2TG

On the commercial side of the set’s work, we are told there is a “great mix of ultra-high profile international work, combined with smaller commercial disputes run with smaller teams, which allow more advocacy and ‘driving-seat’ opportunities”. 2TG is one of the top sets for commercial dispute resolution, with members appearing in courts and arbitral tribunals of all levels, both in the UK and abroad. There is a great deal of insurance work, with members often working on issues such as jurisdiction and choice of law when it comes to international cases. Again, during your second six, you might be working on something a bit more basic, but this all allows you to develop the advocacy skills that you will rely on when later taking on the world in the Supreme Court.

With so much going on, how do you decide what sort of work to do? In terms of carving out a practice, one junior tenant tells us they “have a great opportunity to push my practice into areas I enjoy”. The range in size of cases that come through the clerks’ room means juniors can handle their own cases in the county courts, but also be led by a silk in the higher courts. One junior tells us they are “regularly working on leading cases in developing areas of law”. There is certainly plenty of cutting-edge work taking place. Tenant Christopher Lundie recently acted in a ground-breaking High Court case in which a bodybuilder who lost $4.9 million sought to apply consumer protection legislation to UK cryptocurrency exchanges.  Meanwhile, the long-running case of FS Cairo (Nile Plaza) LLC v Brownlie, which reached the Supreme Court last year, has had 2TG involvement from the start. 

With so much going on at 2TG, it is especially important that there is a supportive culture within the set. Fortunately, we are told that this is the case. One baby junior tells us: “I frequently pop in to people’s rooms and/or give them a call when I have a question or just need to talk things through. In almost all cases the person in question has made the time to help and that includes our silks — I’ve never felt uncomfortable asking them questions despite being very junior.” 

In terms of work/life balance, tenants are generally fairly positive. Workloads are helped by the fact that “you can do what you like here, which is a freedom I don’t think other places have”, explains one member who booked out the entire month of August “without any issue being raised by the clerks”. Another tenant, who explains that they turn away a fair bit of work due to their strict personal rules on work/life balance, said: “The clerks have always been supportive of my approach — I rarely feel pressured to take on work that I don’t want to do.” Female tenants are also very supported by the set. Women make up almost half of 2TG’s juniors and one third of its KCs with an insider telling us that it has never “lost” a woman after maternity leave. That’s backed by chambers’ mothers, one of whom says: “I have three young children and 2TG has been very supportive whilst I was off on maternity leave and when I returned each time.” A pro-flexible working mindset, and reasonable hours (for the bar!), helps in this respect. As expected however, life at the bar will, of course, feature “some late nights and weekends at times.”

With all this great work going on, is there any time for some socialising? We hear there is a Chambers tea every Wednesday and Chambers drinks every Friday, as well as a book club. One tenant tells us that social life is “still recovering from the pandemic, but despite that, reasonably active”. We also hear there is a chambers-wide party roughly every quarter. “It means you can socialise with work colleagues regularly (but not too regularly!)”, one 2TG rookie tells us. Even if something formal isn’t organised, we hear that members will often pop out for lunch or coffee together during the working day. 

Members certainly have an ideal location if they wish to grab a coffee and sit in Inner Temple Gardens, which are right beside them. Located on the riverbank, 2TG have an “absolutely beautiful” Grade 2 listed building. One tenant tells us: “In my room, I can see the sun rise over the Thames and set over the House of Commons!” The slight downside of being in such an old building is that it has “a knack of being cold in winter and hot in summer”. Another simply comments that the building “could do with a bit of updating on the inside…” We are told, however, that the technology provision within the building is “much improved thanks to hard work by the board and external IT support”. 

When it comes to pupillage, 2TG offer an impressive £82,500 pupillage award. It is not just the money that is a key advantage of pupillage at 2TG: the training that pupils receive is also highly praised. In fact, 2TG won the Legal Cheek Award for Best Chambers for Training last year! One tenant told us that in the first week of their pupillage they received a series of masterclasses on professional skills and areas of law. Throughout the pupillage, they received regular feedback and were always told whether or not they were on track for tenancy. Another former pupil, now tenant, concurred that they felt “immensely supported” during pupillage. Pupils’ preferences are also taken into account during pupillage so ‘mini seats’ are available to help shape practices.

2TG offers 2 pupillages a year. After applications through the Pupillage Gateway are marked, the 40 best applicants will be invited to a first-round interview which will include an advocacy exercise. The 12 highest-scoring interviewees will then be invited to complete a written exercise and attend a final round interview, which will include structured questions and a legal problem. 2TG lists its selection criteria as being: high intellectual ability, an ability to think on your feet, motivation, impact, temperament, and a commitment to 2TG. In brief, it is looking for people “who will build on our tradition of excellence”.

2TG particularly welcomes applications from candidates from groups which have been historically underrepresented at the Bar. They have a strong commitment to social responsibility, being a partner of the Inner Temple Pegasus Access Scheme, Bridging the Bar, and the Bar Placement Scheme. 2TG also runs the prestigious The Times 2TG Moot which is open to all students in tertiary education, whether law or non-law undergraduates, GDL students, or Bar Course students. The top prize is an impressive £1,500 for the winning pair! 2TG states that its competition, in its eighth year, is part of its commitment to social mobility and removing barriers to access to the Bar. 

The pupillage experience

I was drawn to 2TG for a number of reasons, chief among them the quality and breadth of training 2TG offers and the collegiate nature of chambers’ life.

