How to survive: mini-pupillages

11 May 2009

WHY DO A MINI-PUPILLAGE?

The reasons fall into two categories. Firstly, are you sure you want to be a barrister?

“It is a fantastic job. Being self-employed is wonderful and it is varied and intellectually stimulating,” says Maya Lester, barrister at Brick Court Chambers.

But hand on heart, what do you really know about it? You would not choose to become a nurse purely on the basis of watching Casualty or join the police exclusively because you are a fan of The Bill. So why would you train as a barrister solely on the basis of watching Kavanagh QC?

Mini-pupillages are therefore here to help. They are the perfect opportunity to get to know all about the work of a barrister. It is the bar’s term for a work experience placement and consists of shadowing a barrister in their working life.

Following a barrister gives you the opportunity to cut through those early years of TV-fuelled views on what they do all day.

Granted, there may well be sudden unexpected evidence dramatically brought before the court. There may well be judges cutting down spurious arguments. There may well be cut and thrust arguments with witnesses. But in truth that is not all a barrister does all day every day.

Shadowing a barrister, be it for an afternoon or a whole week, can mean going to court, assisting with research or sitting in on conferences with clients. As Maya Lester explains, “the mini-pupils will do whatever the barrister is doing: attending court, reading papers or in conference.”

Or it can just be a good opportunity to chat.

Paul Shrubsall, consultant at One Essex Court, urges those on mini-pupillages to take the chance to talk about what life is like at the bar and ask barristers what they did to get where they are now.

You’ve seen the reality of the job and now you’re sure that being a barrister is the career for you so can you stop reading? Well, actually no, there’s still a second problem.

Kavanagh QC? Judge John Deed? Rumpole of the Bailey? This Life? Each show is different. And like the television shows every set of chambers is different. Finding one where you will be happy for many years is crucial.

So what do you do? A second mini-pupillage, preferably a third and so on.

LENGTH OF A MINI PUPILLAGE

Each mini-pupillage is different. At One Essex Court they are generally two days in length. Each day is split in half so a mini-pupil will get to meet four barristers.

In contrast at Brick Court Chambers they last a week. “We try to match a mini-pupil’s interest with the practice a barrister has and they then sit with them for a week,” says Maya Lester. At the same time an overview is taken to make sure there is enough variety to the experience.

Other mini-pupillages may last a day.

All chambers interviewed by Lawyer2B.com stressed the importance of getting more than one point of view when on a mini-pupillage. You can achieve this by speaking with a pupil or recent tenant or sitting down for discussions with barristers and clerks.

Take notes of every meeting as you are bound to have forgotten much of what was discussed by the time you come to apply for pupillage.

MINI-PUPILLAGES: TYPE OF LAW

The work you do, quite reasonably, will differ depending on the type of law practised by the barrister you follow. The day-to-day experience of working life in public law or human rights is in fact massively different to that in criminal or family law.

This means it is impossible to give simple percentages on time in court, time researching and so forth to expect.

The most common misconception is that barristers spend all day every day in court. But this is not what you should expect to be experiencing. As Maya Lester explains: “It is hard to generalise about mini-pupillages. The amount of time in court depends very much on your specialism so try different areas as it is like trying many jobs.

“Practising in different areas is different to studying as they are entirely different jobs and you’ll realise that by following barristers,” explains Lester.

MINI-PUPILLAGES: TYPE OF CHAMBER

Paul Shrubsall recommends: “Have a reasonably good idea of whether you want to go to the civil or criminal bar. There is nothing wrong with having a look at both but the sooner you can focus the better.”

This is because once you have pinpointed your preferred type of law you need to pinpoint your preferred type of chambers.

There is a limit to the number of mini-pupillages you will ever realistically achieve. Catherine Atkinson, barrister at 9 Gough Square, did nine in total and found, “each chamber had a very different feel and atmosphere.

“Some are forward looking, some more traditional. They are different both by type of law and by size. The more information you have to work with the better. [Your choice] needs to be the best and the most appropriate.

“Before a mini-pupillage do your research. Check out a chamber’s website and look up the barrister you will be shadowing. Have they done any big cases recently?”

In essence the only assumption you can make is that you cannot make assumptions. It is only by getting out there and seeing the chambers for real that you will be ideally placed come your time to apply for pupillage.

