Pupillage Vacancy Information
About Authorised Education and Training Organisation
We are committed to attracting the best candidates for pupillage. The university you went to, your race, your age, your gender, your sexual orientation and who you know are irrelevant. We want to attract the best candidates regardless of such characteristics. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity within Chambers so if you think you have the skills and personal qualities necessary for a successful career at the Bar please apply.
We are progressive, forward-thinking and at the cutting edge of innovation in the legal market with members ranked in Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 in all our main practice areas. While legal excellence is at the forefront of all that we do, we pride ourselves on our approachability and inclusivity and this philosophy follows through to pupillage. You can find full details of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives below. We are always striving to increase our diversity throughout Chambers including amongst our pupils.
Structure of Pupillage
Over the course of your twelve-month pupillage you will sit with three supervisors and you will be allocated a panel of ‘wingers’ from different practice areas for whom you will be expected to do work. In addition to this, you will be encouraged to work for as many other members of chambers as you are able to.
Pupils may choose to specialise in any of our practice areas and we will endeavour to accommodate your preferences. However, we do encourage open-mindedness as practice is very different to academic study and you may have an undiscovered budding passion.
You will spend your first six months shadowing your supervisors and working with them on their current cases. This will involve things like drafting opinions and proceedings and attending court and client conferences with them. Towards the end of your first six months the junior members will take you to court with them to observe the sorts of cases you can expect to work on in your second six.
We also provide training in areas in which you are most likely to receive instructions during your second six. Additionally, you will receive extensive advocacy training led by members of chambers who also sit as part time judges and/or are qualified as advocacy tutors for the programs run by the Inns.
During your second six months you can expect to be in court two to three times a week and you may be instructed on paperwork. The majority of the work will be in the county court with occasional matters in the high court. You can expect your court work to include housing matters, property related injunctions, bankruptcy and winding up petitions and small claims trials. We encourage our pupils to gain as much court experience as they are able to during this period.
During pupillage you will receive regular and detailed feedback not only from your pupil supervisors, but also from those for whom you do work and a member of chambers designated as responsible for the welfare of pupils.
Financial and Other Support Available
We offer an award of £85,000 (consisting of an award of £70,000 and guaranteed earnings of £15,000) of which £15,000 may be drawn down during your BPTC year. We will cover the cost of compulsory training courses which you undertake as a pupil.
Further, once you become a member, we offer a loan facility should earnings fall below £40,000 for your first year in practice and £50,000 for your second year. This is intended to be a safety net and we expect our new members to earn well in excess of these figures. We operate the scheme so that you are able to plan and budget safe in the knowledge that you have a guaranteed monthly income during your early years.
Equality Diversity and Inclusion
We lead the way in equality and diversity and well-being at the bar. We recognise that pupillage is a challenging time and do all that we can to alleviate the pressure on you. We do not pay lip-service to the notion of ‘work life balance’; we insist upon it. Only in truly exceptional circumstances should you expect to be in chambers before 8.30am or leave after 6pm.
Gatehouse Chambers has a very active Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee supported by four taskforces made up of barrister and staff members who share information, devise new strategies and promote initiatives, to ensure that an inclusive atmosphere is created for everyone and to encourage diversity amongst those applying for staff positions, pupillage or tenancy:
• The Race & Religion Equality Taskforce
• The Sex and Gender Equality Taskforce
• The Disability & Neurodiversity Equality Taskforce
• The Social Mobility Taskforce
For more information please see: https://gatehouselaw.co.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/
Any other relevant information
We are looking for pupils who align with our values and can demonstrate the following core skills:
- Intellectual ability
- Analytical thinking, including the ability to analyse and explain complex cases or issues.
- Oral and written advocacy.
- Coping under pressure and being able to manage a workload.
- Interpersonal skills and business development, including evidence of the ability to:
- Relate to clients and understand their needs
- Retain/attract work
- Communicate effectively
- Work in a team (with solicitors, colleagues and staff)
- Drive and determination, with the ambition and potential to build a successful practice.
- Integrity and ethics.
How to Apply
Aspiring barristers are invited to apply to chambers between 2 January 2025 and 6 February 2025 using the Pupillage Gateway application system to search for the relevant Pupillage Vacancy and selecting ‘Apply for this pupillage’.
Candidates will be asked to respond to the following questions from Chambers:
- Analyse and explain how the principle of transferred loss operates as set out in Lowick Rose LLP v Swynson Ltd [2017] UKSC 32. (250 words)
- Please describe a time when you have had to act against your own interest in order to do the right thing. (100 words)
- Describe a time when you have persuaded someone to come around to your point of view, in any context, and explain why you were successful. (250 words)
- Argue for or against: assisted dying is a humane solution to an ageing population. (250 words)
- Please describe a time you have failed at something and how you responded to this experience. (150 words)
- Please describe a situation in which you have successfully achieved a desired outcome when under pressure. (150 words)
- Please describe a time when you successfully built a relationship with someone and how. (150 words)
