3VB

Members of 3VB have long been at the forefront of landmark banking and financial disputes, and that position shows no sign of changing. Historically, the set has been involved in some of the most significant financial litigation of recent decades, including the Supreme Court bank charges test case on the lawfulness of overdraft fees under consumer law, the wave of PPI and interest rate hedging mis-selling disputes, and the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards following the LIBOR scandal and the collapse of HBOS during the financial crisis. Add to that major shareholder and banking claims worth billions, cases concerning alleged foreign exchange manipulation, and proceedings arising from the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the Icelandic banks, as well as landmark Supreme Court disputes concerning pandemic business interruption insurance. This is a set deeply embedded in the most consequential financial disputes of modern times. That standing is further underlined by the fact that the latest edition of the leading banking law textbook in the UK was written and edited almost exclusively by members of 3VB, reflecting the set’s influence not just in the courtroom but in shaping the law itself.

That pedigree continues in more recent work. Andrew Onslow KC and James McWilliams represented Clifford Chance in the Court of Appeal in proceedings against French finance giant Société Générale, involving complex issues of jurisdiction and alleged negligence in earlier litigation. Separately, 3VB barristers are playing a significant role in the sprawling Dieselgate group litigation, one of the largest cases of its kind in England and Wales.

On the international front, 3VB has also cemented its position as a go-to set for heavyweight public international law disputes, regularly acting for states and multinational clients before the world’s leading courts and tribunals. Members have appeared before the International Court of Justice, including in the high-profile Allegations of Genocide case between Ukraine and Russia, as well as before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in landmark climate change advisory proceedings brought by small island states. The set is equally active in investor-state arbitration, with barristers acting in multibillion-dollar disputes such as the Yukos litigation and in enforcement battles arising from major ICSID awards. It is a practice that sits naturally alongside chambers’ commercial strengths, combining technical financial expertise with a truly global disputes footprint.

Rounding out the picture, 3VB also has its own International Advisory and Dispute Resolution Unit, launched in 2019, to support members providing pro bono and quasi pro bono services in the international arena.

For juniors, the work is “extremely challenging, but very diverse.” The reality at the junior end is a varied diet, with work ranging from led to unled and from high-value to more routine matters. As one junior notes, how stimulating the work is depends heavily on what you are doing at any given moment, with the gap between “arguing a new point of law versus document review” illustrating the range. The big, complex cases are undeniably appealing, but work of that nature, which tends to involve being led by a KC, inevitably means junior barristers “spending limited time on their feet.” There are, however, real opportunities for advocacy in smaller county court matters at the junior end.

The quality of work at 3VB does come with pressures attached. Insiders acknowledge that “work is unpredictable and can be very stressful”, but there is also “a huge amount of respect for holiday — if you say you are not around, that will never be called into question by practice managers.” Another source notes that “the commercial bar is busy, but the clerks are particularly mindful in ensuring that juniors are not overworked.” Ultimately, the message from insiders is that “3VB lets you develop the style and intensity of practice that each member wants.”

The set also ensures that juniors are not thrown in at the deep end without support. Throughout pupillage, pupils receive “invaluable” and “very practical” training with “helpful feedback.” Expect regular advocacy sessions, introductory seminars across different areas of law, and a wide variety of pupil supervisors to sit with. Senior silks are also said to be consistently available when support is needed.

The “collegiate atmosphere” and “open door policy from the top silks to the baby juniors” are warmly praised by tenants. One insider recalls an evening when he was pacing the 3VB corridors thinking through a case, and one of the set’s KCs spotted him and invited him to talk it through. “Hours later at 10pm we were in his room debating the point and pulling out authorities together. It was immeasurably helpful and hugely generous.” It is the kind of anecdote that tells you a great deal about the culture of a place.

Additional support comes in the form of monthly one-to-one wellbeing sessions with a professional counsellor, frequent internal talks and seminars on wellbeing, and a generous flexible working policy. The set also has an extensive parental leave policy covering chambers rent, expenses, and the support available before, during, and after leave.

Outside of work, there is a “good rapport” among tenants, with the junior end described as “very collegial” and offering plenty of opportunities for informal coffee or drinks. Larger events are organised on a regular basis, including the annual summer and Christmas parties, cheese tastings, and regular breakfasts, lunches, and afternoon teas put on by the set. One source describes the broader culture: “The juniors organise drinks with the pupils and new tenants, and this camaraderie continues up through chambers. Our CSR committee also organises regular social events and talks to bring members of chambers together. In terms of support, there is an open door policy such that you can ask any member a question, and new tenants choose a mentor to help them in the early years.”

3VB’s buildings overlook the peaceful Gray’s Inn Gardens, giving tenants some of the most pleasant thinking spaces in legal London. The period buildings, currently undergoing a full refurbishment, offer what tenants describe as “a modern workspace with an old-world charm”, and facilities have improved considerably since the works began. Rookies highlight the “good-sized to very large” individual rooms, which can be “decorated to personal specification”, with the assurance that “everyone who wants one has their own room.” One tenant does note the somewhat old-fashioned internal layout, with many staircases to navigate throughout the building.

Tenants also praise the “excellent facilities for meetings and great support staff for IT, billing, and facilities management.” The tech team is described as “top notch” and “able to deal with everything from international calls to setting up remote hearings”, with chambers fully integrated so that working from home is said to be “seamless.”

