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Harrison Denner had always wanted to become a barrister. Whilst many students are torn as to which path to follow, barrister or solicitor, the thrills of the academic rigour of the bar, and the independence of being self-employed helped him to make up his mind from an early stage.

He describes his early career journey as fairly unimaginative. He read law at Oxford University before completing an LLM at UCL and then the BPTC (as it was then) at The University of Law. During his time at university, he was involved in debating, volunteered at a legal clinic, and also dabbled in mooting. He filled his spare time by serving as president of both his college’s Junior Common Room (undergraduate student body) and Lawn Tennis Club.

It seems that Denner was as set on practice areas as he was on the bar generally. He knew from an early stage that commercial law was right for him, having enjoyed his contract and commercial law modules during his undergraduate degree. His decision to focus on commercial law was reaffirmed to him through completing around eight or nine mini-pupillages — more than he considers was necessary looking back. He decided to complete an LLM to further his academic knowledge and give him a competitive advantage in pupillage applications. Rather than completing an outright commercial law masters, however, he instead decided to complete a general masters to “avoid putting all of his eggs into the commercial basket” — though he did predominantly select commercial modules.

When it came to making pupillage applications, Denner describes the entire process as “tough and very time consuming”. He didn’t have any family or friends who had been through it and so had to figure the process out largely for himself. Henderson Chambers, a leading civil set, stood out to Denner due to its commercial strengths as well as the range of work that it offers — the set does everything from product liability (for which it is the top set in the country) to environment law. He had also completed a mini-pupillage at the set and had been impressed by how friendly everyone was.

Denner tells us that, going into the pupillage application process, you must inevitably be prepared for lots of rejection. He unfortunately didn’t secure pupillage the first year he applied but was offered his pupillage at Henderson the second year of applications. Finding himself with “a year to kill” in between the two application rounds, Denner decided to work as a corporate paralegal at US firm Simpson Thatcher’s London office, something which he feels boosted his applications the second time round as it gave him “something to talk about at interview and also helped develop soft skills in a professional environment”. Looking back on the two application years now, he concludes that the big difference between his applications was that they were much more structured the second year. He backed up any claims he made with evidence: for example, rather than just stating his interest in commercial law, he used the commercial modules from his LLM and his paralegalling experience to demonstrate this. Clearly it worked as Henderson gave him an offer to begin pupillage in 2017.

When asked how he found pupillage, Denner responds saying that it was “enjoyable”. He went on to explain that it is obviously an intense year: “you can’t get away from the fact that it is a year-long assessment”. He says, however, that he has heard stories from friends at other sets which make him very grateful that his pupillage was at Henderson. Throughout the year, he didn’t feel overworked, and was always supported by his supervisors and other members of chambers. He received prompt feedback on work and was clear about what he was doing right and what he needed to improve. Like other pupils at the set, Denner started to take on his own cases in his second six, something which helped prepare him for tenancy. He also completed a secondment in the Turks & Caicos, something which all pupils at the set are offered, and which he describes as “amazing”. Whilst it was a busy year, Denner says he “looks back on it fondly”. Henderson was supportive throughout and they eased the journey into tenancy, which Denner was offered.

Now four years into tenancy, Denner has a broad practice, especially focusing on product liability and commercial litigation. He says it is not unusual for tenants at Henderson to take on a variety of work across different practice areas, as well as to work on a mixture of bigger, led cases, and smaller cases as sole counsel. For Denner, the opportunity to get into court when working unled is one of the biggest advantages of being at Henderson: “at bigger, pure commercial sets, you might not get this smaller work. That might seem like a strange thing to complain about, but it would mean you wouldn’t get into court as often. And that’s what being a barrister is all about”. He tells us that he is typically in court around three times a week. He had his first big trial last summer, where he was led by a silk in chambers. The trial, which was about rubber seals in cars, lasted three weeks and was “an incredible experience” — especially as they won the case!

There is certainly a steady stream of work for the juniors at Henderson. Denner says that he has never had to worry about not having enough work. Equally, he does not feel overworked. He says he typically works 40 to 50 hours a week, which is quite impressive for the bar. He typically won’t work weekends or late into the evening but there are inevitably crunch periods. A big advantage of commercial work is that there is usually a fair amount of lead-up time before a hearing, giving good time for preparation. He remains very happy at Henderson, continuing to benefit from the supportive environment and social events organised by the set.

Looking back to his pupillage application years, Denner tells us that “they felt like a lifetime at the time” but that in the long-run it is absolutely worth it. His three top tips for those applying this year are: first, when writing your application, treat it as a piece of written advocacy. Ensure that it is structured, and that you provide evidence for every claim. Second, when it comes to interviews, try and be relaxed. Acknowledging that it is easier said than done, Denner says it is important as it allows you to show your human side. Ultimately, those on an interview panel need to want to work with you. Finally, Denner says to stick with the application process. Even if you are not successful the first time, keep trying as it is worth it in the end. “Being a barrister is the best job in the world,” he gushes.

Harrison Denner will be speaking alongside other barristers at ‘Pupillage application masterclass — with Gatehouse, Henderson, Landmark, Radcliffe Chambers and 2 Temple Gardens’, a virtual student event taking place on Tuesday 24 January from 4-6pm. You can apply to attend the event, which is free, now.

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Legal Cheek is kicking off 2023 with a host of virtual events for both aspiring solicitors and barristers.

Whether you’re keen to know more about life as a transactional lawyer or seeking expert guidance on nailing a pupillage application, Legal Cheek‘s action-packed events schedule has you covered.

Also be sure to check out our Key Deadlines Calendar featuring firms and chambers specific application deadlines and events. You can also get alerts direct to your phone by downloading our iPhone or Android apps.

10 January: Life as a transactional lawyer — with Travers Smith

We’ll be joined virtually by lawyers from across a range of the firm’s headline transactional practice areas, including corporate, financial services and tax.

[Apply now]

17 January: How law firms help businesses operate ethically — with Hill Dickinson

With environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations high on the agenda in all sectors, and a hot commercial awareness topic of the moment, Hill Dickinson’s lawyers will be exploring how law firms help their clients conduct business ethically.

[Apply now]

19 January: Training contract application masterclass — with Hogan Lovells, Shoosmiths, Charles Russell Speechlys and ULaw

Hear from lawyers and graduate recruitment specialists at leading law firms Hogan Lovells, Shoosmiths and Charles Russell Speechlys, and a careers expert from The University of Law (ULaw), about what makes a successful training contract application.

[Apply now]

24 January: Pupillage application masterclass — with Gatehouse, Henderson, Landmark, Radcliffe Chambers and 2 Temple Gardens

We’ll be hearing from barristers from five leading chambers who successfully made their way through the hyper-competitive selection process to secure pupillage.

[Apply now]

1 February: Inside the countercyclical practice areas set to power law firms through the recession — with Womble Bond Dickinson

Get the lowdown from lawyers from Womble Bond Dickinson’s restructuring, insolvency and litigation teams about their recent work highlights, career journeys and how they tend to be busier than ever when recessions hit.

[Apply now]

3-5 April: The Legal Cheek Spring 2023 Virtual Vacation Scheme and Law Fair

This Scheme will feature a series of short talks, workshops and Q&As with lawyers from leading law firms, corresponding written exercises set by ULaw, as well as an employability Expo and a virtual Law Fair featuring over 40 firms.

[Apply now]

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A number of chambers have been commended for their training in Legal Cheek’s exclusive survey of over 600 junior barristers.

We asked rookies at the leading sets across England and Wales to rate the training they received from one to ten, with one described as ‘very poor’, and ten being described as ‘excellent’.

After crunching the numbers, we can reveal that 19 chambers made it to the shortlist, scoring an A* for their training. Below are the 19 chambers listed in alphabetical order:

Best chambers for training 2022

2 Temple Gardens
4 New Square
4 Pump Court
5 Essex Court
7BR
Blackstone Chambers
Cornerstone Barristers
Devereux Chambers
Exchange Chambers
Gatehouse Chambers
Hailsham Chambers
Henderson Chambers
Kings Chambers
Landmark Chambers
Littleton Chambers
Radcliffe Chambers
Serjeants’ Inn Chambers
Serle Court
Wilberforce Chambers

As part of this year’s survey, we also received hundreds of anonymous comments from junior barristers about the training they received. Here are a select few from some of the chambers listed above:

How would you describe the training you have received?

“The approach to pupillage at chambers is varied and diverse, and aims at ensuring you get to observe and handle cases in multiple areas of practice. The supervisors are wholly committed to your training and ensuring that you are included in preparing their cases — it is a very collaborative approach which simulates senior-junior teamwork. Once you are on your feet you are entrusted with covering other members’ cases, and they are always available to discuss matters and to ensure you are feeling confident and fully prepared to handle the complexity.”

“Chambers’ pupillage training covered three major practice areas. There was additional advocacy training run by chambers alongside the usual pupillage work. This complemented the training for pupils provided by the Inns.”

