Cornerstone Barristers

A lot of Cornerstone’s work has real-world impact. As one tenant says: “A planning case might lead to long term, tangible change to a town, while a housing case might have life-changing consequences for the individual. There is often a lot at stake when we receive instructions, which makes for stimulating work.” Another junior puts it like this: “We work on some of the most pressing public issues of the day: discrimination and equality, access to housing, developments and planning, immigration and eligibility for public services. It’s all about the way public services are actually delivered in practice, and what’s best is that we act on both sides.” Or, the short version from one happy member, “I love my job!”

Headline-making member appearances include the Post Office IT scandal and subsequent public inquiry; Uber’s London licensing appeal; a legal challenge against the UK government’s environmental travel guidance; and judicial review claims relating to the Home Secretary’s use of former military bases for asylum housing. Members also acted for Epping Forest District Council in the high-profile “Bell Hotel” litigation over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, which reached the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, and appeared in a judicial review concerning the redevelopment of Bristol Zoo. Other notable cases include the Grenfell Inquiry and the UK’s first “buffer zone” outside an abortion clinic. The establishment of Cornerstone Climate, a hub for climate litigation and advice, has also brought in instructions on two of the most significant climate change cases of recent years: the Finch Litigation in the Supreme Court, which established that planning permission for oil drilling in Surrey was unlawful because the council had not assessed the downstream emissions from eventually burning the oil, and the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan challenge. One member is so well known within the planning world that she once appeared on the cover of The Planner, the official magazine of the Royal Town Planning Institute (the planning equivalent of Vogue). Such varied and challenging work means that “there is rarely a boring day in the office”.

An insider describes career progression at Cornerstone as tending to start with “quick summary possession hearings in the County Court” before progressing to “pick up opportunities to broaden and deepen your practice”. The set also provides “good opportunities to undertake led work”.

The supportive nature of the set leads proud tenants to claim that “Cornerstone is rightly recognised as one of the most collegiate and supportive sets of chambers at the bar”. Many members describe the set as “truly like a family”, and all praise the open-door policy, which insiders say “is something we pride ourselves on in chambers”. Another member tells us that a supportive atmosphere is a specific strategic objective of the set: “Being able to pick the brains of an experienced practitioner on a key point not only makes your work better, it also makes doing the job significantly less stressful, which is very welcome, especially when approaching new areas.” The female members of Cornerstone also have their own designated WhatsApp group, where they celebrate each other’s successes and offer advice.

Chambers also has “strong policies supporting those with families or other caring responsibilities, and a committee with wellbeing at its heart”. One junior tells us they “developed an autoimmune condition which meant [they] needed to go slow for a while”, but “both the staff and other members of chambers have been reassuring, understanding, sympathetic, everything you can expect, and best of all, not surprised or patronising as [they] have rebuilt [their] practice and strength”. As one happy tenant sums up, Cornerstone is home to the “best bunch of people you could ever work with”.

The high praise continues when it comes to work life balance, with one well-travelled tenant simply saying, “having been in three different sets, I have found Cornerstone to be the best at this.” Another source offered this insight: “Chambers recognises that barristers can only build a sustainable, satisfying practice in the long term if they are well supported to have a life beyond work. I have not once experienced pushback for taking long holidays, nor for building a practice where working at the weekend is the exception rather than the norm.” The clerking team is also said to be “marvellous” at improving WLB and “sensitive to members’ needs”. But aspiring barristers should not forget that “this job is not for the faint hearted or the work-shy”, and that “there are of course times when litigation tilts the balance more towards work”.

When it comes to the social side of chambers, one member exclaims: “Where do I start? Our numerous chambers’ charity cycling trips across the UK and France? The holidays I’ve taken abroad with friends from chambers? The weddings and housewarming parties and personal events we’ve attended together? Our chambers book club? Our Friday cocktails at Catalyst on Gray’s Inn Road? The Christmas dance parties?” The set really lives by the work hard, play hard mantra and, for those who are less active socially, there is still “always a colleague to have lunch or coffee with” and a “lively chat on WhatsApp”.

Cornerstone takes its wider commitments seriously, with more than half of its members committing an average of 50 hours of pro bono work each year, an active corporate social responsibility committee, and membership of the Bar Council’s Sustainability Network.