Pupillage at 2TG is structured so as to prepare pupils for a thriving and wide-ranging junior practice. The year is split into three seats, the first two lasting three months each and the final seat comprising the whole of the second six. All three of my pupil supervisors were extremely talented teachers as well as barristers, which made learning from them a pleasure. Between them, their practices covered the vast majority of chambers’ specialities, allowing me to get involved in a wide range of cases during pupillage. This included a multi-day clinical negligence trial, an employment claim relating to alleged bullying and harassment at an NHS Trust and a multi-million pound commercial dispute (in which I was later instructed in my own right). Unlike many chambers, pupils at 2TG are closely involved in their supervisors’ work – instead of simply undertaking research or working on old papers, I would be tasked with providing first drafts of pleadings, advices and skeleton arguments for my supervisors’ ongoing cases, which was immensely satisfying.

Alongside day-to-day work with pupil supervisors, 2TG also provides structured training to help pupils hone their skills ready for practice. Our pupillage programme starts with two to three days of intensive induction covering key skills and chambers’ main areas of practice. Throughout the year, pupils also undertake a number of advocacy sessions run by members of chambers to prepare them for taking on their own cases.

The training provided during pupillage undoubtedly equips pupils well for making the transition into independent practice. Building your own practice starts early – pupils at 2TG are regularly instructed in their own name and tend to appear in court around two to three times a week throughout their second six. From the beginning, pupils and new tenants are encouraged to start shaping their practice in line with their own interests. This is supported by our excellent clerking team, who work hard to ensure junior members are kept busy with a varied diet of paperwork and hearings.

While the quality of the training on offer was an important factor in my decision to undertake pupillage at 2TG, it was not the only one. In my view, one of 2TG’s most distinguishing features is its supportiveness and collegiality – something which is evident both during pupillage and beyond. It is futile to suggest pupillage – the fabled ‘year-long interview’ – can ever be entirely stress-free, but 2TG works hard to mitigate the pressure on pupils as far as possible. Crucially, pupillage at 2TG is non-competitive – we don’t accept more pupils than we genuinely want to take on as new tenants. This makes a huge difference and means your co-pupils are your closest allies, rather than potential competition. Each pupil is also assigned a mentor – a junior barrister they can go to for advice or reassurance in complete confidence. Finally, 2TG is scrupulously transparent in terms of feedback and progress, so pupils know where they stand at each step along the way. In my experience, these measures go a long way to ensuring that the pupillage process is enjoyable, as well as effective. This sense of collegiality continues into tenancy – chambers has a strong ‘open door’ culture, so there is always someone willing to act as a sounding board when you are working through a knotty legal problem.

The transition from pupil to tenant

I found the transition from pupil to tenant very smooth. Because pupils at 2TG have a practicing second six there isn’t a sudden gear-change when you get taken on. Once the tenancy decision has been made in early July, you do progressively less with your supervisor and take on increasing numbers of your own cases, so by the time your tenancy formally begins in October you are working at pretty much full capacity. The hardest thing about becoming a tenant is getting all the practicalities, such as insurance and tax in order, but I found my colleagues and the clerks were great sources of guidance.

What is your practice like now?

I have a very broad practice, which is exactly what I was looking for when I joined 2TG. I am regularly instructed in cases involving personal injury and clinical negligence, property damage, product liability and employment, among others. I also make use of 2TG’s strong tradition of giving seminars (and now webinars, with our own YouTube channel) on interesting areas of law. This lets me build my profile in areas I am particularly keen to develop and is a good way of marketing myself to solicitors.

Because of the wide variety of work I do, I’m not sure I have a ‘typical working week’. I try to aim to be in court about three times a week, with the other days kept clear for doing paperwork and preparation. I find this gives me a good balance of work and also makes sure I don’t get so swamped that I completely neglect my personal life – something that can be all too easy to do! That being said, some weeks I won’t be in court at all (usually if something settles last minute) and some weeks my diary is bursting at the seams – the only constant is the lack of constancy!

I am very happy with my practice and hope to keep it as broad as possible for the next few years. In my view, getting as many different experiences as you can early on is what shapes you into a well-rounded – and ultimately successful – barrister and I am very lucky 2TG lets me do that.

What is the culture of chambers?

The culture of 2TG is incredibly supportive from all sides. Even through the pandemic we held together a sense of collegiality – we adapted to virtual chambers tea and Friday drinks, set up a book club who met remotely and have had a number of special events such as chocolate tasting run by our Wellbeing Committee. This culture isn’t confined to the social side of chambers, but infuses work-life too – I am constantly popping into colleagues’ rooms or giving them a call when I run into a problem. We aren’t particularly hierarchical, so I’m just as comfortable picking the brains of a QC as another junior.

In terms of facilities, we are very lucky at 2TG. We’re in a beautiful Victorian building at the end of Middle Temple Lane and many of chambers’ rooms overlook Inner or Middle Temple Gardens. We also have five conference rooms and a lovely library which looks out over the river.

Our clerking team is very skilled and incredibly supportive. We have regular practice reviews with Lee, our Head Clerk, to make sure our practices are developing in the way we want them to. They are also incredibly friendly – the clerks room is always a good place for a chat!

Top tips for those wanting to become a barrister/secure a pupillage at your chambers

Keep an open mind when considering practice areas – you never really know what an area is like until you practice it, so try to avoid being dead-set on doing only one small field of law when you’re starting out.

Mooting is not the only way to improve your advocacy skills! Not all advocacy is formal – even just discussing the news with a friend can help you to get better at articulating an argument and spotting the flaws in someone else’s.

Think about why you would be good at the less obvious bits of the job. Everyone applying for the bar is likely to be bright and good at speaking in public, but those traits only cover part of the job. Can you put people at their ease? Take responsibility for your own development? Manage your time well and react to changing circumstances quickly? These are the skills that will really help you to succeed.