“I can’t think of a better way to equip barristers for the challenges and rigours of junior practice than our pupillage structure. Getting a thorough grounding in civil and criminal areas teaches you early what works before different tribunals, and gives you a head start when a criminal case requires some tricky drafting or a civil case requires some jury advocacy.”

“My pupillage was extremely well-structured and helpful, and even now more senior members of chambers are always on hand to deliver impromptu training, as well as there being more structured sessions on offer on a regular basis covering topics such as networking or social media use.”

“Pupil supervisors go above and beyond in making sure that you develop with each and every piece of work done. Feedback is constructive and has proved to be extremely useful in practice. Most importantly, the training does not end with pupillage and there is a real open door policy in chambers which is fantastic — being able to pick the brains of an experienced practitioner on a key point not only makes your work better but it also makes doing the job significantly less stressful, which is very welcome, especially when approaching new areas.”

“The training chambers provides is first-rate. One-to-one supervision, shadowing the leading experts in their fields, with regular, in-depth feedback, is at the core of pupillage at chambers. It also helps that all of the pupil supervisors here are totally human (they have a sense of humour) and humane (they will send you home at 6pm sharp).”

Aspiring pupils at the above elite sets should know the Pupillage Gateway, the centralised system to submit your application for pupillage, closes on Wednesday 9 February 2022.

The winner of this category will be announced at The Legal Cheek Awards 2022, sponsored by BARBRI, on Thursday 24 March 2022.

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Until the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), Henderson Chambers barrister Beatrice Graham was actually on track for a career as a solicitor.

At the time Graham, who had completed an English language & literature degree at the University of Oxford, had already secured a training contract at a magic circle law firm. After a year of studying the GDL, she realised that she was drawn more towards the bar — she was attracted by the academic rigour the profession brought and she wanted to have “a sense of ownership and oversight” over her work, she tells me. As a barrister, Graham enjoys getting to know her cases in detail and getting a chance to grapple with its legal issues thoroughly. Even when being led by a silk (sometimes known as a QC) as part of a counsel team, she is still able to have a degree of ownership in that she can feed into “big strategic decisions” about how the case is run, Graham explains.

For aspiring legal professionals who are unsure of whether to go down the barrister or solicitor route, Graham says the decision ultimately comes down to “your character” and “what you are looking for in your career”. Graham knew she wanted to be involved in litigation but for litigation solicitors, they “tend to be involved in the case for a long time before it reaches trial”. But barristers often go straight into trial prep and then into court, so turnover of work tends to feel “quicker and punchier”, she explains. Additionally, she feels there is more independence at the bar as you are self-employed. That does mean that you have the flexibility to control your flow of work but it also means that when you have a case and solicitors ask the hard questions, “the buck stops with you and your advice”. She acknowledges that this level of responsibility can be overwhelming and some aspiring lawyers may prefer working as part of a team in a solicitors’ firm. For her, it is “totally scary but really affirming when it goes well”.

It is this independence and self-belief that is crucial to succeeding at the bar. Graham also says it helps if aspiring barristers are “personable and easy to work with”. This is particularly important as it allows you to maintain strong relationships with solicitor clients, who ultimately provide barristers with repeat work. Although academic and intellectual ability are “right up there” in terms of importance, aspiring barristers also need to be able to think practically and strategically about how their advice can impact their client’s case. For example, and especially in lower value cases, a barrister must carefully consider the costs implications when advising whether to pursue litigation or consider settlement.

In terms of honing these skills, Graham recommends mini-pupillages. She herself completed about six minis in the space of two years. The benefits of undertaking mini-pupillages are threefold: firstly, you are able to get yourself on a chambers’ “radar”, becoming known to them ahead of applications or interviews. Secondly, you get a sense of whether you would be a good fit at that chambers, whether it has the right balance of court work and non-court work for you, and whether you would enjoy tenancy there. During a mini-pupillage you will usually spend one-on-one time with a barrister, often a junior tenant, which will give you a better understanding of what their role entails. Graham stresses you should factor this experience in when applying for pupillage. If a chambers does not seem to be quite what you are looking for during a mini-pupillage, you should think twice before applying to spend your whole pupillage year there. Thirdly, you get a flavour of the various practice areas on offer.

For those unable to secure mini-pupillage for whatever reason or who feel their experience of mini-pupillages has been disrupted by Covid, Graham stresses that this shouldn’t put them off applying for pupillage. Any experience, whether paid employment or any extra-curricular activities, can and should be used in your written applications and interviews. The aim is to “draw out what skills and qualities the work demonstrated and why those qualities are important at the bar”, she says. For example, she used her time as a university student representative to demonstrate advocacy skills and the Saturday job she’d held since school to show her ability to organise and manage her time. It doesn’t need to be legal work experience and it doesn’t need to be “glitzy”, she explains. Rather, all experiences can demonstrate certain skills so “focus less on the day-to-day content of non-legal work experience and focus more on the qualities it demonstrates about you”.

When it comes to submitting pupillage applications, Graham advises avoiding “a scattergun approach” — that is, sending generic applications to a lot of sets. This approach is unlikely to be successful. Instead, select your target chambers and spend time putting together a thorough application. Graham estimates that this will take “at least half a day” so advises that you begin working on the questions as soon as you can. When selecting chambers, ask yourself: “if I got an offer from this set for pupillage and it was my only offer, would I want go?”. To answer that question, it is important to know each of your target sets thoroughly. Start by reading their focused profiles on legal resources, such as The Legal Cheek Chambers Most List 2022.This will give you a great starting point on what the barristers, who will often be conducting the interviews, do and gives you an idea of the structure of pupillage at those sets. If you are applying to sets which undertake a broad range of work, look at how their barristers are ranked in legal directories and recent news items on the chambers’ website to work out the areas that set is excelling in. Equally important is speaking to barristers themselves, according to Graham: “Attend Legal Cheek events and be sure to stay for the post-Q&A networking!”

Reflecting on her journey and experiences so far, Graham rounds off her advice with this:

“It’s ok to be nervous about the process. Just remember, though the process is stressful, through it you are building the very qualities and resilience that you need to be a success at the job.”

Beatrice Graham will be speaking alongside other barristers at ‘How to secure pupillage — with Gatehouse Chambers, Henderson Chambers and Radcliffe Chambers’, a virtual student event taking place this week, on Thursday 20 January. You can apply to attend the event, which is free, now.

Follow @HendersonPupils

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Our colleagues can make or break our workplace experience — particularly in a profession renowned for being highly competitive and often quite demanding.

You might think that the lack of face-to-face interaction due to the pandemic would impact the ability of chamber-mates to reach out to one another, but you’d be mistaken. In fact, for some junior barristers, “lockdown has only served to intensify that support and collaboration across chambers”.

We put the question ‘How supportive are your colleagues?’ to over 600 bar rookies at 50 leading sets, as part of this year’s Legal Cheek survey. Respondents then rated their chambers for colleague support on a scale from one to ten — with ten being ‘Very supportive’ and one being ‘Not at all supportive’.

We’ve tallied up the totals and below is the shortlist, listed alphabetically, of the chambers that scored an A* for colleague supportiveness:

12 King’s Bench Walk
2 Temple Gardens
5 Essex Court
Hailsham Chambers
Hardwicke
Henderson Chambers
No5 Chambers
South Square
Wilberforce Chambers

As part of the survey, we gave the rookies themselves an opportunity to recall the moments when their peers really stepped up to the mark. Here are a select few anonymous comments from some of the chambers listed above.

“No matter what seniority without exception, people will make time for you to discuss any knotty issues or practical problems.”

“Genuinely could not ask for more supportive or helpful colleagues — whether it’s a phone call to talk through some tricky legal or procedural point, or just batting about questions on one of the many chambers’ WhatsApp groups.”

“My colleagues are part of my family and this view has only been reaffirmed since lockdown. We have multiple virtual meet-ups per week and my Microsoft Teams account buzzes throughout the day with messages and call requests for catch-ups. I cannot wait to get back into chambers to catch up with my friends in person.”

“From the most junior to the top silk, everyone in chambers is very supportive. We have an open door policy meaning each one of us is happy to chat through a problem with a colleague, personal or professional!”

“Could not be a friendlier or more supportive bunch. Everyone’s door is always open.”

Aspiring pupils at the above sets should know the Pupillage Gateway, the centralised system to submit your application for pupillage, closes on Monday 8 February.

The winning law firm in this category will be announced at The Legal Cheek Awards 2021, sponsored by BARBRI, on Thursday 25 March 2021.

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The competition for pupillage is no secret. Yet, news that pupillage numbers plummeted last year as chambers grappled with COVID uncertainty, suggest that the battle among bar hopefuls is fiercer than ever.

With the Pupillage Gateway deadline fast-approaching, a trio of barristers came together at Legal Cheek’s latest student event to discuss the dos and don’ts of applications. Here are the highlights.

