Tanfield Chambers

Barristers here find themselves representing everyone, “from local authority tenants to CEOs of multinational corporations” as one insider notes. What’s more, there is often a real “sense of responsibility” as the outcome of a case that you are working on can have an enormous impact on someone’s life. One example is possession work which juniors are routinely involved in, which can see people evicted from their homes.

When it comes to legal interest, insiders tell us that property work provides “constant intellectual engagement”. As one barrister explains: “property law is endlessly interesting, and often a case can turn on a small point of construction”. For those law students who have enjoyed technical analysis, property law may suit them perfectly. It is certainly not for the faint of heart: a junior at the set summarises that property law is “a very technical but very satisfying area to work in” whilst another concurs that it is “difficult and time-consuming but almost never boring”.

Given their reputation in the market, Tanfield’s barristers often work on some of the biggest cases in property law. Recent highlights include Marc Glover and Hugh Rowan successfully battling out a $1.2 billion bankruptcy appeal in the Court of Appeal, and Phillip Rainey KC, Marc Glover, Andrew Martin, and Sami Allan appearing in the Supreme Court in a landmark decision dealing with the thorny issues of breach of fiduciary duties, the calculation of equitable compensation, and the exclusion of unpaid vendor’s liens. This recent appearance followed shortly after Rainey KC and Mark Loveday acted for the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) in another landmark Supreme Court decision concerning procedural errors whilst attempting to comply with property statutes. Elsewhere Andrew Butler KC has taken part in a briefing to parliament on the Renters Reform Bill, with a number of tenants having taken on judicial duties over the last few years.

Whilst property is certainly the jewel in Tanfield’s crown, there are a number of other practice areas worked on by tenants. Banking and finance, professional negligence, and commercial disputes are examples of growing areas at the set, as are insolvency and agriculture and rural land law issues. There are also tenants working in completely different areas such as matrimonial finance and tax. Property does, however, remain at the crux of the set, and any aspiring pupil should have a desire to build a career with a property focus.

Given this focus, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Tanfield’s own premises have just been through a luxury revamp and renovation! This is alongside an all new software setup, meaning members “can now work from anywhere with instant access to our documents and files”. Even better, the outsourced IT support is said to be “quick to respond and effective in finding appropriate solutions”. Doubling down on this IT offering, each new pupil at Tanfield is now offered a laptop and screen by the set, and given access to all of the key legal publications a new property pupil could want.

In fact, chambers seems to be suffering from its own success a little. Tanfield’s tech revolution was so good that barristers are working from home much more, meaning chambers’ social life isn’t what it once was. “Pretty good, but I’m an old fart so I don’t get invited out to the pub much any more” said one seasoned tenant when questioned about the social scene. Juniors are optimistic this is slowly picking up with “regular drinks and junior junior curries” on the cards. There are also rumours of a pupil social each year, where the incoming, current, and former pupils get together for some chambers endorsed fun.

Old fart or not, everyone at Tanfield is said to foster a “collegiate atmosphere” in chambers. “We all try to support each other with both our work and issues that arise in the course of practice” notes one. Juniors describe it as “a strong group” with “lots of people who go out of their way to provide time, advice, and support when you have a tricky legal problem”. Even if they are not coming into chambers, this support is provided over Microsoft Teams. This collegiality flows through to Tanfield’s string of annual conferences, including a “junior property conference”, entirely chaired and run by the set’s junior barristers, and targeted towards their junior solicitor counterparts.

When it comes to work-life balance, it is inevitably a struggle at the bar. As one junior puts it: “I work very long hours but that is the job”. Another adds that it is the “usual tightrope between maintaining a good practice and sleep”. The balance does, however, appear to be better at Tanfield than at many other leading sets. One tenant confides: “I have plenty of work, but I also get to collect my children from school most days” and adds that they are “very happy with the balance at Tanfield”. There’s said to be an “open attitude to people’s lives and priorities are evident in the tailored approach they take to each individual’s practice.” We’re also told that the clerking team is “acutely aware of the need to make sure we work hard and make time for our families.” As one sage member puts it: “you can do as much work as you want, but there is not too much pressure to take on work if you have other commitments.” We also hear that pupils are forbidden from working in chambers beyond 6pm!

Speaking of pupillage, those lucky enough to secure it at Tanfield can expect to sit with three supervisors throughout the course of the year, allowing them to see a range of work. During the first six, you will focus on improving skills such as opinion writing as well as observing your supervisors and other members of chambers in court. In the second six, you can expect to be on your feet, taking on small cases such as possession work. One junior at the set tells us that “practising second-six is a great way to cut your teeth while still having the support of your supervisor”. The training during pupillage is generally highly-rated, with past pupils saying that it “set them up well” for tenancy. Alongside an internal training programme, rookies see all of their compulsory pupillage training courses paid for by chambers.

Those considering applying should make their application through the pupillage gateway. The application forms are anonymised and marked, with around 20 of the highest-scoring candidates being invited to an interview. The interview consists of two parts: a discussion and analysis of a legal problem shown to candidates 30 minutes before the interview, and a competency-based interview consisting of competency-based, situational, biographical, and ethical questions. In total, the interview lasts around an hour, and Tanfield is clear that prospective pupils whose first degree is not in law won’t be disadvantaged by the first part of the interview. The approximately five highest scoring candidates from the interview will be sent an exercise which will involve conducting legal research and writing an opinion which will form the basis of a short, structured final interview. Pupillage offers will then be made, each coming with a generous award of £80,000.

When it comes to recruitment Tanfield’s policy is to only recruit rookies with a “realistic prospect” of becoming tenants at the set. The result? 100% of pupils have been kept on in the last five years — impressive stats that would make any law firm or chambers jealous.

Tanfield states that they consider all applications for pupillage on merit, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or any other protected characteristic. They are looking for candidates who can demonstrate skills such as intellectual achievement and effective communication, setting out their criteria in full on their website.

Moving into junior practice felt like a smooth transition having practised for 6 months with the safety net of my supervisors before taking up the reins on my own. I’ve been able to develop areas of my practice that I enjoy and streamline the sort of work I want to do from a very early stage, such as broadening into private client work including contentious probate, Inheritance Act claims and broader trust issues, alongside the wider property work that Tanfield is well known for. The quality of work even at the very junior end has been enormous; I have appeared in the Court of Appeal twice, worked on a successful application for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, appeared as sole counsel in the High Court and in multiple multitrack trials alongside pleading numerous High Court and complex claims. The variety in the work has been enormous and there is an abundance of work at the junior end to get stuck into.

Tanfield take on their pupils with an expectation that they will all be taken on as tenants, and the support systems in place during your pupillage continue into your junior years of practice. Whilst pupillage is naturally stressful, I never felt any excess pressure from chambers nor was tenancy ever made to feel out of reach. I still rely on my former supervisors an enormous amount and they’re incredibly generous with their time and knowledge. The overriding memory for me of pupillage at Tanfield was how supported I felt; other members of chambers genuinely want you to succeed, and pupillage is structured in a way to give you the best chance of doing so.