A pupillage at 7 Bedford Row

As a pupil, you will have two pupil supervisors, one for the first six months and the other for the second. We give you as broad an experience as we can of our work and provide a reasonable balance between criminal and civil work. Your time will also be divided between that spent “on circuit” (i.e. in courts outside London) and that in chambers and in courts in the London area.

During your pupillage you will be asked to attend court and conferences with your pupil supervisor, do research into areas of law, and work on his or her papers. You may also be asked to assist other members of Chambers with research or paperwork. If you have any special interests and would like to gain experience of a particular type of work, this can usually be arranged.

Chambers has a comprehensive programme of advocacy exercises with regular feedback and guidance.

The Bar Council Practice Checklists

We use the General Common Law and Criminal checklists as the basis of the work that you should see in pupillage.

Monitoring and assessment

We make strenuous efforts to ensure that the assessment of pupils is open and fair, and we have measures in place to ensure that our pupils can raise any feedback they have in confidence.

Individually, pupils will receive regular assessment and feedback from their pupil supervisors in relation to his or her day to day work. In addition, all pupils will be assessed every three months and have a meeting with Chambers' pupillage training monitor at which any concerns about pupillage can be raised.

Apart from the work set or authorised by pupil supervisors, there will be a number of marked written and advocacy exercises in which all pupils participate.

Your own work

In your second six months you can expect to appear in court in your own right. You will gain trial experience in the Magistrates’ Court but will also be sent to the Crown Court. It is, however, highly unlikely that you will be expected to handle a Crown Court trial while in pupillage. There are many other matters (e.g. sentencing, plea and case management hearings and appeals against Magistrates’ Court sentences) which you will find yourself doing in the Crown Court and which will enable you to “find your feet” before moving on to trials.

Civil work is also available for pupils. You may, for example, handle an arbitration or small claims trial, or an assessment of damages hearing following a minor accident.

You are entitled to keep all your earnings as a pupil. You do not have to pay clerks’ fees or any other Chambers’ expenses from your earnings during your time as a pupil.