The Legal Cheek View
When it comes to chancery — both traditional and commercial — XXIV Old Buildings is one of the best in the business. Renowned for its offshore work, with around half of the set’s revenue coming from other jurisdictions, the set has offices in both London and Geneva. Several tenants at the outfit are called to the bar of the Eastern Caribbean or the Jersey bar as well as the bar of England and Wales. Operating in areas ranging from aviation to art and cultural property, it is no wonder that one junior tells us that their work is “incredibly stimulating” with “no two cases being the same”.
As for traditional chancery work, tenants can find themselves working on anything from family disputes over wills to real estate litigation. The work often involves “complex and interesting points of law to grapple with” and “exotic” facts. One tenant tells us that “a particular joy for me has been the regular opportunity, as a member of chambers, to advise and advocate for clients on cases that push developing social and economic norms to new boundaries”. Another inside source boasts of “being instructed in two cases that are now in the textbooks in less than two years of tenancy”. Tenants are also happy with the balance of led and unled cases, the set offering “lots of opportunities to take on your own cases and do your own advocacy from the start of practice, alongside opportunities to be led by senior members”.
When it comes to the commercial chancery side of things, tenants can often be found working on high-value offshore cases, as well as complex cases involving issues of professional negligence, fraud, asset tracing, insolvency, and restructuring — to name just a few. One junior tells us that their work “grapples with factual issues at the forefront of the offshore and commercial world”. Barristers at the set regularly appear in offshore courts and tribunals in locations such as the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and Hong Kong.
The domestic work should not, however, be overlooked. As one tenant explains: “I think that our excellent offshore reputation sometimes can overshadow the brilliant work that members do in the Business and Property Courts in London. In recent years we have had members in many of the biggest and juiciest commercial trials and trust disputes.”
The “sheer variety of cases” at XXIV Old Buildings is one of the most important features for many tenants. “I have seen a fantastic range of really interesting (and sometimes even genuinely exciting) disputes since I have been at XXIV OId Buildings,” one insider tells us. “You see a great range of clients from some of the biggest blue-chip, listed companies and financial institutions for whom litigation is almost a feature of their business through to individuals in ‘all or nothing’ litigation that means the world to them personally — and that variety is really stimulating”. Another tenant, who has a broad commercial chancery practice, describes a day-in-the-life to us: “I can be dealing with a tricky company insolvency point in the morning and a disputed will in the afternoon (with a call about malfunctioning airline parts at lunch)! This keeps everything really fresh and means I am never bored.”
Recent cases worked on by tenants at the set include Max Archer acting successfully to secure a Supreme Court judgment on the scope of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ defence in Regulation 261 claims and Post-Brexit Legal Order; James Bradford securing a Privy Council judgment setting out the proper approach to establishing a duty of care (in tort or contract) to prevent theft; Stephen Moverley Smith KC securing the first-ever appellate decision to confirm the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal’s jurisdictional power and scope to support injunctions in support of foreign arbitrations; and Daniel Warents acting successfully for a spread-betting firm against a £3.75 million claim arising primarily from trading losses on oil derivatives.
Despite so much exciting work going on, tenants at XXIV Old Buildings are generally very pleased with their work-life balance. “I feel I have complete flexibility to take on the amount of work that I want to, and to carve out time for having a life outside chambers,” one junior says. “I rarely work at the weekend, except during exceptionally busy periods, because of my ability to plan my time effectively in chambers.” We hear that colleagues and clerks are incredibly supportive and ensure that people are maintaining a healthy balance. “I take time off for child-care, and just today my head clerk rang me to check some new work would not cut across my time with my daughter,” another member tells us.
As well as being supportive when it comes to work-life balance, the tenants at XXIV Old Buildings also support each other with any work questions. Apparently, the set is “genuinely collegiate”, with people always on hand to “provide a sympathetic ear or a helpful sounding board”. One junior offers this insight: “We have an open door policy in chambers and I feel very comfortable with asking more senior members of chambers for help. Pupil supervisors continue to be a great port of call long after pupillage has ended.” “You can always find someone in chambers to discuss an idea or a case with”, one junior tells us. Another tenant shares a personal incident of “feeling supported by colleagues and clerks while having issues connected with caring responsibilities that have been pretty difficult for me over the couple of years since starting as a tenant.”
Particular praise goes to the “phenomenal” clerking team “who are great at helping you build your practice and giving sensible guidance”, and “want you to flourish as a barrister but also as an individual”. The engine-room of the chambers “never” add pressure to take on extra work unless it’s wanted, one insider says, recalling that they “never find something in my diary without being asked about it first”.
When it comes to training, pupils beam with positive remarks about their “pupil supervisors being excellent”, “putting a lot of time” in, and “really caring about developing my legal skills”. An insider pupil tells us that they have “regular review meetings with the pupillage coordinators to provide constructive guidance on how to improve. The emphasis is on ongoing feedback and continuing assessment, rather than a small number of fixed assessments”. And the advice sticks around long after becoming a tenant, with one established practitioner noting that they “still quote the advice I received from my pupil supervisors now”.
Given the barristers are a “friendly bunch”, it is unsurprising that they also enjoy socialising together. One member, who is on the social committee, tells us: “I can say with confidence that XXIV Old Buildings places a real emphasis on the social aspect of being a member of chambers. Not only do more junior members often go for trips to the pub after work, but chambers has a full calendar of drinks and dinners throughout the year.” Events such as the Christmas party are particular highlights. We even hear rumours of “regular ping-pong events” which seem to be a longstanding favourite!
The social life of the set is aided by its location in Lincoln’s Inn. Members regularly pop across to Lincoln’s Inn Hall for lunch together or head to the local pubs after work. The set is housed in a “beautiful set of buildings” in a “beautiful corner of Lincoln’s Inn”. The “ancient” buildings shouldn’t, however, make you think that the set is old-fashioned. We are told that inside there is a “modern working interior”, with facilities including numerous table tennis rooms (which sometimes double up as conference spaces) — and showers. The set has also invested heavily in its IT offering, which facilitates working from home, or indeed from anywhere around the world! Twenty-four-hour support is also on hand for those who need it.
For those interested in applying for pupillage at XXIV Old Buildings, they should make their application through the set’s own application process, which consists of a simple form and online aptitude test. Those candidates scoring highest on both the form and test will be asked to provide a CV and covering letter and be invited to attend a 20-minute interview in front of two members of the pupillage committee. The 12 highest-scoring candidates will then be invited back for an assessment day consisting of an advocacy exercise, a group discussion exercise, and an unseen written exercise. Three lucky candidates will be offered pupillage, with an impressive award of £85,000.
Pupillage at the set is structured over four separate three-month periods, with a different supervisor for each period. Pupils can expect to assist their supervisor with researching and drafting written advice, drafting pleadings, and writing skeleton arguments. Due to the very technical nature of the work, opportunities for pupils to obtain their own cases can be limited at first. Instead, the set focuses on gradual development, training, and learning, however pupils can expect to take on some of their own cases in the county court in the latter months. One former pupil says “the training I received during my pupillage was of the highest quality. I was regularly given feedback on the work that I had produced, the subject matter of which spanned the entire breadth of work that one might see in chancery practice”.
As well as offering mini-pupillages, XXIV Old Buildings also participates in COMBAR’s mentoring scheme for under-represented groups at the bar. The set also works with other chancery sets to run a pupillage seminar focused on diversity at the commercial chancery bar, which aims to “challenge any preconceptions about barristers or our areas of work and to inspire students from all backgrounds and sections of society to consider a future at the bar”.
