be stressful. To help our staff at Express, we offer a variety of support to ensure their mental health is taken care of.
To provide support to our colleagues’ Health and Wellbeing, we have qualified Mental Health First Aiders, who are on hand to speak to. Employees also have access to the Employee Assistance Programme (“EAP”), a confidential 24-hour helpline for all staff.
We promote charities and run fundraising events around key dates, including Mental Health Awareness Week. We believe that socialising and exercise also contribute to overall wellbeing. For this reason, in addition to mental health support, we also offer opportunities for our staff to socialise and engage in group activities.
Equality Diversity and Inclusion
At Express we pride ourselves on working with a diverse range of talent from all backgrounds. We always look to promote and support all our members of staff whatever their background.
We believe that to create an environment where diversity can flourish, it is vital for all staff feel supported, heard, and represented in the workplace.
We have diversity at every level of our organisation, with 25% of our workforce identifying as BAME, from a wide spectrum of religions and speaking over 20 different languages. Women make up 70% of our workforce, with 52.5% of our Partners being female. Our latest Gender Pay Gap report is available on our website.
Our Diversity & Inclusion Group has representatives from each department, to ensure that all staff feel represented and have a point of contact should they have any questions or want to raise any issues.
Some examples of the ways we promote Diversity & Inclusion at Express:
- A full calendar of event to raise awareness of topics and communities
- Regular Diversity and Inclusion section in our monthly newsletter, to highlight all the fantastic work the team does
- Everyone has the option to have their pronouns in both their internal and external emails, to help with inclusivity of non-binary (they/them) or transgender people
- Suggestion boxes in all buildings so our colleagues can leave comments anonymously
- Emergency sanitary products in every bathroom across all buildings
- Introduction of gender-neutral toilets in two of our buildings
To learn more, and to read about some of the recent events we’ve organised, please visit the Diversity and Inclusion section of our website:
www.expresssolicitors.co.uk/about/diversity-inclusion-express-solicitors
To enquire about the accessibility of Express Solicitors prior to making your application, please e-mail recruitment@expresssolicitors.co.uk or telephone 0161 904 4660 and ask to speak to the Recruitment department.
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:
Question 1:
Why the employed Bar? Please include any information here that would help demonstrate a commitment to a career at the employed Bar, as well as any specific information as to why you are applying to Express Solicitors.
Character count limit (including spaces): 1,500
Question 2:
Please identify up to 3 difficulties a practitioner might experience whilst working at the employed Bar and give specific examples of any experience or skills you have gained or developed which would help you to cope with such demands.
Character count limit (including spaces): 1,500
Question 3:
Briefly summarise your oral advocacy experience and describe one occasion where you demonstrated high-quality oral advocacy skills. Please include specific information as to the skills themselves, the outcome achieved, and how the two interrelated. Ideally, the example will relate to a court or tribunal hearing/setting, but any example of persuasive advocacy outside of this (where you have influenced the outcome of the decision) is acceptable.
Character count limit (including spaces): 1,500
Question 4:
Describe an occasion where you worked effectively and/or achieved a favourable outcome whilst working under pressure or in difficult conditions/circumstances.
Character count limit (including spaces): 1,500
Question 5:
Please consider the following scenario:
You have been instructed by a solicitor (Partner) on many occasions over a 6-month period and have built up a friendly professional rapport with them. You receive papers from them at 4pm on a Wednesday for an application hearing at 10am on the upcoming Friday. The solicitor’s witness statement accompanying the application is missing key factual evidence that you believe to be critical to the application’s prospects of success, although the requisite information is not only contained within your instructions, but you are told it has previously been communicated to the opposing party in correspondence.
What, if anything, would you do?
If your answer includes reference to contacting somebody, please confirm who and include a copy of the e-mail you would send them.
Character count limit (including spaces): 1,500
Question 6:
Tell us something interesting about yourself, outside of your legal training/career, that we might be surprised to know about you.
Character count limit (including spaces): 1,000
About AETO and Structure of Pupillage
Express Solicitors is listed in The Lawyer’s UK’s top 200 law firms and is currently ranked at 93 based on turnover.
Our other awards include:
- Recognised in the Legal 500 as a Leading Firm for claimant Personal Injury and claimant Clinical Negligence
- Six of our Partners are members of the Law Society Personal Panel
- Ranked in Chambers & Partners for clinical negligence
- We have a 5-star ranking with Trust Pilot, from over 4,500 reviews, which, coming from our clients, means a lot to us
The Advocacy department is comprised of barristers, advocates (individuals who have completed the academic and vocational components of education and training for the Bar, but not the pupillage/work-based component) and a clerk.
All pupils are recruited with a view to being offered a position as an employed barrister upon completion of pupillage. This is not, however, guaranteed.
For more information as to the structure of pupillage, please see our Pupillage Policy (attached).
Any Other Relevant Information
Why work at Express?
We want to offer our people what we believe is an exciting career structure: a path that is clear, fair, and attainable.
Within this structure, we want to work with and develop all our people so that they, and our business, are constantly improving.
We will invest time and money in developing our people, and we expect those who wish to pursue a career with us to invest their time and hard work too.
We can and will reward those people who demonstrate to us the right personal and professional qualities, the right attitude and abilities, and the right contribution to our business.
Attached documents
