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‘I start pupillage next month – any top tips?’

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By Legal Cheek on

13

Barrister-to-be seeks advice


In our latest Career Conundrum, a pupil barrister asks readers to share their best tips for making their training period run as smoothly as possible.

“Hi Legal Cheek. The email subject sort of it explains it. I am due to start pupillage next month in London and looking for some general advice on dos and don’ts from those who have been through it. Keen to hit the ground running and make a good impression, so any advice (general or otherwise) is most welcome. Thanks.”

If you have a career conundrum, email us at tips@legalcheek.com.

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13 Comments

Anon Pupil Supervisor

Write everything down. Take a note in every conference and hearing. In particular, take your own note of all feedback on your work given by your supervisor or other barristers. If feedback is given orally, email your note back to them afterwards and politely ask if they agree it. Organise your notes so you can check back on them – next time you do a piece of work, re-read your old feedback. If your supervisor sends you their own work, keep it (with their permission). Build your own repository of feedback, notes, and good examples of things. It’s hard to give advice about being a good pupil, but being a well-organised pupil with a decent filing system will help good pupils shine.

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(19)(1)

Junior junior junior

Depends a little on the area of law and the structure of your pupillage.

I can only speak from experience in crime but my top tip is be friendly with the solicitors (or more often paralegals) who send you the work in your second six. They’ll grow with you and you don’t always get a chance to re-impress your brilliance down the line once they’ve got preferred counsel and are sitting on better briefs. Don’t myopically only befriend the big dogs in chambers. Network network network.

My top civil friends seem to have these strange assessment procedures which are prioritised over bringing in and servicing work. That’s fine, just do the assessments and be nice!

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(10)(0)

Realist

(1) Think about your practice area.
(2) Then think about it for the next 5 years.
(3) Then 10 years.

As an ex barrister, I can attest that years can fly by at the Bar. You may find yourself doing a specific kind of work, even though you may not have sought it simply because it is paying / work is coming in so you do it. However it might typecast you. You need to know what you want to achieve, where you want to go and what you want in a career (in the law or otherwise). Otherwise, the Bar is a place where decades can seep through like water in your palms.

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(5)(0)

'Onest John

Work on the basis you know nothing about the law.

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(9)(0)

Scouser of Counsel

Be willing to do absolutely anything and don’t regard anything as beneath you.

This can include doing research for other members of chambers, making coffee/tea, fetching lunch/ dry cleaning for your supervisor.

Don’t offer an opinion unless asked.

Always look and seem interested.

Be seen to be the first to arrive in Chambers in the morning and the last to leave at night (if not in court).

If at a loose end (or even if not) knock on other tenant’s doors and ask if there’s any work you can do to assist them.

NEVER complain about anything if you want to get tenancy.

Once you’re a tenant it’s different.

It’s not like this in my current Chambers but certainly was in my first Chambers, and I hear anecdotally that this is still the case in some, so take the above as the starting point.

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(8)(4)

Baz

I would agree with all of this except: “Be seen to be the first to arrive in Chambers in the morning and the last to leave at night (if not in court).”

You never know what nutters are going to work in Chambers until midnight. Arrive before your supervisor and leave after them, unless told otherwise.

Remember it’s the steepest point of the learning curve and embrace that – don’t expect to know everything. At this point, you don’t even know what you don’t know. It will get easier in time.

Try and get along with people (this includes clerks and staff, obviously). Being authentic is far more effective (and sustainable) than brown nosing, but appear interested in evetything (spoiler – much of what is discussed won’t be particularly interesting but barristers for some reason love to talk about their run-of-the-mill cases).

This seems like a tall order, and a lot, but remember that pupillage is an entirely different experience from tenancy. Once you’re a tenant, and as you get more senior, you will have significantly more control over your working life (how much you work, how you work, where you work from etc).

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(4)(0)

Scouser of Counsel

For the down-voters (no offence taken)…

I set out above how it may well be for pupils.

I wasn’t suggesting that this is how it “should” be, just how it “is” in many sets.

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(3)(0)

FormerBarista

Agree with nearly all the points, having been a Pupil except:

Don’t offer an opinion unless asked.