The speakers

• Katrina Mather, barrister at Hardwicke, specialising in property, insolvency and commercial law
• Beatrice Graham, barrister at Henderson Chambers, with a broad civil commercial practice and specialising in group litigation
• Matthew Mills, barrister at Radcliffe Chambers, specialising in commercial chancery law

Do: Treat applications like a ‘piece of written advocacy’

Henderson Chambers’ Beatrice Graham encouraged aspiring barristers to treat each pupillage application like “a piece of written advocacy”. Especially as chambers “want to see how you reason, structure and justify your answers”, added Hardwicke’s Katrina Mather. Radcliffe Chambers’ Matthew Mills continued:

“Everyone has a story that makes them stand out. Find your unique selling point, even if it is not directly relevant to becoming a barrister. Turn your experiences into strengths to show what skills you can bring to the bar.”

Don’t: Believe mini pupillages are essential

When it comes to work experience, mini pupillages can offer budding barristers valuable insight into day-to-day life at chambers. But don’t be discouraged if your CV is missing one.

According to Mills, these elusive work placements aren’t an application criterion at Radcliffe Chambers. “We look for interest in the chancery bar,” he said, which can be demonstrated by attending virtual legal events, joining mentoring schemes, watching court proceedings online or simply talking about your favourite law subjects at university.

Another example of alternative work experience is paralegalling. “If you have experience as a paralegal, you can demonstrate that you understand how the litigation department in a law firm works, for example. This will help you as a barrister, ensuring you work in a way which helps your solicitors and builds your relationship with them — and that’s how you build your practice,” explained Graham.

Although COVID disruption has seen many mini pupillages postponed, moved online and even cancelled, “chambers are aware of the challenges currently faced by aspiring barristers”, said Mather. “It is to be expected that applications will have fewer mini-pupillages compared to previous years,” Graham added.

Don’t: Let nerves get the best of you

The panel also gave their tips on how to calm interview nerves. “Nerves are natural — practising barristers still get nervous before going into court,” Graham said. Confidence comes with preparation, however, with Mills advising applicants to practise answering common interview questions aloud.

Though you may face uncomfortable questions, Mather reminded the audience of 300 students to “see your interview as an opportunity to talk and debate with some of the most intelligent lawyers in the country”.

Don’t: Take rejection personally

The panel also advised on how to handle rejection if you don’t secure a pupillage the first time. Mills said:

“Firstly, try not to take it personally because it is not an assessment of you as a human being. It’s a matter of mark schemes and criteria. Secondly, nobody gets every pupillage they apply for. Thirdly, if you really want pupillage even after being rejected, it will be that much sweeter if and when you do get it.”

Although Mather secured pupillage the first time around, she did not receive tenancy. “There are so many stages to this career where you are going to get rejected. It is not a reflection of you or your ability, it is an imperfect process,” she said.

Graham then encouraged applicants to persevere. “If you keep applying, it is a good sign that you are resilient enough for the job. You are proving that you have the very skills needed to become a barrister.”

Do: Remember that being a barrister is more than just academics

The panel concluded by reflecting on what they wish they had known as a pupil barrister.

Graham revealed that she once thought a career at the bar might be lonely. “Whilst you need to be independent, you are entering an incredibly affirming, tight-knit world which is a great atmosphere to be a part of,” she explained.

Looking back at her training, Mather said: “I wish I could have appreciated that it is just a job. There are other things in life of equal importance. A work-life balance is essential to making such an intense job actually sustainable.”

Mills would have told his younger self that being a barrister is more than just academics, it’s also about being practical. He continued:

“By that I mean, working out how much you can actually say to a busy and stressed district judge in 15 minutes. How you can actually run a case when the one nervous witness you have confesses that they are going to ‘fall apart’ in the witness box. How you can actually run a claim when your client does not have the financial means to pay for legal services throughout the whole process. These are often the really important matters which junior barristers have to deal with.”

Over 300 joined us at today’s virtual student event: ‘How to secure pupillage – with @hardwickelaw, @HendersonPupils and @RadcliffeChmbrs'. Here is some of the key advice offered by our panel of barristers pic.twitter.com/kHZsYoTWrF

— Legal Cheek (@legalcheek) January 26, 2021

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A number of chambers have been commended for their training and quality of work off the back of Legal Cheek’s exclusive survey of over 600 junior barristers.

The findings are based on two questions put to rookies at the leading sets across England and Wales. They were asked to rate the training they received from one to ten, with one described as ‘very poor’, and ten being described as ‘excellent’. Rookies were also asked how stimulating their work is, on a sliding scale of ‘not at all stimulating’ to ‘highly stimulating’.

A total of six chambers feature in the shortlist for both categories. They are 4 New Square , 4 Pump Court, 5 Essex Court, Blackstone Chambers, Radcliffe Chambers, and Serjeants’ Inn Chambers.

Below are the results listed alphabetically:

Best chambers for training 2021

2 Temple Gardens
4 New Square
4 Pump Court
5 Essex Court
Blackstone Chambers
Hailsham Chambers
Hardwicke
Henderson Chambers
Keating Chambers
Radcliffe Chambers
Serjeants’ Inn Chambers

Best chambers for quality of work 2021

4 New Square
4 Pump Court
5 Essex Court
Blackstone Chambers
Brick Court Chambers
Cornerstone Barristers
Devereux Chambers
Fountain Court Chambers
Kings Chambers
Landmark Chambers
Radcliffe Chambers
Serjeants’ Inn Chambers
Wilberforce Chambers

As part of this year’s survey, we also received hundreds of anonymous comments from junior barristers about the training they received. Here are a select few from some of the chambers listed above:

How would you describe the training you have received?

“The training in chambers never stops. Fantastic advocacy training, an annual internal lecture series where more senior members pass on their knowledge to all members of chambers and regular informal chats lead to a brilliant culture of learning within chambers.”

“Pupillage was exceptional, no other way to put it. Each of my supervisors were incredibly supportive and encouraging and have continued to be.”

“My pupil supervisors were fantastic, patient and skilled at disseminating what they knew — and importantly not freaked out by having a pupil arrive who was older than them! I still have an example of a pleading from one of them that I use as a model for brevity and effectiveness.”

“Chambers runs a dedicated in-house pupillage training programme, involving advocacy exercises in front of senior members of chambers and High Court judges. Each piece of work done in pupillage also receives individual written feedback which is collated and reviewed over the year. A mentoring scheme provides continuing support and guidance throughout the first few years of tenancy. The quality of work available at all levels provides the best on-the-job training you can get.”

“Pupillage was excellent. The supervisors were leaders in their fields and the overall supportive and welcoming approach to pupillage was much appreciated. I wouldn’t be the practitioner I am today without the training I went through, and so much of my written and oral advocacy is a (hopefully good) reflection of my supervisors’ and other colleagues’ own work.”

How stimulating is the work you do?

“What’s not to like? Constantly changing law; need to understand a number of different areas of law, including public law, company law, trust law, procedural law, etc.”

“The range of work in my practice is huge and offers me a series of challenges in completely unconnected fields. End of life cases (whether incapacitated patients should be given treatment); transgender issues — acting for the child of the first trans man in the UK to give birth; fertility cases — where treatment goes wrong (swapped test tubes etc); GMC disciplinary cases (a range of cases from doctors euthanising patients to sleeping with them); acting for HNW individuals where capacity/vulnerability issues arise — recently acting for a foreign Royal in a high-profile divorce etc. There is never a dull moment.”

“Totally absorbing: every case is like a massive chess match. Cutting edge law, global clients and v high stakes: what’s not to like? It’s why you come to the bar. I have been in two other silver circle sets — my set is the best by miles.”

“I’m a junior member of chambers but regularly get instructed in cases that make national and international headlines. The areas of law we are working in are at the forefront of public debate. I am constantly involved in cases that make new law.”

“I spent this week on two cases: (1) preparing a defence for a multi-million-pound property dispute involving negligence and breach of fiduciary which will go to a big trial in the Rolls Building, with big City firms and multiple barristers on both sides; and (2) being admitted to the bar of the British Virgin Islands and conducting a Zoom hearing in the BVI Commercial Court for the liquidator of an international business with claims in multiple Caribbean jurisdictions. That kind of week is not unusual in chambers — for silks or juniors.”

Aspiring pupils at the above elite sets should know the Pupillage Gateway, the centralised system to submit your application for pupillage, closes on Monday 8 February.

The winning chambers in each category will be announced at the Legal Cheek Awards 2021 taking place virtually on Thursday 25 March.

The post Revealed: The best chambers for training and quality of work 2021 appeared first on Legal Cheek.

Beatrice Graham, now a barrister at Henderson Chambers, began her journey in law as an English language & literature undergraduate at the University of Oxford.

Graham was originally on the path to become a solicitor having secured a training contract at a magic circle law firm during her second year at Oxford. However, it was during the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) that she decided to pursue a career at the bar instead, drawn to the independence and academic rigour that life as a barrister would offer.

Graham completed six mini pupillages at a range of civil chambers gaining experience of public, commercial and chancery work. She then secured pupillage at commercial chancery set XXIV Old Buildings.

