Being a junior(ish) criminal barrister, I'm always up for thankless tasks which are both time-consuming and tedious. This is why I am on our Chambers' pupillage committee. The closing date for applications isn't until summer but they are already pouring in. Although we consider them all at the same time, after the closing date, I do flick through them as they arrive before filing them away. As anybody on the legal scene knows, competition for pupillages is fierce and applicants need to stand out. We get loads of great applications and it saddens me that many good candidates will be unlucky as there simply aren't enough places for everybody. We also get a fair few applications which don't make it very far in the selection process. Some of these are just awful and I have a fair amount of sympathy for the people who send them, as they have invested a lot of time and money in a career which, realistically, is unachievable. Others are let down by a few basic errors. As this is the time of year when future barristers (and future McDonald's employees) start sweating over their pupillage applications, I thought I'd try to help by highlighting some of the most common mistakes applicants make and giving some advice on how to improve applications. So here we go with some top tips for pupillage success:
1. Learn when to use "practice" and when to use "practise";
2. Learn how to spell "pupillage" (yes, really);
3. Make sure you know what Chambers are asking for. We ask for a handwritten covering letter but every year about 25% of the letters we get are typed. Some Chambers have their own application forms, in which case they won't want to wade through CVs and letters;
4. Even if your A-level results are rubbish, don't just leave them out on your CV, otherwise we'll just assume they are anyway. If there's a reason for poor exam results then say so (provided it's a good reason, not just that your cat died);
5. Make it clear that your decision to be a barrister is an informed one. Don't just tell us that your mini-pupillages confirmed your decision to practise, say what you learned from them. Show that you have a realistic expectation of what pupillage will be like (you could do a lot worse than read pupilblog, which is a very accurate portrayal);
6. If that all sounds obvious, then you're probably a good candidate anyway. If it all sounds like too much hassle then do a more deserving applicant a favour and drop out now!
Hope that helps! Of course, if you are one of the talented but unlucky ones, you're sure to find a well-paid proper job with security, holiday pay etc. so will eventually have the last laugh!
1. Learn when to use "practice" and when to use "practise";
2. Learn how to spell "pupillage" (yes, really);
3. Make sure you know what Chambers are asking for. We ask for a handwritten covering letter but every year about 25% of the letters we get are typed. Some Chambers have their own application forms, in which case they won't want to wade through CVs and letters;
4. Even if your A-level results are rubbish, don't just leave them out on your CV, otherwise we'll just assume they are anyway. If there's a reason for poor exam results then say so (provided it's a good reason, not just that your cat died);
5. Make it clear that your decision to be a barrister is an informed one. Don't just tell us that your mini-pupillages confirmed your decision to practise, say what you learned from them. Show that you have a realistic expectation of what pupillage will be like (you could do a lot worse than read pupilblog, which is a very accurate portrayal);
6. If that all sounds obvious, then you're probably a good candidate anyway. If it all sounds like too much hassle then do a more deserving applicant a favour and drop out now!
Hope that helps! Of course, if you are one of the talented but unlucky ones, you're sure to find a well-paid proper job with security, holiday pay etc. so will eventually have the last laugh!
14 comments:
Thank you for sharing your wisdom! It is most helpful at this difficult time!
I've got a question: what was the most unusual and impressive pupillage application that you came across, and what made is that way?
Thanks!
Glad you found it useful! I like it when applicants show that they have a life outside law. My favourite ever application was from a girl who was really into racing motorcycles because as well as being bright and ambitious she had loads of interesting stuff to say in interview. Sadly, another Chambers thought so too and she picked them over us.
...and what was the worst application?
In my 5 years of trying for pupillage, I averaged around 5 interviews each year - London and the provinces (majority in London).
However, it was only once I had been to a certain University and accumulated other 'reputable names' on my CV that Chambers really took interest and I was offered pupillage without a second interview at a Chambers.
That just proved to me that the old boys network mentality was alive and kicking.
No one asked me about my life outside the law either, although, thinking about it, I didn't have one other than the usual socialising...and I still don't because i'm giving everything to this very over-rated profession (coughs).
Mustn't sound so bitter ;)
But those are my experiences of the Bar from 1999 until the present day. I don't know anyone who stuck it out for 5 years like I did given the BVC expires beyond that point.
Thanks for taking the time to try help those of us seeking pupillage.
I note your comment on looking for a different application.
Mine show a 10 year Police career followed by 12 years running my own surveillance company assisting in PI litigation.
They also show a mature (49 years) happily married family man.
Different I am sure you'll agree but no interviews in 18 months since Call.
An elderly Silk at the Inn told me that young barristers on pupillage committess may see me as something of a "threat" - I don't see that.
Any specific advice please?