In terms of the buildings, the traditional Inns of Court building which houses the set backs onto Gray’s Inn Gardens and offers a “modern, client-facing, air-conditioned conference suite”. Still, insiders label the space “warm and welcoming rather than glitzy and impressive”. Inside, you can decorate to your individual tastes, with one member offering this glimpse into their abode: “My room in chambers is absolutely beautiful and looks out onto Gray’s Inn walks. I sit next to a great big window. I have filled it with plants, prints and rugs to match my cosy vibe, but everyone is different. The outside of chambers is in keeping with the look of Gray’s Inn.” A large room is specifically set aside for the newest tenants to share, which one member says “was an important feature of my first years in chambers and a setting where several friendships were cemented”.

Technology-wise, “members are well connected to chambers’ IT infrastructure, both in chambers and remotely, and are supported by well-informed and helpful IT staff”. One praises the “IT team” for being “endlessly patient” and “always on hand to sort things when crisis strikes”. Other facilities on offer include hot desking, a well-supplied library, and showers for those members who cycle to work.

Cornerstone offers two pupillages each year, with a generous award of £70,000. Training at the set is highly rated. One junior tells us: “My pupil supervisors have remained mentors as well as colleagues to me, and I feel well supported as a junior tenant. I have noticed throughout my own journey into self-employed practice the extent to which the skills carefully honed during pupillage have benefitted me.” The learning continues into tenancy, with one member commenting that, whether leading or being led, they “have the opportunity to learn from and with [their] colleagues in chambers and find the benefits of collaborative working invaluable”. The set facilitates continued training by laying on “a plentiful and varied programme of seminars, webinars and conferences”.

Pupils at Cornerstone sit with at least three pupil supervisors during the first nine months of pupillage. These supervisors “go above and beyond in making sure that you develop with each and every piece of work” and together cover the set’s core practice areas. One pupil reports: “Throughout my pupillage, I have received thoughtful and carefully considered feedback. Supervisors are keenly invested in pupils’ development and enthusiastically celebrate pupils’ progress and achievements.” During the first six, pupils can expect to accompany their supervisors, who are “at the peak of their careers”, on trips to Planning Inquiries, the High Court, the Court of Appeal and even the Supreme Court, as well as to lower courts and tribunals. In their second six, pupils will be on their feet and representing in court themselves. Decisions on tenancy are made on the basis of the qualities of individual applicants, as well as whether there is a vacancy for a junior tenant.

Cornerstone recruits through the Pupillage Gateway. After application sifting, 20 candidates are invited to a first-round interview, which is general in nature and lasts around 15 minutes. Ten candidates are then invited to a more extensive second-round interview, which lasts around 30 minutes and typically involves an advocacy exercise and a case analysis exercise.

Cornerstone emphasises on its website that it welcomes pupillage applications from everyone and “would particularly encourage candidates to apply from backgrounds that have not traditionally been represented at the bar”. Indeed, a few years back, alongside Field Court Chambers, Francis Taylor Building, Kings Chambers and Landmark Chambers, all of them specialist Planning, Property and Public Law sets, Cornerstone Barristers launched a mentoring scheme for underrepresented groups at the bar. The scheme is intended to encourage individuals from groups that are not well represented at the bar to consider becoming barristers. Cornerstone also recently joined the 10,000 Black Interns programme “in order to play [their] part in making the bar a profession of equal representation and opportunity”.

The pupillage experience

I had a great experience of pupillage. I found that everyone in chambers was very welcoming, and incredibly generous with their time. The year is structured with three supervisors in four-month seats which cover the range of chambers’ specialist areas. My first seat was largely in the Court of Protection, my second seat was in planning and environmental Law, and my third seat spanned a whole range of practice areas, including housing and data protection. A normal week would involve one or two substantial pieces of written work (such as an advice, or a skeleton argument), some smaller research tasks, and then opportunities to shadow my supervisor in court. Of course, the experience varied depending on how frequently my supervisor was in court. I also had the opportunity to do work for a number of members of chambers other than my supervisors, which gave me an opportunity to experience a range of different practice areas and types of work.

Cornerstone takes feedback quite seriously, and after almost all pieces of work I received constructive feedback which I discussed with my supervisor. I found the ongoing feedback really helpful in terms of ensuring that my skills progressed across the course of a seat, and I could address any areas for improvement quickly. You also have three advocacy exercises in planning law, licensing law, and housing law respectively. The exercises are not formally assessed and are intended to be a learning exercise. Finally, I completed one formal written assessment, which was the same for both myself and my co-pupil.