3VB offers up to five pupillages per year, each carrying an award of £90,000. Successful applicants will sit with four supervisors for three months each, as well as working for other members of chambers. Pupils help draft statements of case, complete legal research, write advice, and attend conferences, hearings, and trials. One recent pupil described the year as “stressful” but said “you learn from the best.” Pupils also take part in advocacy exercises and receive feedback from the set’s KCs, all of whom are qualified advocacy trainers for their Inns. By the end of pupillage, pupils undertake a limited amount of advocacy on their own account, giving them a foundation of real experience to build from. The set is clear that pupils should expect to work hard at times, but are not normally expected to regularly work late into evenings or weekends.

Prospective pupils must complete an assessed two-day mini-pupillage at 3VB before applying. Applications are then made through the Pupillage Gateway. Around 35 to 40 of the highest-scoring applicants, assessed on their paper application and mini-pupillage, progress to a first-round interview: a 15-minute discussion with a panel of interviewers covering the candidate’s application and a law-related question designed to test analytical ability, oral advocacy, and the capacity to think on their feet. The top 15 candidates are then invited to a second-round interview, at which they attend chambers two hours in advance and are given a legal problem to prepare under controlled conditions. The 30-minute interview focuses on that problem alongside more general questions.

3VB seeks candidates with high intellectual and analytical ability, strong written and oral communication skills, sound temperament, commercial awareness, and clear motivation. The set is explicit that “members of chambers come from diverse backgrounds and have taken many different routes to the Bar.” In support of that commitment, 3VB participates in COMBAR’s annual mentoring scheme for applicants from under-represented groups, and is a founding partner of social mobility charity Bridging the Bar.

The pupillage experience

Pupillage at 3VB is divided into four seats, each lasting three months and with a different member of chambers as supervisor. I was given a mix of research notes, skeleton arguments and opinions and would on average do about one substantial piece of work per week. However, this often varied depending on the type of work I was doing. The type of work typically depended on your supervisor but I did find that there was a good variety in terms of the areas of law, ranging from banking to general commercial litigation to public international law. I also found that a good chunk of the work I was doing was live work, meaning as part of an ongoing matter.

My pupillage was entirely remote (and from overseas) and while that came with its own challenges, chambers in general and my supervisors in particular really helped alleviate its effects. I typically talked to my supervisors at least once a day via Teams/Zoom. All of them were very considerate of the time difference and also made sure to remind me to take the evenings/weekends off.

There are also two main feedback sessions with members of the pupillage committee after your first and second seat each. These were quite detailed and provided a good gauge as to how the pupillage year was going.

The pupillage year also has four advocacy exercises: one unassessed and three assessed. These were a great way to get in some (remote) advocacy practice and the feedback from other members of chambers was very helpful.

Overall, I found that chambers and the pupillage committee were very supportive during the pupillage year, particularly given that ours was a remote pupillage. There really isn’t a sense of having to ‘compete’ for tenancy and it was genuinely an atmosphere that was conducive to learning and growing.

The transition from pupil to tenant

The transition from pupil to tenant can be equal parts daunting and exciting. Daunting because the safety net of pupillage is no longer there but exciting because you now get to build and shape your own practice. For my cohort, given that our entire pupillage had been remote, the shift was also particularly unusual.

However, it our case, the transition was made easier by a number of factors: the chambers orientation where we sit down with our practice managers and various members of staff to discuss how chambers operates and things we need to know as new tenants, other members of chambers who will often spend a lot of time patiently answering your questions and your peer group because there is a sense of figuring it out together. The fact that we had a practicing second six months of pupillage also really helped ease us in to tenancy as we got to take on a few smaller county court matters on the side as pupils.

What is your practice like now?

A typical working week usually involves a good mix of led and unled work, working on pleadings, skeleton arguments and the occasional written advice. I am typically in court by myself once every couple of weeks, usually for smaller claims and am led on the larger, more complex commercial disputes. I have also thus far been able to see a good mix of both commercial litigation as well as arbitration. The run up to a hearing or trial does tend to get quite busy but there is usually some down time afterwards to unwind.

What is the culture of chambers?

Chambers is generally quite a warm and welcoming place. People tend to be approachable and always happy to have a chat or go for a coffee. There are also quite a few social events from dinners, drinks and the occasional barbecue.

New tenants get their own room in chambers, usually overlooking the Gray’s Inn gardens (and sometimes the occasional stray fox!) so that is a nice perk.

The practice managers are all fantastic. They are proactive, routinely check in and always lend a helpful ear when you want to sound something out.

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

Some tips that I found to be generally helpful when applying for pupillage are:

(1) Research the chambers website and make a note of the criteria that they look for when assessing a pupillage application and tailor your application accordingly. The 3VB website for instance has quite a lot of information about mini-pupillages, the pupillage application process and pupillage itself. This is usually a good place to start.

(2) It is usually a good idea to treat your application like a piece of written advocacy: set out your reasons for wanting to join the bar and/or a particular set of chambers simply, clearly and concisely.

(3) Do as many minis as you can as they are probably the best way to gain insight into the Bar at that stage. Ideally if you are interested in a set of chambers, try and do a mini-pupillage there because it gives you a much better sense of what that chambers is like.

(4) Don’t hesitate to apply to any particular set of chambers if the type of work that they do interests you simply because you don’t think your profile may not be strong enough or that you may not fit in: there is really no ‘one size fits all’ and you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!