Before starting her pupillage, Graham worked as a paralegal at Bird & Bird and Mishcon de Reya, specialising in contentious matters at both firms. This served as valuable experience, giving Graham exposure to work relevant to the bar and a head start at building relationships with solicitors. “The firms knew that I was soon to start pupillage so they funnelled relevant work my way: I was involved in case research, writing case summaries, drafting instructions to counsel and, at Bird & Bird, supporting the team during a ten-week commercial court trial”, Graham explains.

She used her time as a paralegal to “polish any rough edges so I was raring to go when I started my pupillage”, she tells me when we speak. She adds: “It was also really useful to see how a firm worked and understand the pressures on litigation solicitors. That helps you do everything you can, once at the bar, to make your instructing solicitors’ lives easier.”

Now a tenant at Henderson Chambers, day-to-day life varies greatly and a typical week involves Graham spreading her time across several matters. “Normally I would spend two to three days in the week working on a larger, ongoing case. For me, that’s often been a commercial group action where I work in a counsel team, rather than alone. The other days would usually be taken up with one or two hearings — perhaps possession work or a small contractual dispute — with the balance being taken up by drafting or advice on matters where I’m instructed at an earlier stage. COVID hasn’t changed that routine hugely but court happens remotely.”

Indeed, one of the biggest changes to Graham’s work since the coronavirus hit is the move to online hearings. “I’m very impressed with how the profession has adapted and how everyone, from court ushers to judges, has done their best to make sure things run smoothly,” she says. “Online advocacy can be a bit more tiring: there aren’t the visual cues that you’d have in-person so it can be more difficult with witnesses and litigants in person.”

For aspiring barristers looking to secure pupillage Graham highlights the importance of gaining broad work experience. “Find out if you’re interested in criminal, civil, or family work, and then demonstrate you’re serious about entering that part of the profession,” she says. Mini pupillages are a useful way of doing this, and many have moved online: “Remember — a mini pupillage is as much about you seeing the chambers as it is about the chambers seeing you. Often students forget that chambers which do similar work, vary hugely in character, size and the types of cases coming in,” Graham advises.

Developing your skillset is equally important. With heavy restrictions and social distancing currently in place, the pandemic has made developing advocacy and mooting skills more of a challenge but “think creatively”, Graham emphasises. “If your usual route to advocacy has been cut off because of COVID think laterally about what ‘advocacy’ can be. Find ways to develop your skills in a non-legal setting — you don’t have to be in a courtroom”. She suggests that doing charity work where you represent another person’s interests or working for your student union and advocating on behalf of students can all be used to show that you have an ability to persuade.

Those seeking pupillage should take comfort to hear that it’s very common to do a few rounds of applications. Graham tells me that she secured pupillage during her second round of applications when she took a more focused approach. “I changed tack”, she explains, “I focused on the type of work I wanted to do and tailored my applications carefully to the chambers I was applying to. It meant I applied to fewer sets but had longer to spend on each application”. Graham advises those in the process of applying for pupillage to adopt a similar approach.

Over the course of her two years of applications she secured around five first round interviews. “So don’t worry if you don’t have endless interviews lined up — you only need one final round interview to be successful,” she says. And it takes preparation to get there: “If you have a CV interview the best thing you can do is practise — whether that’s with family, friends or in a more formal setting (your university, law school or Inn of Court may all offer mock interviews), make sense of the narrative your CV tells and practise getting across what you want to convey,” she adds.

Graham further encourages applicants not to be put off by interviews taking place over video calls during the pandemic. “Remember everyone’s in exactly the same boat so you’re not disadvantaged compared to the other candidates. Take those steps that make you feel like you’re doing your pupillage interview — whether it’s going for a walk beforehand to feel like you’re arriving for your interview or putting on a suit, even if you have to log in from your kitchen table.”

Securing pupillage is a competitive process and so it’s inevitable to face rejection along the way but “be kind to yourself”, Graham encourages. “There’s no use chastising yourself. Instead, reflect on the parts of the interview that may not have gone to plan and ask for feedback. Feedback is your best weapon for going into your next round of applications and interviews because it allows you to make necessary changes. Also take time to reflect as you start a new round of applications on how far your CV has come since the previous round — that experience may well make a crucial difference.”

Beatrice Graham will be speaking alongside other barristers at ‘How to secure pupillage — with Hardwicke, Henderson Chambers and Radcliffe Chambers’, a virtual student event taking place next week, on Tuesday 26 January. You can apply to attend the event, which is free, now.

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A top commercial chambers will now push ahead with its pupillage recruitment programme for this year, just 24 hours after it announced it had been cancelled due to the virus pandemic.

Yesterday, Legal Cheek brought you the news that Henderson Chambers had withdrawn from the 2021-22 pupillage recruitment cycle, with the set pointing out all of its members were now working from home in accordance with government guidance and interviews would therefore need to be conducted by video conferences.

“We simply cannot be confident that interviews conducted this way would be a fair reflection of candidates’ abilities,” the set said in a statement confirming the cancellation.

But following productive discussions with the Bar Council, Henderson this morning confirmed it has now postponed rather than cancelled this year’s pupillage programme.

It said: “Following our announcement yesterday morning, we are pleased to be able to report that the Bar Council has been able to offer us the opportunity to defer the current round of pupillage interviews and offer making (for pupillage commencing 2021-22) until the summer and autumn, so long as offers are made before the Bar Standards Board introduces the single mandatory recruitment timetable on 1 November 2020.”

The statement continued:

“We are grateful for this change of position and it enables us to postpone rather than cancel this pupillage round. The recruitment round remains suspended for the moment, but candidates who had been selected for first round interview will, depending on the prevailing circumstances, be interviewed later on in 2020. We would like to thank the Bar Council for taking this action at this most difficult time.”

Legal Cheek’s Chambers Most List shows Henderson recruits two pupils each year on awards of £70,000, and accepts applications exclusively through the Gateway.

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Henderson Chambers has cancelled it pupillage recruitment programme for this year as a result of the extraordinary circumstances presented by the coronavirus pandemic.

The leading London commercial set confirmed all members of chambers were now working from home in line with government guidance and interviews would therefore need to be conducted by three or four-way video conferences.

“In view of increasing pressures on telephone and video conferencing facilities and their capacity”, the chambers said, “we simply cannot be confident that interviews conducted this way would be a fair reflection of candidates’ abilities”.

In light of this, Henderson confirmed it was with “much regret” it had taken the difficult decision to withdraw from 2021-2022 recruitment cycle.

It confirmed it will restart its pupillage campaign for 2022-2023 in November 2020.

Legal Cheek’s Chambers Most List shows the Temple-based set recruits two pupils each year on awards of £70,000, and accepts applications exclusively through the Gateway.

Today’s statement added:

“As ever, we remain committed to supporting and encouraging the careers of aspiring barristers. Candidates who had been selected for interview with us have been notified and offered support. We will also be running an online advice clinic for anybody concerned about their career in the current circumstances, via our Twitter feed.”

In the wake of the pandemic, chambers now face a difficult balancing act between honouring pupillage interview offers and adhering to ever stricter government advice. Legal Cheek understands a number of the country’s leading sets are now assessing their options, with further suspensions and cancelations likely in the coming weeks.

To further complicate matters, the Bar Standards Board confirmed earlier this week that all centralised assessments on the Bar Professional Training Course (civil litigation, criminal litigation and professional ethics) had been postponed until at least August 2020. This in turn has raised concerns among bar hopefuls that they may not be able to honour pupillage start dates.

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From “very active” juniors’ WhatsApp groups to the set’s most illustrious silk offering a helping hand; having the support from your chamber mates can make all the difference, particularly in a profession considered to be hyper competitive and fairly solitary.

We put the question ‘How supportive are your colleagues?’ to over 600 bar rookies at 50 leading sets, as part of this year’s Legal Cheek survey. Respondents then rated their chambers for colleague support on a scale from one to ten — with one defined as ‘Dog-eat-dog’, and ten as ‘Vegan commune’.

Ten sets stood out from the rest. Below are the results, listed alphabetically, for best chambers for colleague supportiveness 2020.

The winner will be announced at the Legal Cheek Awards 2020 at Sea Containers, London, on Thursday 26 March.

• 1 Crown Office Row
• 11KBW
• 2 Temple Gardens
• 5 Essex Court
• Cornerstone Barristers
• Exchange Chambers
• Hailsham Chambers
• Henderson Chambers
• Keating Chambers
• Landmark Chambers

As part of this year’s survey we received hundreds of anonymous comments from barristers on the support they receive from their peers. Comments varied from “we keep each other sane” to “we’re genuinely friends, not just colleagues”. Here are a select few from some of the chambers listed above:

How supportive are your colleagues?

“Almost anyone (however busy) is ready and willing to proffer advice, and if you have an issue to think things through and provide a considered answer. People regularly send ‘hive mind’ emails within chambers, asking whether anyone has come across a particularly tricky issue, or has experience of a particular jurisdiction or (more esoteric) type of hearing.”

