What we are looking for

We are looking for highly motivated, hardworking pupils who have the potential to be exceptional advocates. Life at the Bar can be physically exhausting as well as intellectually demanding.

Added to this, a significant proportion of Chambers’ work, particularly criminal work, is outside London (predominantly in the Midlands). You will therefore be expected to travel to some distant court centres and follow a demanding schedule. We need to be sure that our pupils are truly keen on, and committed to, life at the Bar and life in our Chambers in particular.

You will need to demonstrate that you have the necessary intellectual and analytical skills to be able to identify, and advise on, complex legal issues. You will need first-rate communication skills, both oral and written. With this in mind, our minimum academic requirement is at least an upper second class Honours degree (actual or predicted) in your chosen qualifying degree, save in exceptional circumstances. As Finals results are sometimes not known at the time of the Pupillage Portal application, we would expect any candidate who fails to achieve this minimum level to notify us promptly. As some applicants will not have started their BPTC (BVC) course by the time of their application, BPTC results are not taken into account in the selection process. In due course, however, we expect our pupils to achieve a grading of at least “competent” in the BPTC. Again, we would expect anyone to whom an offer has been made to notify us if this level has not been achieved.  We reserve the right to withdraw any offer of pupillage made in the event that a candidate fails any part of the BPTC.

We welcome applications from candidates with a qualifying degree in any discipline and give no special preference to those with a law degree. We are happy to consider those embarking on the Bar as a second career.