Pupillage Vacancy Information
Pupillage Details
Two 12 months pupillages with a total award of £57,500, comprising a grant of £35,000 and guaranteed earnings of £22,500 (though it is likely you will exceed that sum). We also cover the cost of training courses required to be undertaken during pupillage.
With agreement of chambers, £5,000 of the grant may be drawn down during the Bar Professional Training Course.
Pupillage
Chambers recruits only two pupils each year and both have a strong chance of achieving tenancy. Each pupil has three pupil supervisors over the course of the year in order to ensure exposure to a wide range of Chambers’ work. During the first six months, you will be involved in all aspects of your supervisors’ work. This is the time in which you prepare for taking on your own caseload, so supervisors will make time to go through your work and offer constructive feedback. During the second six months we encourage you to start developing your own court practice in preparation for tenancy.
What we are looking for
When selecting pupils we look for evidence of academic ability, a strong motivation to succeed at the Bar, excellent presentational skills, a professional attitude, and the ability to build successful working relationships.
Due to the challenging nature of the work, applicants are generally expected to have a 2.1 or better at degree level.
We also look for evidence that candidates’ areas of interest will fit well with the type of work that they can expect to focus on in second six and in the early years of tenancy, which is likely to be primarily common law. Candidates who do not demonstrate sufficient interest in common law are less likely to be made an offer of pupillage.
Equality Diversity and Inclusion
Chambers takes its commitment to equality and diversity very seriously and all recruitment decisions are made in accordance with our Equality and Diversity policy. In relation to pupillage applications:
- We use blind recruitment at the sifting stage: names are replaced with numbers and sifters do not know any of the personal information that would identify gender, age, ethnicity, location etc. Sifters also attend a coordination meeting to ensure that our fair recruitment criteria are being objectively applied. The sift is then moderated to ensure consistency and fairness.
- All candidates are assessed using objective and fair criteria.
- Everyone involved in the selection process is trained in fair recruitment and selection processes.
- We undertake review exercises of our recruitment processes.
Temple Garden Chambers is committed to supporting its members throughout their careers and has implemented the following measures:
- We have a parental leave policy. Our Policy is more generous than the BSB guidelines, which state that where any element of rent is paid on a flat rate basis chambers should provide a minimum of 6 months free – we allow 12 months.
- We have a flexible working policy to ensure that members can manage family responsibilities, any long-term illness or disability.
Chambers will make all reasonable adjustments to accommodate candidates. The main building, which includes the reception, the clerks’ room and all the conference rooms, is accessible by wheel-chair users, and arrangements can be put in place for use of fully accessible toilets within Temple.
If you have any particular concerns or requirements about access of any sort, please contact Gaye Spencer-King by emailing gking@tgchambers.com.
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:
1. Why do you believe you will make a good barrister? In your answer, please identify any relevant experiences or skills that you believe may help you in your career.
(Character limit: 1250)
2. Why do you want to join our chambers? In your answer, please give reasons for your choice of chambers and explain why you are interested in our areas of practice.
(Character limit: 1250)
3. Please choose one of the following statements, and make an argument for or against that statement, giving your reasons.
- “Music streaming services such as Apple or Spotify do more harm than good.”
- “Rehabilitation should be the sole criterion for releasing offenders from prison.”
- “Bans on performance-enhancing drugs in professional sport should be lifted.”
(Character limit: 2500)
4. Please use this answer if you would like to make us aware of any particular hardships or obstacles which you have faced in pursuing a career at the Bar.
(1000 characters)
About AETO and Structure of Pupillage
TGC is a thriving set with 15 silks and over 60 juniors providing expertise in the following practice areas:
Civil Insurance Fraud
Clinical Negligence
Coroners & Inquests
Costs
Employment
Health and Safety
Insurance
International Crime and Extradition
Personal Injury and Fatal Accidents
Product Liability
Public International Law
Public Law
We are recognised by Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 as a leading set in the fields of personal injury, costs, health and safety, inquests and inquiries, administrative and public law, international crime and extradition, public international law, immigration, clinical negligence, industrial disease and insurance fraud.
Pupillage
With the majority of our junior tenants being former pupils, our pupillage process is central to Chambers’ development. We are dedicated to providing high quality training and support, not just to our pupils, but also to junior tenants.
Pupils have three pupil supervisors over the course of the year to ensure exposure to a wide range of Chambers’ work. During the first, non-practising six months, pupils will be placed with two separate Pupil Supervisors for a period of three months each. The second six months are spent with a further Pupil Supervisor, whose work you will see alongside beginning to develop your own practice, with our support. Pupils can expect to appear in court regularly during their second six months.
Pupils also participate in oral and written advocacy assessments throughout pupillage and are provided with feedback after each assessment.
Wellbeing
Temple Garden Chambers fosters an open, friendly and supportive environment both during pupillage and beyond. We hold a Certificate of Recognition from the Bar Council for our commitment to wellbeing at the Bar.
All pupils have access to the designated Pupil Contact, a junior member of Chambers who acts as a confidential source of advice and support for all pupils. We also have an active mentoring scheme within Chambers, where tenants joining after pupillage are allocated two mentors to help them develop their practice.
Access
We believe that the profession should be representative of society as a whole. Chambers is committed to improving access to the Bar for those from non-traditional backgrounds and increasing the representation of under-represented groups. Temple Garden Chambers participates in the Pegasus Access and Support Scheme, the Bridging the Bar mini-pupillage programme and the 10,000 Black Interns Initiative.