“I have called in a panic from the bathrooms of courts on more than one occasion and there has always been someone to help me.”

“It’s a great community — I can always find multiple people to help talk something over and we’re genuinely friends, not just colleagues. Going on holiday with other members of chambers is very common, especially at the junior end.”

“We have a very active juniors’ WhatsApp group which is invaluable for novel or tricky legal questions. There is also a juniors’ BBQ over the summer.”

“Hugely supportive colleagues (behind one’s back as well as to one’s face — often hearing from solicitors how a colleague has bigged us up to them).”

“Outstandingly supportive colleagues who are prepared to interrupt whatever they are doing to help, encourage and guide junior members of chambers (and everyone else for that matter) without making you feel a twit.”

The winning chambers will be announced at the Legal Cheek Awards 2020 at Sea Containers, London, on Thursday 26 March.

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A number of chambers have been commended for their training and quality of work in Legal Cheek‘s exclusive survey of over 600 junior barristers.

The findings are based on two questions put to rookies at the leading sets across England and Wales. They were asked to rate the training they received from one to ten, with one described as ‘barely any’, and ten being on par with the no-doubt gruelling training regime of famed survivalist ‘Bear Grylls’; and whether they thought this work was as stimulating as the brusque ‘Lord Sugar’ or Supreme Court supremo ‘Lord Sumption’.

A total of four chambers feature in the shortlist for both categories. They are 4 Pump Court, 5 Essex Court, Hardwicke and Wilberforce Chambers. Below are the results listed alphabetically:

Best chambers for training 2020

2 Temple Gardens
4 New Square
4 Pump Court
5 Essex Court
Devereux Chambers
Hardwicke
Kings Chambers
Landmark Chambers
Monckton Chambers
Wilberforce Chambers

Best chambers for quality of work 2020

4 Pump Court
5 Essex Court
Blackstone Chambers
Brick Court Chambers
Hailsham Chambers
Hardwicke
Henderson Chambers
Littleton Chambers
Radcliffe Chambers
Serjeants’ Inn Chambers
Serle Court
Wilberforce Chambers

As part of this year’s survey we also received hundreds of anonymous comments from junior barristers about the training they received. Here are a select few from some of the chambers listed above:

How would you describe the training you have received?

“Pupillage training here was quite intense and formative: for instance, we had a week before pupillage formally started where we sat in the Head of Pupillage’s office and he personally gave us a refresher course on drafting. We had advocacy exercises to prepare us for our second six and received excellent training in preparing for our first few trials. Feedback throughout the pupillage process was regular and detailed. My first supervisor had a weekly ‘check-in’ with me. Overall, I would say that as a pupil I felt immensely supported.”

“When I joined chambers my legal skills were like soft clay. Now, they are like the impossible abs of a Greek marble statue: smooth, sculpted and cool to the touch.”

“I had three pupil supervisors all of whom took silk, and one became a High Court judge. All were very conscientious and helpful. I still channel them every time I do a piece of work, and repeat their aphorisms verbatim to my own pupils.”

“We have a roving series of lectures and talks, ongoing advocacy training from an Inner Temple advocacy lead, a significant budget for training (which is to include GDPR compliance training in the coming months) and supportive clerks who accommodate training opportunities into our budget. Our pupillage programme is also first rate: we ensure that pupils receive bespoke training which addresses any issues they are having, as well as assisting them to obtain tenancy.”

“It doesn’t stop once pupillage is over. Just last week one of our silks ran a cross-examination master class using a transcript from one of their cases and some other materials from the trial.”

How stimulating is the work you do?

“A large amount of my work has actually involved appearing before Lord Sumption so yes, it’s a ten. We are very privileged indeed here — the most important and interesting cases regardless of practice area come through the door.”

“For every junior at the bar there’s a balance to be struck between being the 19th junior in charge of paperclips on some multi-billion pound trial and being on your own for the 22nd day in a row on a car smash in a county court that’s a nine-hour train ride away. I think we get a really good balance — juniors are led quite a lot in high-profile cases but chambers is also keen to ensure that juniors are instructed as sole counsel in High Court cases as soon as possible.”

“The work done by chambers is consistently cutting-edge, interesting, and (more often than not) has a fair few zeros involved.”

“I’m never bored. There is always something knotty to get stuck into, and even when the matter is relatively simple or straightforward, the client/solicitors/something else keeps it interesting.”

“Really cracking mix of gruesome, fascinating clinical negligence work and heavy commercial trials. Covering everything from Kenyan history to the Saudi-Qatar diplomatic crisis and acquired brain injury cases.”

“The vast majority of our work is the most stimulating possible: cases about real people and real life. As their lawyers, we make decisions with actual consequences, whilst also dealing with challenging and ever-changing areas of law and sets of facts which are endlessly varied, sometimes harrowing, occasionally hilarious, and always memorable.”

Students punting for pupillage at the above elite sets should know the Pupillage Gateway, the centralised system to submit your application for pupillage, closes this week, on Friday 7 February.

The winning chambers in each category will be announced at the Legal Cheek Awards 2020, held at Sea Containers House, the swish riverside building located on London’s South Bank, on Thursday 26 March.

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Students took the opportunity to cross-examine a variety of experienced practitioners at Legal Cheek’s ‘How to make it as a barrister’ Secrets to Success event in partnership with The University of Law (ULaw), uncovering a range of valuable tips for success along the way.

The event, held at ULaw’s Bloomsbury campus in December, featured three panels: pupils and juniors — under seven years call; seniors — over seven years call; and practice managers. A total of 13 chambers were represented. Here are some of the highlights.

The speakers

Panel 1: Pupils and juniors — under seven years call
Grahame Anderson, Littleton Chambers
Harrison Denner, Henderson Chambers
Clare Elliott, Hailsham Chambers
Mark Jones, ULaw and No5 Chambers
William Richardson, LPC Law
Alex Shattock, Landmark Chambers

Panel 2: Seniors — over seven years call
Tina Kyriakides, Radcliffe Chambers
Tom Cosgrove QC, Cornerstone Barristers
Morayo Fagborun Bennett, Hardwicke
Jonathan Seitler QC, Wilberforce Chambers
Gareth Tilley, Serle Court
Claire Watson, Serjeants’ Inn Chambers

Panel 3: Practice managers
Catherine Calder, Serjeants’ Inn Chambers
Oliver Miney, 4 Pump Court
Paul Read, 5 Essex Court

The junior panel agreed that applicants can, to a large extent, mitigate for weak A-Levels or not attending a Russell Group university. Harrison Denner, of Henderson Chambers, said his chambers did not distinguish between different universities and degree classification was more important as its only criteria was that candidates demonstrate academic excellence. Clare Elliott of Hailsham Chambers suggested giving a reason on the application form for poor A-Level results, if appropriate, for example, an ill relative or parent. Mark Jones, ULaw future pupil programme coordinator and future pupil at Birmingham’s No5 Chambers, said 90% of what he spoke about in interviews concerned mooting, pro bono work or other extra-curricular, non-academic subjects. However, some chambers tend to recruit only from Oxbridge, which applicants can ascertain by checking tenants’ profiles.

Work experience can prove extremely useful. Denner’s year as a paralegal at a US law firm helped him to “demonstrate a commitment to law generally” and to show he was able to cope with deadlines and a pressured environment. William Richardson, a future pupil, spoke about his work as a county court advocate at LPC Law, which he described as “barrister-lite” since he goes to court, delivers arguments, examines witnesses and drafts notes but can’t advise a client. This is “directly applicable experience” that he was able to draw on in his applications.

On tailoring answers to chambers in application forms and explaining why you want to be a barrister, Elliott advised that applicants should express an interest in the areas that chambers covers (and should not rely on the chambers website but check sources such as Legal Cheek or Legal 500 rankings to find out where the set’s strengths lie). “If you are applying to a commercial/chancery set where you’re unlikely to be in court often and you say you love advocacy and being on your feet then you have misplaced what life at that chambers is going to be like,” said Elliott. “Applicants should also say, ‘I want to do this because…’ and link back to examples of things they have previously done or achieved, rather than make bare assertions,” she added.

The final question to the panel was why they chose to be a barrister not a solicitor. Their answers ranged from “because I like the sound of my own voice” through to “the independence I have as captain of my own ship”, “my work experience and mini-pupillages made my mind up for me” and “in litigation all the most interesting parts go to the barrister at the end”.

Among the senior barristers, Jonathan Seitler QC, of Wilberforce Chambers, warned it “can be brilliant but not always easy and can take time” to switch practice areas — he swapped from criminal to property law.

In the past ten years, several aspects of life as a barrister have changed, for example, there are now hearings about costs budgeting and disclosure of documents, and evidence now tends to involve screeds of emails, texts and messages.

Tom Cosgrove QC, of Cornerstone Barristers, said barristers now have to be available 24 hours and work is much more competitive, with chambers having to think more about marketing and brand awareness. Tina Kyriakides, of Radcliffe Chambers, agreed: “When I started, you weren’t allowed to advertise at all, you couldn’t even walk across the Strand carrying your wig and gown. Now you have to build a brand name.” Clare Watson, of Serjeants’ Inn Chambers, said a lot of her work is now done remotely, but stressed the importance of interpersonal skills.