– To clients? No. But always share your opinions or thoughts with your supervisor. You’d be surprised how much they value your insight.

Be seen to be the first to arrive in Chambers in the morning and the last to leave at night (if not in court).

– Yes but I find many more pupil supervisors and chambers to be more interested in getting the work done, and getting it done properly; as opposed to simply being the first in or last to leave. Most people at the Bar, I found, went home after 6.30pm or so to carry on at night if required. Pupils included. I found the Bar a place where presenteeism was not so required.

If at a loose end (or even if not) knock on other tenant’s doors and ask if there’s any work you can do to assist them.
– Within reason. Protect yourself / judge the room. Don’t lumber yourself with so much work that you cannot do it, or, you end up doing a half-witted attempt for everyone.

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(2)(0)

Baby Junior

The following tips are particularly true for second six pupils:

1) Be very proactive and responsive to instructing solicitors, even if you are given a very simple or low paid brief. First impressions count, and providing an attentive service can persuade your solicitors to give you repeat work (and better paid work).

2) Be friendly to your clerks. Clerks, particularly in a good set of chambers, can go above and beyond in terms of keeping you busy and helping you develop your practice. It is obviously a two-way street – sometimes the clerks might ask you for a favour (eg asking if you can pick up a last minute brief). Doing those favours can go a very long way in terms of building rapport with your clerks.

3) Join specialist bar associations / professional organisations for networking and CPD (eg Employment Lawyers Association if you’re practising employment).

4) Always be proactive in terms of business development/marketing. Attend chambers events. Stay in touch with your solicitors and invite them for a lunch or a coffee. Write case notes/articles, etc.

5) Look after yourself. The Bar is a very rewarding profession, but it can be very stressful and demanding. Embrace all the downtime you have – spend time with friends/family, go to the gym, travel… do whatever you can to unwind every now and then

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(6)(0)

Anon

Pupillage is a year-long interview. Treat it as such. Produce quality work, be respectful to everyone single person you meet (from tea lady to senior clerk), try to be flexible and accommodating, don’t whinge and moan, get to know as many members as you can, follow all the rules and try not to get in the way (when you are following your supervisor around it is easy to be a nuisance).

The rules for tenants and pupils are usually very different.

Pupils wear suits every day. Tenants wear what they want.

Pupils should be in chambers all day, every day. Tenants come and go as they please.

Pupils have to be nice to everyone and keep your head down. As a tenant you have more ability to tell people to jog on if they are being rude or unreasonable.

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(4)(1)

Senior Partner

Invest in a bespoke suit and buy a nice dress watch (PP or VC). This £40k investment will be worth it.

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(2)(14)

Anon

Learn how to touch type, make tea, be all things to all of the tenants, feign sincerity, and in your first six – watch and learn from other advocates, not just your pupil supervisor in all disciplines in all courts

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(0)(1)

Al

Say yes to any and every opportunity that comes your way. Especially in your second six.

So if someone asks you to cover a hearing or whatever, even if it’s in an area you hadn’t considered practicing in. Subject to your ability to competently do so of course. (We used to have a book called Fridd that was like an idiots guide to every conceivable form of hearing, not sure if it still exists).

But the worst that can happen is you’ll confirm it’s not an area for you. But you might well find that a field you hadn’t even considered turns out to be something you are good at, and really enjoy.

Keep in with the clerks, but don’t suck up to them. If you don’t like football don’t pretend you do.

Keep solicitors happy. They are less concerned about results and more about making their life easy. So full attendance notes as soon as you can get them done after the hearing, and be reasonably easy to contact. If they have to chase you they just won’t bother next time.

But I would say the key thing is, just enjoy yourself. Pupillage can be hard, but it’s also a lot of fun. And if you have fellow pupils be nice to them. You may feel you’re in competition with them, but you’re not. You’re all in this together, so support each other. And remember, people are watching you. If we think you’re a cutthroat asshole we won’t want you in chambers regardless of how good you are. We want people who are easy to get along with and nice to be around.

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(0)(0)

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