Pupillage Vacancy Information
About Authorised Education and Training Organisation
Littleton Chambers is acknowledged as being a top class set in each of its main practice areas. Its success is based upon both the desire to maintain high professional standards and a willingness to embrace change. It prides itself on the skills of its tenants, not only as advocates and advisers on the law, but also for their analytical and practical skills.
Littleton specialises in commercial litigation, employment law, sports law, professional negligence, mediation and arbitration.
Applications are invited from candidates with a minimum 2:1 degree or equivalent. Littleton takes a considerable amount of care in choosing our pupils and prefers to recruit its tenants from persons who have completed a full 12 month pupillage with Chambers. We endeavour to take on pupils wo not only have excellent academic skills, but who show flair for advocacy, have the ability to understand practical commercial issues, and importantly, have the interpersonal skills to provide the qualities that are expected of the modern-day Bar.
Working with a pupil supervisor is the principal form of training. Pupillage is divided into 4x3 month pupillage seats in order to obtain exposure to a variety of different practices Your Pupil Supervisors will provide support and guidance to you throughout your pupillage ensuring that you understand not only the "nuts and bolts" of a barrister's work, but also the ethical constraints which are such a distinctive feature of our professional life.
For more information about pupillage at Littleton see https://littletonchambers.com/pupillage or follow us on social media on X (formerly Twitter) https://twitter.com/LittletonPupils or via Instagram https://www.instagram.com/littlepupils.
Structure of Pupillage
During pupillage you will be asked to draft statements of case, prepare written Opinions and Skeleton Arguments and to conduct legal research. To that end you will be provided with access to necessary papers and expect you to prepare as if you were the barrister instructed by solicitors. The strengths and weaknesses of your work will be discussed with you, and your Pupil Supervisor will show you how s/he has completed the work. You will also have the opportunity of seeing your Pupil Supervisor conduct cases in Court or Tribunal.
In addition to performing work for your Pupil Supervisor, you will also be asked to undertake work for other members of Chambers and set a number of formal assessed pieces of written work, and advocacy and receive graded feedback on your performance. A number of training course have also been set up within Chambers to focus on the development of your knowledge and skills.
After the 1st 6 months of your pupillage, you will be eligible to take on your own work. Typically, pupils at Littleton Chambers have been briefed once or twice a week. Your Pupil Supervisor will ensure that the work you are asked to do is appropriate and will provide support and assistance in the preparation of these briefs to ensure that your client receives the best possible service.
Financial and Other Support Available
Littleton Chambers believes that fair remuneration is important. Our pupils receive a £75,000 pupillage award and they keep all second six earnings. It is possible to draw down a maximum of £15,000 of the pupillage award during the year of Bar finals.
Equality Diversity and Inclusion
We operate an Equal Opportunities Policy which is designed to support diversity in our pupillage recruitment process.
Should applicants require any reasonable adjustments be made throughout our recruitment process, they should email the Administration Director, Felicity Schneider on fschneider@littletonchambers.co.uk
We are proud to be a founding partner of "Bridging the Bar", a charity committed to the promotion of equal opportunities and diversity at the Bar, at all professional levels. As part of our commitment to this initiative we are participating in the Bridging the Bar mini pupillage scheme, through which candidates will be able to apply for a dedicated mini pupillage experience outside of the usual recruitment process.
Littleton is also extremely proud to have been part of the founding committee of "10,000 Black Interns" a program designed to promote opportunities for black law students to access the profession.
The Littleton "Inspire Sports Law" initiative is designed to support athletes transitioning away from high performance sport into a career in the law, and/or those from less represented socio-economic backgrounds who wish to embark on legal careers at the Bar. This initiative includes opportunities for work experience at Littleton Chambers which includes attending hearings and considering cases of interest dealt with by our Sports Law Group, networking at this groups events, mentoring in terms of university studies, Law or Bar School topic choices, scholarship applications and interview preparation and ongoing education by way of case updates and comments via the Littleton Sports Law Group mailing list.
How to Apply
Aspiring barristers are invited to apply to chambers between 3 January 2024 and 7 February 2024 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:
1.Why do you believe you will make a good barrister? (200 word limit)
2.Why do you want to join Littleton Chambers? (300 word limit)
3.Please provide a breakdown of your exam results in your undergraduate degree. To the extent that you consider any later degree or qualifications to be relevant, please provide appropriate breakdowns (750 word limit)