Morayo Fagborun Bennett, Hardwicke, said the biggest change she’d seen was the reduction in legal aid provision and increase in number of litigants representing themselves, which meant worthwhile cases often couldn’t be brought. She gave the example of a “housing disrepair case with a tenant last Christmas where I was desperately trying to find a solicitor or someone from a law centre to take the case on, I offered to help with pleadings but didn’t find anyone. In the end I took the case and managed to get her £15,000, which is quite a lot for a disrepair case, but she wouldn’t have been able to get that otherwise because of her vulnerability”.

Watson said students should remember to include life experiences outside of mooting and voluntary work when applying to the bar. For example, she used to work as a receptionist at a GP’s surgery on Saturdays and that taught her resilience — a valuable quality for a barrister.

Bennett reminded pupils and junior barristers to look after their wellbeing, whether that be through swimming, yoga or some other activity, because being a barrister is a tough job, and also to talk to each other. For example, if a judge is foul to you then you may think it’s your fault but if you share that experience then you might find out they’re always like that, she said. “So, take care of yourself and talk to each other.”

The third panel gave the perspective of practice managers. Catherine Calder, joint chief executive, Serjeant’s Inn, said she found being part of a team making a difference to people in crisis the most fulfilling part of her job. The biggest challenge was “how to modernise while retaining the special cachet and character of the bar. Of course clients expect us to be cutting-edge in terms of service delivery and we have to advance to meet the demands of a changing profession — but we don’t want to change into just another anonymous corporate machine”.

On which key skills they looked for in barristers, Paul Read, team leader, 5 Essex Court, said the best attribute a barrister can have is the ability to establish trust, and they do that by doing what they say they’ll do and fulfilling their obligations over time. Oliver Miney, deputy senior clerk, 4 Pump Court, highlighted the need for common sense as well as interpersonal skills. When marketing, he suggested barristers “play to their strengths” whether that be through seminars or taking clients for drinks. All three emphasised the importance of marketing and commercial nous. Miney added: “Gone are the days of the ivory tower when barristers could hide in their lovely rooms overlooking Temple. They need to be out there, being approachable.”

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“I don’t want to put anyone off but it’s a tiring, frustrating, debilitating process that only gets better at the very end — then it is the best day of your life,” says barrister Harrison Denner, of London commercial set Henderson Chambers.

He’s talking about pupillage applications, of course — not the year-long training itself but the famously arduous process that all rookie barristers must endure, of actually persuading chambers to take you on as a pupil in the first place.

“A lot of people spend years applying for pupillage. I made 40-50 applications in total over two years. Each one has to be specific to those chambers so it is tiring — but it is worth it.” Denner, an Oxford University graduate in jurisprudence, completed an LL.M. at University College London before his Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC).

He wasn’t offered pupillage the first time round so “had a year to kill”, which he spent in what proved to be the very valuable experience of working as a paralegal at US firm Simpson Thacher’s London office. For the uninitiated, Simpson Thacher is a top US firm (and pays among the highest salaries in London to its newly qualified lawyers). The areas of law — mergers and acquisitions, capital markets deals and IPOs — may have been at odds with Denner’s future practice area of group actions and product liability but the experience of working in a law firm is always relevant to the bar as it provides an insight into the way clients operate. He says:

“It gave me something to talk about at interview and also helped me to develop soft skills in a professional environment. The job involved long hours, working into the night fairly often, there were lulls but these would be followed by extended periods of working — much like life as a junior barrister at chambers.”

These days, Denner does mainly defendant work in product liability — Henderson Chambers is widely regarded as the leading set on product liability in the country. Examples of his recent cases include acting for a pharmaceutical company alleged to have supplied a defective drug and working in a large team on behalf of a car manufacturer alleged to have fitted “prohibited defeat devices” in its cars.

So, how often does he go to court? “I have a mix of working on massive group actions, which rarely go to court and, when they do, I don’t say anything because there are more senior barristers involved,” he says. “and I also do smaller cases that I run myself, doing all the advocacy and cross-examination. I have been pretty busy with the former lately. It’s hard to say how often I go to court because it varies so much. Standing up in court is a little nerve-wracking, but the more you do the more you get used to it. You can never be certain what’s going to happen, or what the other side and the witnesses are going to say, so you have to be ready for the unexpected. I like cross-examination the most, but I also really enjoy research and building an argument, the part of advocacy that is done outside of court.”

When applying for pupillage, Denner found that each chambers had a slightly different approach. At one, he spent an entire day taking part in exercises with all the other would-be pupils who’d been called to the final interview stage. Some chambers asked specific legal questions. Others asked quite soft questions such as, “why do you want to be a barrister, and why do you want to do this particular area of law?”

Candidates will have to demonstrate that they are, academically, up to the job. At interview, “they are looking for someone who is a capable advocate, who has a certain level of eloquence, expresses themselves in a clear fashion and is able to stand their ground. That comes with experience and you don’t necessarily have that at the first pupillage interview — I got better at it with practice. A lot of these chambers are quite small, collegiate environments so it is important that you are quite personable and able to get along with people. You don’t want to come across as wooden. It’s about both preparation and being relaxed on the day. You should do all your preparation in advance and be on top of the chambers website, for example, by reading about a recent case that they were involved with. But you also have to have confidence and enough assuredness on the day to not appear cripplingly nervous.”

To find out if the chambers is the right one for you, mini-pupillages are the primary route. Denner did a mini-pupillage at Henderson in 2013, “and that was one of the main deal clinchers for me because everyone was extremely friendly and I had a great time”. When deciding which chambers to apply to, Denner suggests dividing them up by areas of law and being realistic about comparing yourself with recent junior tenants. Extra-curricular activities will also stand applicants in good stead. Denner did debates at school and university, and mooting at university. He also volunteered at the legal clinic at university and, outside of the law, plays the piano and enjoys tennis.

Harrison Denner will be speaking at Legal Cheek’s latest bar student event, ‘How to make it as a barrister’, on Wednesday evening at The University of Law’s Bloomsbury campus in London. Check out the full speaker roster here. You can apply to attend the event, which is free, now.

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The speakers have been announced for ‘How to make it as a barrister’ — Legal Cheek’s annual event for students interested in a career at the bar.

Taking place on Wednesday next week (4 December) from 5:30pm to 8:30pm at The University of Law’s London Bloomsbury campus, the free event features three panel sessions — each chaired by a Legal Cheek journalist — followed by drinks, canapés, networking and a law fair.

Panel 1: Juniors — under seven years call

The event kicks off with a 30-minute panel session featuring pupils and junior barristers.

• Grahame Anderson, barrister at Littleton Chambers
• Harrison Denner, barrister at Henderson Chambers
• Clare Elliott, barrister at Hailsham Chambers
• Mark Jones, future pupil programme coordinator at ULaw and future pupil barrister at No5 Chambers
• William Richardson, County Court advocate at LPC Law and future pupil barrister at 5 Pump Court
• Alex Shattock, barrister at Landmark Chambers

Panel 2: Seniors — over 12 years call

Next up is the seniors.

• Tina Kyriakides, barrister at Radcliffe Chambers
• Tom Cosgrove QC, barrister at Cornerstone Barristers
• Morayo Fagborun Bennett, barrister at Hardwicke
• Jonathan Seitler QC, barrister at Wilberforce Chambers
• Gareth Tilley, barrister at Serle Court
• Claire Watson, barrister at Serjeants’ Inn Chambers

Panel 3: Practice managers

And the panels round off with a practice manager session, giving students a multi-perspective insight into a career at the bar.

• Catherine Calder, joint chief executive, Serjeants’ Inn Chambers
• Oliver Miney, deputy senior clerk, 4 Pump Court
• Paul Read, team leader, 5 Essex Court

After the panel sessions there are drinks, nibbles, networking and a law fair with the following chambers: Cornerstone Barristers, 5 Essex Court, Hardwicke, Hailsham Chambers, Henderson Chambers, Landmark Chambers, Littleton Chambers, LPC Law, 4 Pump Court, Radcliffe Chambers, Serjeants Inn, Serle Court and Wilberforce Chambers.

The final batch of places for ‘How to make it as a barrister’ are now available. Apply to attend. You’ll be asked to submit a CV and two questions for the panel.

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The legal profession has celebrated the top rookie-rated law firms and chambers of the year in a glitzy ceremony held at the top of London’s iconic Cheesegrater skyscraper.

This year’s Legal Cheek Awards, sponsored by BARBRI International, took place on Thursday evening in Landing Forty Two of the tapering City of London tower officially known as the Leadenhall Building. Three-hundred guests from the UK’s leading corporate law firms and barristers’ chambers donned their sharpest suits and highest heels to ascend the escalators and glass-panelled lifts for the exclusive ceremony, hosted by Legal Cheek founder Alex Aldridge.

