Pupillage at 7 Bedford Row
James Weston
(Pupil 2007-2008. Tenant from October 2008)
Pupillage at 7BR is very much a game of two halves. In the first six months I had a supervisor with a civil practice. I shadowed him up and down the country as he attended various conferences, negotiations, hearings and trials (fortunately 7BR funds almost all of this travel). When back in Chambers I drafted a seemingly endless catalogue of personal injury advices and pleadings. Once a week my supervisor and I would exchange the pieces of work we had each done on the same case. The feedback I received was invaluable but never excessively prescriptive. Indeed throughout pupillage there was an emphasis on developing your own style of written and oral advocacy.
Some of my first six months was spent shadowing criminal practitioners to court so that I got a feel for criminal work before I got on my feet. At least a month was also was devoted to family law. Chambers’ family work is predominantly focused on children’s law. I had the opportunity to work on a two-week High Court fact-finding hearing involving serious allegations against the mother of a young child - absorbing stuff and a fascinating first glimpse into this area of work.
As the months of my first six ticked by I became increasingly preoccupied by a mixture of excitement and trepidation as I looked forward to my first day in court in my own right. And then at 5.27pm on 31 March 2008 I got the call from the clerks: I was off to Leicester Crown Court the next day for a plea and case management hearing and a disclosure application. Fortunately by the time the hearings were called on I did not feel nervous at all – having barely slept the night before I was simply too exhausted to feel anything.
The second six was a definite change of pace. Gone were the days when I was hounded out of Chambers at 6pm. Not only did I have to prepare for my own hearings the next day but I was also required to do criminal paperwork for my new supervisor, including advices on plea and sentence, skeleton arguments and case summaries. This paperwork and the weeks spent shadowing my second six supervisor were useful ways to gain experience of more complex cases.
A common law practice ensured that no two consecutive days in court had much in common. Small-claims road traffic trial one day, a sentence in the Crown Court the next. As the second six moved along family work also started to come into my diary. Towards the end of my pupillage I was even briefed to do fast-track trials and a Crown Court jury trial. Doing such a wide range of work meant it took much longer to reach anything remotely resembling a comfort zone. On the other hand it provided an opportunity to make a truly informed decision about which areas I enjoyed the most.
What they don’t tell you at Bar school is just how physically demanding pupillage can be. Early starts, long journeys, late briefs and legal research into the early hours provide a mean test of body and mind. Fortunately a mix of adrenaline and the fear of public humiliation at the hands of a disgruntled Crown Court judge usually got me through the worst of it. A good result would lift me for the rest of the day; a below-par performance would leave me disappointed but keen to brush myself down and move on.
As the end of the 12 months neared I was keen to reach the finish the line, whatever the tenancy decision might be. The final hurdle was the pupil mock trial. Posters were put up around Chambers inviting all to attend and each time I passed one my stomach sank a little at the prospect of this public examination only a week before the big decision. The mock trial itself was more nerve racking than any hearing I have done before or since.
Pupillage is hard work. The learning curve is positively alpine and at the same time you have to try and impress as many people as possible. That said all was done at 7BR to make me feel comfortable and part of the team. I was encouraged to attend seminars and social events and members were always available to give advice and assistance. It also helped that I knew that I was at a Chambers that had no fixed quota for tenancies. The policy is, quite simply, if you are good enough, then welcome aboard.