As Paul Shrubsall points out it is arguably the biggest decision of your professional career. He says: “You should select 12 chambers you actually know something about, it’s a very big decision for the rest of your life and one to research carefully. Which chambers to apply to is one of the key decisions about how successful and happy you are in your new career.”

HOW TO GET A MINI-PUPILLAGE

Most chambers organise mini-pupillages by cover letter and CV. It is always worth double checking on websites and looking for the name of the person to address your application to.

In terms of the best way to present yourself in your application Paul Shrubsall explains: “We look for a good academic track record, an indication that the person wants to be a barrister, and things like debating clubs - people who have some life experience.”

Other chambers will call you in for an interview before offering you a mini-pupillage. At Brick Court Chambers the process involves approval of the CV and covering letter followed by a successful 15-minute interview. The prospective mini-pupils will be asked a mixture of questions about their experience, background and a legal area.

WHEN TO ORGANISE MINI-PUPILLAGES

Some chambers will accept A Level students whereas others prefer their mini-pupils to be either studying for a law degree or be on a conversion course.

Even among those who prefer not to take A Level students there is a difference between those chambers who expect at least a 2:1 - be it achieved or prospective - and those who do not stipulate a level. Given the range of requirements it is essential to check websites to make sure you are approaching suitable chambers.

“Plan your whole campaign early. We look to take people in their second year or first year of a post-grad conversion course,” recommends Paul Shrubsall.

Most students will be limited to the academic holidays but other pressure points are worth avoiding too - like the time in June before pupillages deadlines.

Again, it is important to check the websites for availability. Some chambers run mini-pupillages through the year. Others like One Essex Court have three distinct parts of the year each with its own application deadline. Then others like Monckton Chambers have one fixed period.

Maya Lester has a top tip when it comes to planning your campaign. “Mini-pupillage is a chance for the students to see what chambers are like but also for chambers to assess you so leave your top choices to the end of your series. Make sure those give you the best possibility of performing well as you’ll know more law and have more experience.”

WHAT CHAMBERS GET OUT OF A MINI-PUPILLAGE?

There are two types of mini-pupillage: assessed and non-assessed.

Non-assessed

As the name suggests there is no formal assessment involved. Paul Shrubsall sees it as, “an opportunity to be a shop window for chambers and the bar so mini-pupils can find out what it is all about. We hope to send a lot of people away with a favourable view of the chambers. At the end of the day we know talent when we see it. We want them to apply and we are looking for the best.”

It means you can see the work of a barrister and gain an understanding of the ethos of that chamber without any formal pressure on your performance. Clearly, it is still essential for you to make a good impression both for your own future should you ever wish to apply there and out of routine politeness.

Assessed

At Brick Court Chambers mini-pupils are set a written task to assess what they are like and to give their work a focus. Maya Lester explains the purpose of testing their ability to write and analyse.

“We are looking for people who could potentially be offered a pupillage in chambers, they are assessed by the people sitting with them writing a report on them. Everyone does the same written test marked by the same person to create a level playing field.”

Whether you want to do assessed or non-assessed it is, as ever, worth checking out each website. Some, like Brick Court Chambers, will not accept applications for pupillage until you have done a mini-pupillage with it.

WHAT MINI-PUPILLAGES LEAD TO?

At the end of your series of mini-pupillages you should have picked up many key points about life as a barrister, the diversity of roles and the different ethos in every set of chambers. Clearly the job is not all about the wigs.

As we have seen at some chambers you need to have done the mini-pupillage to secure pupillage. But even if that is not the case, as Catherine Atkinson points out, there are still many good reasons for having worked through a series of placements.

“Chambers get a huge number of application forms. Often the hardest thing to assess is what kind of person you are: if you are a team player and will get on with other people. You can give concrete examples of why you want to be at that chambers from experiencing it personally.”

So what sort of person is likely to succeed in using their mini-pupillages to their benefit?

The final word goes to Maya Lester who says candidates should show: “Enthusiasm for the job. The main thing we’re looking for is someone with the qualities to make an excellent barrister: intelligence; analytical skills; able to interact with clients and judges. They need to show speed of picking up key points efficiently, thorough research skills and an ability to learn.”