Before the Awards bash got underway, Sarah Hutchinson, BARBRI International managing director, presented the findings of Legal Cheek‘s Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) survey, before the audience were treated to the premiere of a short film, produced exclusively for the event by the Legal Cheek team.

Legal Cheek student campus ambassadors presented no less than 23 gongs alongside a handful of sponsors and legal celebrities, including Love Island solicitor Rosie Williams.

So who won what? Read on to find out.

Best Law Firm for Training 2019: Osborne Clarke

Highly commended: Ashurst, Bristows, Burges Salmon, Clifford Chance, Hogan Lovells, Linklaters, Macfarlanes, Mayer Brown, Norton Rose Fulbright, Pinsent Masons, Taylor Wessing, Travers Smith, Walker Morris

Best Law Firm for Quality of Work 2019: Shearman & Sterling

Highly commended: Bristows, Farrer & Co, Fladgate, Foot Anstey, Gowling WLG, Kirkland & Ellis, Macfarlanes, Milbank, Mills & Reeve, Osborne Clarke, Ropes & Gray, Taylor Wessing, Travers Smith, Walker Morris

Best Law Firm for Peer Support 2019: Mayer Brown

Highly commended: Baker McKenzie, Bristows, Burges Salmon, Farrer & Co, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Irwin Mitchell, Linklaters, Osborne Clarke, Pinsent Masons, PwC, Simmons & Simmons, Taylor Wessing, White & Case

Best Law Firm for Partner Approachability 2019: Womble Bond Dickinson

Sponsored by Carter Corson, business psychologists supporting high-profile organisations, particularly professional services firms.

Highly commended: Bird & Bird, Bristows, Clyde & Co, DAC Beachcroft, Eversheds Sutherland, Gowling WLG, Osborne Clarke, RPC, Ropes & Gray, Shoosmiths, Squire Patton Boggs, TLT, Taylor Wessing, Travers Smith

Best Law Firm for Work/Life Balance 2019: DWF

Sponsored by LawCare, the charity that supports and promotes mental health and wellbeing in the legal community throughout the UK and Ireland.

Highly commended: Ashfords, BLM, Blake Morgan, Browne Jacobson, Fieldfisher, Forsters, Irwin Mitchell, Mills & Reeve, Royds Withy King

Best Law Firm for Tech 2019: CMS

Sponsored by STEM Future Lawyers, the legal careers network for science, technology, engineering and maths students.

Highly commended: Addleshaw Goddard, Allen & Overy, Bird & Bird, Bristows, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, DWF, Gowling WLG, Osborne Clarke, Pinsent Masons

Best Law Firm for Perks 2019: Clifford Chance

Highly commended: Allen & Overy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Hogan Lovells, Kirkland & Ellis, Linklaters, Milbank, Ropes & Gray, Skadden, White & Case

Most Impressive Law Firm Office 2019: Gowling WLG

Highly commended: Allen & Overy, Bird & Bird, Burges Salmon, Clifford Chance, Kirkland & Ellis, Norton Rose Fulbright, Reed Smith, Ropes & Gray, Taylor Wessing

Best Law Firm Canteen 2019: Addleshaw Goddard

Highly commended: Bird & Bird, Burges Salmon, Clyde & Co, Gowling WLG, Jones Day, K&L Gates, Kirkland & Ellis, Linklaters, Taylor Wessing

Best Law Firm for Social Life 2019: Burges Salmon

Highly commended: Bristows, Browne Jacobson, Charles Russell Speechlys, K&L Gates, RPC, Taylor Wessing, Travers Smith, Walker Morris, Wedlake Bell

Best Law Firm for International Secondments 2019: White & Case

Sponsored by HBW Consulting, a boutique agency that works as a specialist extension to your graduate recruitment team, helping law firms with media strategy, spend and analysis.

Highly commended: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Clifford Chance, Debevoise & Plimpton, Dechert, HFW, Shearman & Sterling, Skadden, Stephenson Harwood, Watson Farley & Williams

Best Law Firm for Client Secondments 2019: Squire Patton Boggs

Highly commended: Baker McKenzie, Bird & Bird, Bristows, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Mayer Brown, Reed Smith, RPC, Walker Morris, Weightmans

Most Admired Law Firm 2019: Bird & Bird

Highly commended: Allen & Overy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Mishcon de Reya, Linklaters, Osborne Clarke, Slaughter and May

Legal Cheek Firm of the Year 2019: Taylor Wessing

Presented by BARBRI, the international legal qualifications specialist.

Highly commended: Bird & Bird, Bristows, Burges Salmon, Gowling WLG, Kirkland & Ellis, Linklaters, Osborne Clarke, Pinsent Masons, Travers Smith

Best Chambers for Training 2019: Hardwicke

Highly commended: 2 Temple Gardens, 5 Essex Court, 7 King’s Bench Walk, Atkin Chambers, Blackstone Chambers, Kings Chambers, Littleton Chambers, Serjeants’ Inn Chambers, Wilberforce Chambers

Best Chambers for Quality of Work 2019: Littleton Chambers

Sponsored by Bar Squared, legal tech company and developers of LEX, a leading software solution for barristers’ chambers.

Highly commended: 11KBW, 4 New Square, 5 Essex Court, Blackstone Chambers, Brick Court Chambers, Fountain Court Chambers, Landmark Chambers, Serjeants’ Inn, Wilberforce Chambers

Best Chambers for Colleague Supportiveness 2019: Cornerstone Barristers

Highly commended: Devereux Chambers, Exchange Chambers, Hardwicke, Henderson Chambers, Kings Chambers, Outer Temple Chambers, St John’s Chambers

Best Chambers for Facilities 2019: Exchange Chambers

Highly commended: 2 Temple Gardens, 3 Verulam Buildings, 39 Essex Chambers, 4 New Square, Blackstone Chambers, Cornerstone Barristers, Fountain Court Chambers, Hardwicke, Radcliffe Chambers

Best Chambers for Social Life 2019: Henderson Chambers

Highly commended: 1 Crown Office Row, 12 King’s Bench Walk, 2 Hare Court, 4 Pump Court, 5 Essex Court, Cornerstone Barristers, Keating Chambers, Radcliffe Chambers, XXIV Old Buildings

Most Admired Chambers 2019: Blackstone Chambers

Highly commended: One Essex Court, Brick Court Chambers, Matrix Chambers, Fountain Court Chambers, 1 Crown Office Row, Essex Court Chambers, 11KBW, Doughty Street Chambers, Landmark Chambers

Legal Cheek Chambers of the Year 2019: Radcliffe Chambers

Presented by BARBRI, the interntional legal qualifications specialist.

Highly commended: Blackstone Chambers, Cornerstone Barristers, 5 Essex Court, Exchange Chambers, Hardwicke, Henderson Chambers, Kings Chambers, Littleton Chambers, 2 Temple Gardens

Best Use of Social Media 2019: YouTuber Angeliculture

Highly commended: Vlogger Chrissie Wolfe (Law and Broader) and Irwin Mitchell, 5 Essex Court’s Instagram account, Linklaters and Eve Cornwell’s collab video, The Bar Council’s ‘#iamthebar’ Twitter campaign, Blogger Rosie Watterson (Apply.Shine.Win) and Herbert Smith Freehills, Shoosmiths’ Facebook Livestreams, The Secret Barrister, The UK Supreme Court’s Instagram, Shearman & Sterling’s video series, ‘Whiteboard Wednesday’

Best Legal Cheek Journal Contribution 2019: Max Aitchison for ‘Revenge porn: Love Island and the law’

Sponsored by LPC Law, a specialist firm of solicitors, focused on providing a high quality advocacy and clerking service to clients throughout England and Wales.

Highly commended: ‘Why our employment laws need some serious attention’ by Fraser Collingham, ‘The coming of the age of AI in the law’ by Soh Kian Peng, ‘Consensual sadomasochism is private sex — not violence’ by Gina Heung Lai Yin, ‘Should there be criminal liability for corporations?’ by Rodney Dzwairo, ‘What does artificial intelligence look like?’ by Nishant Prasad, ‘Should law firms be able to float?’ by Clive Wong, ‘Should sex offenders have access to the internet?’ by Maro Polykarpou, ‘Black Lives Matter: How to fix a failing criminal justice system?’ By Eeman Talha, ‘Owens v Owens: Has the time finally come for a ‘no-fault divorce’ system?’ By Thomas McGrath

The post And the winners of the Legal Cheek Awards 2019 are… appeared first on Legal Cheek.

What Brexit outcome do you most support? This question was put to 80 attendees in a poll at last week’s student event, ‘How will Brexit disarray affect future lawyers?’, at The University of Law (ULaw) Moorgate.

So, what were the results? While 52% of attendees were in favour of a second referendum, more commonly known as a ‘People’s Vote’, 25% supported a Norway-style deal, allowing continued access to the single market. Following closely behind, with 18% of the vote, was Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement — the final version of which has yet to be agreed. Bringing up the rear, and securing a mere 5%, was a ‘no deal’ scenario.

