Pupillage Vacancy Information
About Authorised Education and Training Organisation and Structure of Pupillage
QEB Hollis Whiteman is regarded nationally and internationally as a leading set. We are ranked Band 1 in the 2024 Chambers and Partners Guide for Crime, Professional Discipline and Financial Crime, with many of our members individually ranked.
Based in the City of London, we are recognised for our expertise in: corporate and financial crime; general crime; professional regulation and discipline; health and safety; private prosecution; inquests and inquiries. Our members are instructed in the most serious, high-profile and ground-breaking cases of the day and together we are considered amongst the elite in our respective fields.
As a top-tier chambers we are committed to the recruitment, training, and wellbeing of the next generation of barristers. Our pupillage programme provides high-quality personalised guidance to recognise talent and encourage it to grow.
Pupillage with us lasts 16 months and comprises a first-six ‘non-practising’ period which includes weekly advocacy classes, followed by a ten-month practising period.
We are first and foremost a criminal chambers and general crime is at the core of our pupils’ training and practice. But we recognise the unique pressures on the publicly funded criminal bar and so we guarantee close-up experience in all areas of chambers’ work. In our experience, our commitment to criminal advocacy provides a solid basis for a practice in professional regulation, private prosecutions, and public law.
The First Six
Our pupils spend the first six months shadowing their allocated pupil supervisor and other members of chambers. All pupils have an individual pupil supervisor as well as a silk mentor to ensure they see a broad spectrum of work.
This work can involve drafting written submissions, researching complex legal, procedural and evidential issues, and offering general assistance during the conduct of trials.
Pupils are also asked to take on written work for other members of chambers to prepare them for life as a barrister. We make sure that pupils are fully involved in the problem solving, decision-making, and advocacy that make up a barrister’s daily working life.
Some members of chambers, including some of our pupil supervisors, are Treasury Counsel based at the Central Criminal Court. Our pupils therefore gain experience from those who prosecute the most complex and high profile criminal trials.
International work is part of chambers life. First six pupils in the past have assisted in overseas jurisdictions including the Seychelles, Kenya, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and Qatar.
Each pupil is also given the opportunity to spend several weeks shadowing a member of our private prosecutions team, and a member of our Inquests & Inquiries team.
The first six months also involves getting to know chambers. Pupils are regularly included in events happening in chambers, including seminars and social events. We also provide our pupils with a detailed handbook to prepare them for our programme.
Advocacy Training
Our pupillage programme includes weekly advocacy sessions for our first-six pupils to prepare them for life on their feet.
The sessions are run by our advanced advocacy trainer Ali Naseem Bajwa KC. Part way through this program, members of chambers from junior tenants to silks attend to provide their experience, including Treasury Counsel and our Heads of Chambers. This also ensures pupils receive feedback from those with different practices and styles of advocacy.
The course concludes in March with a mock trial at the Central Criminal Court before real judges. Members of chambers attend to watch and to act as witnesses and jurors. Pupils receive bespoke feedback on their advocacy from their Judge and advocacy trainers.
By the end of the programme, our pupils are prepared to start their practice.
The Second Six
By maintaining the highest standards of advocacy and quality of service, we ensure our pupils are instructed in an array of cases and are consistently challenged to achieve excellence.
Pupils start on their feet with trials in the magistrates’ courts but quickly progress to pre-trial hearings in the Crown Court. Our pupils are typically instructed in their first Crown Court trial before the end of their pupillage.
We also ensure our pupils maintain a balanced practice of prosecution and defence work. Our pupils apply for Grade I CPS Advocate Panel status as soon as they start their second-six. This allows them to prosecute lists of trials in the magistrates’ courts once or twice a week, alongside their defence work.
Chambers is committed to general crime remaining a financially viable practice area. However, we recognise the acute pressure currently faced by legal aid practitioners. We therefore ensure our pupils are regularly instructed in privately funded crime work and regulatory matters throughout their second six to broaden their specialisms and to support their earnings.
Our Extended Programme
Our pupillage programme includes the non-practising first six months, followed by an extended practising period of ten months.
The BSB-mandated ‘second-six’ ends 12 months after pupillage begins, and so our pupils are qualified barristers from that point. However, we only invite applications for tenancy four months after that.
We operate this extended system to allow proper time for experience, assessment and training. Our new tenants typically begin a full Crown Court practice immediately and in our experience benefit from the additional time to build up their knowledge and skills.
We also believe it is key to our pupils’ wellbeing to be given more time to feel part of chambers. We recognise that applying to join a set is a serious decision and we take pride in ensuring our prospective tenants feel properly included before inviting applications.
Our system also allows our second six pupils to overlap with our new first-six pupils. This ensures that experience is passed on between cohorts. Our second-six pupils provide first six pupils with training, support, and encouragement.
Equality Diversity and Inclusion
Welfare
We take the welfare of our pupils seriously. Our pupils are a part of QEB Hollis Whiteman and we ensure they can access help and advice if they need it. We have a designated Head of Pupil Welfare, a Pupillage Committee, an Equality and Diversity Committee and a volunteer group of members of chambers and staff who have been trained in providing mental health support.
We mandate that pupils take holiday and encourage them to approach us if they need more time off. Chambers has a shared parental leave policy, a fair recruitment policy, an internal anti-harassment policy, and an external bullying policy that was covered in Counsel Magazine.
Equal Opportunities
QEB Hollis Whiteman is committed to equal opportunities and does not discriminate on the grounds of race (including colour, nationality, and ethnic and national origin), sex, pregnancy and maternity, disability, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership, religion or belief, age, or gender assignment. If a successful candidate has a disability, we will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments.
QEB Hollis Whiteman is committed to assisting the Bar to become as diverse and inclusive as possible. To this end, we encourage applications from university students and post-graduates from less advantaged backgrounds and those from minority ethnic communities.
For more information, please see the Equality and Diversity section of our website.
How to Apply
Aspiring barristers are invited to apply to chambers between Thursday 2 January 2025 and Thursday 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. Do you need us to make any reasonable adjustments to assist your attendance at interview?(Max 50 words)
2. If you did not achieve the results you expected at any stage of your education (Max 200 words)
3. What achievements are you most proud of and why? (Max 300 words)
4. Provide no more than 4 examples of your advocacy experience and explain how/why your examples demonstrate your potential as a barrister. (Max 350 words)
5. What experience have you had of the legal sector and how has this helped your decision to become a barrister? (Max 300 words)
6. Provide no more than 3 examples of occasions on which you have demonstrated the professional skills required of a barrister. (Max 300 words)
Successful applicants will be invited to book their interview slots via the gateway, exact dates TBC.
6. Provide no more than 3 examples of occasions on which you have demonstrated the professional skills required of a barrister. (Max 300 words)
Successful applicants will be invited to book their interview slots via the gateway, exact dates TBC.
Please visit our website for further information.