Cornerstone also has a practicing second six. During this time, I was in court 2-3 times a week. Most of the hearings are straightforward county court matters such as first possession hearings and gas access injunctions. These cases allow you to build confidence on your feet, and develop a junior practice.

I was also very fortunate that in my second six I was instructed as a junior on Munícipio de Mariana and Ors v BHP Group Plc and BHP Group Ltd, which is a group litigation claim being brought against BHP Group relating to the collapse of the Fundão Dam, considered to be the worst environmental disaster in Brazil’s history. This was quite an unusual case to be involved in during my second six! However, chambers were very supportive in assisting me with balancing my work on this case, conducting my own hearings in the county court, and completing written work for my supervisors.

The transition from pupil to tenant

We take two pupils every year, and in recent years most pupils have been taken on. It can feel quite intimidating to transition from the supportive pupillage structure into tenancy. However, members of chambers and the clerks go out of their way to answer the inevitable questions you have as you start as a tenant. People really understand that you are doing a lot of things for the first time! Further, the four most junior members of chambers all share a room. I have found this to be a really important source of support and camaraderie as I started my practice. The people just a year or two ahead of you remember what it is like to be starting out — and Lois Lane and Jackson Sirica have certainly been very patient with all the questions I have had since taking tenancy.

What is your practice like now?

I had a sightly unusual start to tenancy. The trial in Munícipio de Mariana and Ors v BHP Group Plc and BHP Group Ltd commenced a few weeks after I received my tenancy decision, and it consumed almost all of my practice until the middle of March. It was an utterly fantastic experience, but now that the trial is ended, I am working to build up my practice again. The clerks are very supportive, and with regular Practice Review Meetings you are able to discuss how you want your practice to develop.

I expect my practice across the next few months to involve a mix of court work and advisory work. I am keen to get on back on my feet, conducting my own hearings — and I know first-hand that there is a lot of county court work at the junior end! However, there are also opportunities to be involved in some exciting led work at quite an early stage. I was very fortunate to have been instructed as a junior (led by Estelle Dehon KC and Nina Pindham) in C. G. Fry & Son Limited v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities & Somerset Council, representing a party intervening in writing in the Supreme Court. I have also been led in a High Court judicial review claim on a planning matter. I expect to have quite a mixed practice at the beginning in terms of practice areas — likely spanning planning, housing, and Court of Protection work.

I also try to get involved in chambers’ marketing activities, such as by speaking at the annual conferences or writing articles. It is a good way to increase your profile in a particular area, and it provides an opportunity to work with others in chambers.

Work/life balance in chambers is generally good. You go through peaks and troughs, with some very intense work periods. However, in general you are in control of the work that you take on, and you can balance it in the way that works for you.

What is the culture of chambers?

Chambers is a very friendly, collegiate environment. Even post-Covid people still come in regularly, which is great for building relationships with members in your early years. At the junior end, we also make the effort to have frequent socials. There are similarly quite a few annual chambers events (such as the Christmas and summer parties). Lots of the senior members are very approachable, and there are many people in chambers I would feel comfortable asking for advice from. As I mentioned above, the four most junior tenants share a room in Chambers, which is an excellent source of support (and good fun!).

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

My main advice for applying for pupillage would be to do your research. First, get a sense of what the chambers you are applying to specialises in. There is a lot of information on the website, and showing that you know what chambers does goes a long way to showing that you are serious about pursing a career at that set. In your application, try to explain how your experience evidences an interest in these areas. It is also good to get a sense of what the day-to-day experience as a junior tenant at that set is like — what sort of work will you be doing in the first five years of practice? How quickly can you specialise? How much work is led or unled? You can often get an idea of these questions by looking at the profiles of the junior members. This will also help you to assess whether this is a set you want to be a member of.

Second, read the criteria against which applications are assessed. This will be published on most chambers’ websites (and is certainly available on the Cornerstone Barristers website). You might have brilliant experience, but if you cannot show how your application meets the criteria, it is difficult to give you the marks you deserve. The paper application is itself a form of written advocacy, and you can get far just by submitting an application which shows you have done your research, and you know the criteria that you are expected to meet.

Finally, pupillage applications are a competitive process — don’t be disheartened if you need to apply more than once.