Pupillage Vacancy Information
About Authorised Education and Training Organisation
We are a leading employment, professional discipline, personal injury, and clinical negligence chambers The defining quality of Old Square Chambers is excellence. This is the standard we set for ourselves in the delivery of services to our clients, and the criterion by which we assess prospective tenants and pupils. Members regularly appear before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, and the Employment Appeal Tribunal, in leading cases at the forefront of UK law.
Many of our members are recognised as leading juniors in their field whilst others hold part-time judicial positions, sit on specialist panels, act as mediators, and edit or contribute to leading practitioner texts. Our goal is to select a small number of pupils with the aim of recruiting our tenants from them. We have a strong retention rate and encourage pupils to be collaborative. Chambers is committed to equality and diversity, and we are proud to have a diverse membership which we continue to build upon. We engage in a number of access to the Bar initiatives. We are based in Bedford Row but operate nationally.
We are a leading chambers in employment law. Our work is balanced between claimant and defendant or respondent and includes the protection of individual rights. We work on behalf of trade unions, commercial organisations, the NHS, and local and central government. In employment we cover all the relevant areas including discrimination, collective action, individual rights, restraint of trade and human rights. Members regularly appear before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, and the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
In personal injury we have an excellent profile spanning all types of litigation, for both claimants and defendants. Particular areas of strength include, catastrophic injury, fatal accident claims, criminal injuries compensation, military claims, disaster, and multi-party litigation.
We also have a thriving practice in the field of professional regulatory and disciplinary work, especially in the healthcare sector. Members often appearing on behalf of high-profile doctors (such as the British Cycling and Team Sky Doctor) and in the High Court seeking injunctive relief. Members regularly act for dentists, nurses, solicitors, and athletes before their respective regulators.
In clinical law, we have a number of expert practitioners encompassing all disputes affecting and involving the medical, dental, pharmaceutical, and nursing professions, with particular strength in obstetric and neonatal injuries, catastrophic brain injury, delay in diagnosis, and sports injury claims.
We also have a thriving inquests and inquiries practice. Members have worked on most of the high-profile inquests and inquiries over the last three decades, most recently including the Alder Hey Inquiry, Grenfell Inquiry, the Paterson Inquiry, the Leveson Inquiry, the Infected Bloody Inquiry and inquests into the London Bridge and Westminster terrorist attacks. Much of our work involves the use of European jurisprudence.
Structure of Pupillage
Chambers offers up to two funded pupillages each year. Each pupil will participate in a non-practising first six and a practising second six. In most instances, pupils will have 4 pupil supervisors in total over the 12-month period. They will sit 3 assessments during their pupillage. In June/July of the pupillage year, a decision will be taken as to whether the pupils will be offered tenancy at the conclusion of their training period.
We are committed to ensuring all our recruitment and selection processes are fair and that protected characteristics are safeguarded.
Financial and Other Support Available
Pupils are offered generous funding and will experience a wide variety of court and paperwork. There is also the opportunity to work closely with silks on complex and sometimes high-profile cases.
Our current pupillage award, for recruitment of pupils from October 2026 onwards, is £70,000, (including guaranteed minimum earnings of £10,000 during the second six, payable at the conclusion of the same). A draw down facility of up to £20,000 is available for the BTC on acceptance of an offer of pupillage, subject to references.
Equality Diversity and Inclusion
Chambers are committed to further improving access to the Bar as a profession. Amongst our many Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, those specifically related to access to the Bar as a profession include:
- Funded/part funded mini pupillage scheme, aimed at students who are in at least their second year of university and can demonstrate an interest in law and specifically, our practice areas
- Bristol Student Union Student Group sponsor
- Sponsorship of several university prizes relating to our practice areas, which include monetary awards and mini pupillages
- Participants in the Bar Council’s Black Intern Scheme annually
- Gold partner of ‘Support Through Court’ – this initiative is twofold as it not only supports the charity in its mission to improve on access to justice for individuals without representation, but is directly aligned with their student volunteer programme to allow mentee relationships and raise awareness of the Bar and how to access it as a profession
- A number of members independently volunteer for mentor schemes with the Inns and social mobility programmes, together with attending schools to present to students
- Competitive grants with a high draw down facility to assist students in achieving the BTC on successful application for pupillage.
Beyond our Access to the Bar initiatives, Chambers also have in place a number of broader social responsibility commitments:
- Chambers have a dedicated Equality Diversity and Wellbeing Committee
- We have in place a mentoring scheme allowing any member of Chambers, regardless of seniority, to seek and be allocated a mentor to assist them in progressing their professional development
- Chambers are an accredited London Living Wage employer, which is extended to all of our subcontractors
- We have trained mental health first aiders amongst both the staff and membership, and members of the Committee are available to all members, staff and pupils to assist and support as required
- We offer various signposting to sector specific resources to assist members, pupils and staff with any challenges they may be facing
- Chambers have a parental leave policy in place to assist members and pupils with financial challenges faced when taking parental leave
- We have several informal WhatsApp groups specifically focused towards individuals with health concerns that affect their practices, and individuals with caring/parental responsibilities
- We provide free feminine care products in Chambers, that are sustainably sourced from an organization who match what we spend by donating products to those that cannot access them
- A number of our members provide Pro Bono services via Advocate
- Chambers are committed to reducing our environmental impact and have a number of initiatives in Chambers to continually improve our sustainability.
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’.
In addition to the standardised Bar Council questionnaire, candidates will be asked to respond to the following questions from Chambers:
1. Why do you wish to become a barrister? (Max 350 words)
2. What areas of practice are you interested in and why? (Max 350 words)
3. Why do you believe you will make a good barrister? (Max 350 words)
4. Please identify any additional experiences/skills gained that you believe may help you in your career. (Max 350 words)
5. Why are you applying to Old Square Chambers specifically? (Max 350 words)
6. Tell us about an appellate decision in one of our practice areas that you disagree with and why. (Max 350 words)
2. What areas of practice are you interested in and why? (Max 350 words)
3. Why do you believe you will make a good barrister? (Max 350 words)
4. Please identify any additional experiences/skills gained that you believe may help you in your career. (Max 350 words)
5. Why are you applying to Old Square Chambers specifically? (Max 350 words)
6. Tell us about an appellate decision in one of our practice areas that you disagree with and why. (Max 350 words)
If you wish to make contact with our Accessibility Officer, you can do so in confidence either by email to Sarah Earl, Chambers Director, at searl@oldsquare.co.uk or by telephone to 020 7269 0300.
