Vacancies

Ten Old Square – 12 Months - October 2024

Equality Diversity and Inclusion

As noted above, we are committed to equality of opportunity and keen to promote diversity amongst our pupils and members. We encourage applications from all, in particular from candidates from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Students who have been offered an Access mini-pupillage with us are guaranteed a first round pupillage interview, on the first time of applying (but must still apply to us through the Gateway).

Our accessibility officer is Jeremy Callman. If you wish to enquire about the accessibility of Ten Old Square prior to making an application, please contact him at jeremycallman@tenoldsquare.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. If it is not clear from the above, please set out what you are currently doing. (1000 character limit)
2. If available, please specify individual subjects studied as part of your degree (whether you studied law or not) and GDL (if applicable) with dates and grades, e.g. "Tort 20xx: 67%" (1,500 character limit)
3. Have you ever been convicted of any criminal offence or are there any proceedings pending against you anywhere in respect of any criminal offence? If so, please give details and any mitigating circumstances you would like to draw to our attention. Please note that, for this purpose a "criminal offence" means any offence, wherever and whenever committed, under the criminal law of any jurisdiction except: (i) an offence for which liability is capable of being discharged by payment of a fixed penalty; and (ii) an offence which has as its main ingredient the unlawful parking of a vehicle. Any conviction which is spent within the meaning of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 is nevertheless required to be disclosed unless it is protected under the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. (2,500 character limit)
4. Chambers’ selection criteria are as follows: a) Genuine interest in Chambers’ fields of practice; b) Academic ability; c) Analysis and reasoning; d) Knowledge and understanding of the law; e) Written communication skills; f) Oral communication skills; g) Ability to relate to lay and professional clients; h) Resilience, perseverance and a drive to succeed at the Bar. Please demonstrate how you meet our selection criteria. (7500 character limit)

When marking your application, we would like to take into account the context in which your A-level grades were achieved (or not, as the case may be). Please fill in the form at https://tenoldsquare.realrating.co.uk where you will be asked for information about a number of indicators. We encourage all applicants to fill in this form, even if they did not take A-levels (in which case we would ask that you include the year that you would, in the normal course of things, have taken those exams). You will not be penalised if none of the indicators apply to you or if you choose not to complete the form.

About AETO and Structure of Pupillage

We are a highly regarded commercial Chancery set of chambers based in London, with particular specialisms in private client, Court of Protection, partnership, property and commercial chancery work. Our size means that no one is lost in the crowd. We maintain a friendly and relaxed atmosphere while still producing a first-rate service for our clients. We have a very experienced clerks’ team who take an active role in ensuring that each member’s practice is successful.

We are committed to equality of opportunity and keen to promote diversity amongst our pupils and members. We encourage applications from all, in particular from candidates from minority ethnic backgrounds.

We are looking for a potential tenant. Candidates should be of proven high academic ability and possess excellent powers of analysis, reasoning, presentation and judgment.

For more information, go to https://www.tenoldsquare.com/.

Structure of Pupillage

The pupillage will last for twelve months and is structured so as to equip you with all the necessary skills for successful practice at the Chancery Bar.  

Chambers considers that pupillage should be a learning experience, not a twelve month interview or a competition between multiple pupils seeking a limited number of tenancies. We aim to recruit one pupil and one tenant a year. While no guarantees are given, the pupil is always the principal candidate for the tenancy.

Pupillage is usually divided into four periods of three months and is structured so as to provide you with experience of Chambers’ core practice areas. You can therefore expect to sit with at least four supervisors during your time with us.

Our current supervisors are recognized in the Legal Directories as leading juniors in their fields and aim to give our pupil a real insight into life at the Bar, as well as building on the educational foundation of Bar School, law school and/or university.

During the second six months, there will be opportunities for you to undertake work of your own, sometimes on a pro bono basis, although the focus will remain on learning from your supervisors.

Any Other Relevant Information

As we only take one pupil, we have quite a thorough selection process. An outline of the process can be found on our website and there is a detailed description in our pupillage policy, which can be downloaded here.

We are aware that it is a stressful time for candidates and we aim to make the selection process as relaxed and friendly as possible, with feedback available for those who attend for interview. We are not able to provide feedback on individual applications, but general application feedback is available on our website at https://www.tenoldsquare.com/join-us/pupillage/.