Alf - choose the sets to whom you apply carefully (I speak as a 'not as young as the rest of them' entrant to the profession, who is still in the process of getting there!), Look at the profiles of the more recently taken on members of chambers - if they are all 22 year olds without exception (unless taken on as a tenant from another set) then you will quite probably struggle. Provincial chambers are generally a bit more open minded (I know a number of BVC students who are much older than the conventional graduate - if there is such a thing - who have succeeded outside London without too much difficulty).
I found the above article and the ensuing discussion quite helpful. I am due to start my BVC this September and have already had BVC students trying to put me off this profession. I just want to ask people already in the profession that have they ever regretted their decision to go for the Bar? And as often said, is it more difficult for women and people from asian/ethnic minorities background to make their mark in the profession(I am one of them indeed)?
>I just want to ask people already in the profession that have they ever regretted their decision to go for the Bar?
No, but regret having high expectations and stressing over pupillage interviews and letting it affect my health.
> And as often said, is it more difficult for women and people from asian/ethnic mignorities background to make their mark in the profession(I am one of them indeed)?
If you are determined to succeed or 'make you mark' as you say, then I can't see how it is more difficult being a female and asian. However, I was told by a senior member a couple of times when certain trial work didn't come my way that 'i guess being a female doesn't help' (!)
I've had my struggles within the profession being female and of an asian background. However, I tie that more to my personality and limits of what I expect/tolerate than the profession itself. You do have to have a strong demeanour and be thick skinned. Very important esp in areas like Crime.
I'm just coming to the end of my GDL and all set to go with the BVC in Autumn.
I'm currently in a bit of a fix as to whether or not to risk applications for pupillage this time around (I haven't yet undertaken any mini-pupillages, although I have spent some extended periods working in solicitors' firms and attend court when I can just to get an insight into advocacy in practice etc) or wait until I have a more substantial, committed-looking CV.
I have pretty good qualifications and was recently awarded a BVC scholarship from my Inn but am anxious that, even with all the enthusiasm in the world, this really won't be enough.
My concern is that if I apply this April I will be eaten alive at any interview I get invited to (which in itself is hopeful!) and thereby feel somewhat downtrodden for next time around. Moreover, I wonder how badly making an unsuccessful application to Chambers will reflect upon any further applications.
Can you offer any insight? (Fab. blog, btw!)
Anon., if the only thing putting you off applying for pupillage is the fact that you haven't done any mini-pupillages yet then I reckon you should have a go. You never know, you might be successful! If you're unlucky first time round, different Chambers will have different views as to whether or not to hold a previous unsuccessful application against you. Don't let bad interview experiences put you off - they are excellent practice for having judges humiliate you in open court. Whenever you decide to apply, good luck!
I agree that provincial chambers are more receptive to mature candidates. I don;t know why this should be but it is.
I would not myself apply until I had done some mini-pupillages because it invites the question 'why not?'. If you have enough time and you are committed to the BVC anyway then i might wait a year.
Also, not to compete, but this site may help - http://pupillageandhowtogetit.blogspot.com/
I completed my Bar course in 2007 on a part-time basis and found it quite interesting and pleasing to see a lot of mature students like myself, who already have professional careers. Their CVs were impressive. However, I am extremley saddened at the fact that the majority of them have not secured pupillage as yet and it appears that chambers usually offer them to young students. My view is that they are threatenend by a student who is already a professional with more qualifications than them, who would already know a lot about thier chosen. The mature students on my course would make exceptional barristers. Some were high-ranking police officers, forensic scientists, doctors, surveyors, civil engineers, company directors, accountants etc etc. They were exceptionally intelligent and already had good professional careers and most importantly, life experience! What also saddens me is the fact that snobbery and eliticism still exists and some of the stories, from reliable sources that I do hear make me feel extremely dissapointed and very sad. Just because a student did not choose to study at Cambridge or Oxford, does not mean that they are incapable of becoming a Barrister (as some (not all) chambers still seem to think!) A lot of students have surpassed this notion and have become exceptional barristers, irrspective of whether they studied at a red brick or new university! Not everyone wants to go or can afford to attend Cambridge or Oxford!or even be given the opportunity, even though they are more than capable. It is evident that we live in a very agist, classist, sexist and racist society and chambers are still breaking laws and getting away with it. How ironic! I have certainly decided not to go for pupillage now, but those of you who still want to go for it, I wish you all the very best.
This blog is just what I've been looking for. I will definitely keep reading.
I've just completed the BVC and it was a long struggle to get to this stage. I come from abroad and came to UK to do my degree, I did badly, not even a 3rd. There were various reasons for this which I will not expand on now. But I then did a masters and got a distinction. I had to apply for discretion from the bar council to do the BVC, which I did and I was accepted. I also got a scholarship from my Inn, not a full one but it still looks good on my CV.
I want to get pupillage and I know it's going to be tough. My degree results will haunt me forever but it hasn't stopped me so far. I'm told it will be harder to get pupillage but no-one has said it will be impossible...although I received no interview from this year's applications.
What can I do now?
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