But what outcome did the panel of Brexit experts think will happen?

Sir Alan Dashwood QC — Henderson Chambers

First to offer insight was Henderson Chambers barrister Sir Alan Dashwood QC. Sir Alan explained that a ‘People’s Vote’ would be his preferred outcome but noted the difficulties in deciding a question to put to the electorate in a second referendum. The three alternatives would be: the Prime Minister’s deal, no deal and to remain in the European Union (EU).

According to Sir Alan, a more “politically saleable” outcome is the Norway-plus deal, which would see the UK join Norway inside the EU’s single market. In addition, to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, the UK would have to be part of a customs union with the EU, he explained.

Although confident that a parliamentary majority would stop a no deal scenario, Sir Alan did express some concern. In the event of no deal, he warned that lawyers possessing UK qualifications alone would lose their access to the EU legal market. This could see Sir Alan himself, who has appeared regularly before the EU courts for some 30 years, lose both his rights of audience and lawyer-client privileges.

However, drawing comparisons between Brexit and the uncertainty around the UK joining the EU in the mid 70s, Sir Alan ended on an optimistic note: “If the legal professions were able to adapt to that change as well as they did, I’m sure we’ll adapt to this one.”

Andrew Eaton — Hogan Lovells

Next up was Andrew Eaton, an associate at Hogan Lovells specialising in public law and policy, who recently released a lawyer’s guide to a no deal Brexit.

Eaton was quick to remind the audience that a second referendum is not actually a Brexit outcome, but rather a means to an outcome. This option postpones the difficult decision of whether to leave or remain in the EU. Now a key player in Hogan Lovells’ Brexit team, Eaton went on to suggest that the current political deadlock was making a hard Brexit more likely by the day.

Trevor Tayleur — The University of Law

ULaw associate professor Trevor Tayleur admitted that he had felt optimistic about a second referendum, with a view to remaining in the EU. This, Tayleur explained, stemmed from mounting backbencher support across political parties for a ‘People’s Vote’. However, with the Labour leader, Jeremey Corbyn, dismissing calls to support this option, Tayleur conceded that achieving majority support in parliament was unlikely. In light of this, Tayleur, who played a key role in creating ULaw’s EU syllabus during the mid 90s, predicted Brexit will be a “toss up” between May’s deal and no deal.

Tayleur also expressed his concern at the “game of chicken” occurring between the British government and the EU Commission. He noted that some on the British side (such as the pro-Brexit European Research Group) would be quite happy if the UK left the EU without an exit deal in place. Nonetheless, Tayleur assured the audience, “sanity will prevail.”

Lorraine Johnston — Ashurst

Looking ahead Ashurst counsel Lorraine Johnston predicted that the Brexit back and forth will continue until parliament finally passes May’s deal, with hours to spare before the Brexit deadline.

But facing a no deal scenario, Johnston, who often advises clients on regulatory developments impacting financial services, remained pragmatic. Law firms, she explained, are “quite agile” in response to change. Drawing comparisons between Brexit and the 2007 global financial crisis, Johnston stressed that law firms will see levels of activity move around different departments as client demands shift in the post Brexit world. She added: “Brexit is just change — we’ll all survive and might even come out of it stronger.”

James Webber — Shearman & Sterling

Shearman & Sterling partner James Webber believed a second referendum to be the most unlikely option. Webber, who specialises in UK and EU competition law, stressed: “This parliament was elected on delivering Brexit and it has repeatedly voted in favour of Brexit — so I think we have to say, Brexit is the most likely thing to happen.”

Weighing up “no deal or her [May’s] deal”, Webber anticipates the latter succeeding but remains positive either way. From the perspective of a US law firm, membership of the EU is unlikely to change London’s standing in the legal world. Rather, London’s ‘cluster effect’, which sees expertise from law, financial services and insurance all come together, ensures the City enjoys a comparative advantage in the global market.

For aspiring lawyers yearning to succeed in the post-Brexit world, Webber stressed the importance of political and commercial awareness. In a new age of lawyers, he explained, politics is becoming more intrusive on decisions traditionally made by technical experts. In which case, he added, “learning about politics is not a bad thing for lawyers to do.”

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Barristers have reputations for being lone wolves, slugging it out as individuals in court before returning to their lair where they prepare alone for the next battle. This approach to life hasn’t always made for the most friendly and vibrant of workplace cultures. Indeed, chambers can be little more than few corridors of closed doors organised around a central reception area.

And the solitary life might be getting even worse. With the advent of remote working some barristers are rarely at their set — splitting their time between court and home.

How, then, do you foster a collegiate atmosphere? As part of Legal Cheek’s Junior Barrister Survey we asked over 600 bar rookies at over 50 sets to rate their chambers for colleague supportiveness on a scale of one to ten. Eight stood out from the crowd scoring A*s. What is the secret to their success?

Firstly, you need to take active steps to make barristers hang out with each other. Traditionally that has been done through traditions such as chambers tea, where members are expected to congregate with each other daily at a set time. While this custom lives on at many sets, changing working patterns mean that it often isn’t well attended — particularly among junior members — as it used to be. Instead, we’re seeing more law firm-style ‘open door’ policies, where barristers are encouraged to make themselves available to each other.

Where this takes hold, it seems to work. At one A*-scorer, Cornerstone Barristers, one barrister tells us that the open door policy “means I never hesitate to ask questions and seek support”. Another adds: “Colleagues are endlessly kind and generous with their time, as well as genuinely interested in everyone’s endeavours and successes”.

Ensuring that senior members of chambers are on hand to help their less experienced colleagues is particularly important. That means fostering a culture that frowns on over self-reliance. A barrister at Hardwicke, which also got an A* in this category of the Legal Cheek Survey reports: “Got told off for sitting in silence when I was struggling with a case. Actively encouraged to ask questions and for pep talks, from everyone from reception to heads of chambers.”

QCs and other also need to make themselves visible. As one Devereux insider tells us: “There’s always somebody around to answer questions if you’re stuck, and senior members of chambers sometimes wander in to bounce ideas around — there is a very collegial atmosphere.”

At other sets, such as Outer Temple, the junior end of chambers is said to be “particularly close and supportive”

And it turns out that when you manage to actually get barristers together they can have fun. A dispatch from the Henderson Chambers frontline:

“Chambers is a fun place to work. Part of the reason for that is that all its members are nice people with a sense of humour. These characteristics also make it a very supportive environment. Members and staff are genuinely approachable and have the ability to make problems seem manageable. There is support for pupils everywhere they turn — from the silks, to the juniors to the clerks room.”

Barristers’ sharp wit and penchant for verbal back and forth is also said to be well-harnessed at northern powerhouse sets Exchange Chambers and Kings Chambers, which also bagged A* grades for colleague support.

And even when barristers are not working in chambers they can help each other out. We hear that among St John’s Chambers barristers in Bristol it’s not uncommon for there to be “phone calls with other members at 11:30pm and Bank Holidays”.

The sets that scored an A* for colleague support in the Legal Cheek Junior Barrister Survey

Chambers listed in alphabetical order; winner to be announced at the Legal Cheek Awards on 21 March 2019

Cornerstone Barristers
Devereux Chambers
Exchange Chambers
Hardwicke
Henderson Chambers
Kings Chambers
Outer Temple
St John’s Chambers

Peruse all of the chambers’ new 2018-19 survey scorecards — including training, quality of work, colleagues, facilities and social life — via the Legal Cheek Chambers Most List 2019.

Previously: The best chambers for training; the best chambers for quality of work for juniors

The post The chambers with the most supportive barristers — 2019 edition appeared first on Legal Cheek.

Social media’s popularity within the legal profession has gone from strength to strength over the past year. Embracing all things online, lawyers are signing up to Snapchat, taking on Twitter, familiarising themselves with Facebook and getting inspired on Instagram.

But who are the standout performers? Here, in alphabetical order, we outline ten of the best uses of social media this year, with the winner to be announced at the Legal Cheek Awards on 14 March.

Allen & Overy’s Snapchat

Tearing up the law firm social media rule book, Allen & Overy has dived head first into the weird and wonderful filter-filled world of Snapchat.

The account, AllenOveryGrads, is operated by the outfit’s social media-savvy graduate recruitment team and gives followers an insight into, among other things, its Silicon Valley-esque Fuse innovation hub and vac scheme life.

Berwin Leighton Paisner’s Vimeo interviews with students who have done their work experience schemes

Berwin Leighton Paisner has sat down with a group of wannabe lawyers to discuss — and demystify — the firm’s insight scheme and winter vac scheme.

Chatting informally over a cuppa, students wax lyrical about why they applied and what they learnt during their time on the popular programme. And, perhaps more importantly, its all available online for your viewing pleasure.

Clifford Chance’s ‘Are You Ready’ YouTube video

Clifford Chance’s latest recruitment video has a whiff of Suits about it. The short YouTube clip showcases the outfit’s plush Canary Wharf office as a well-spoken voiceover delivers a motivational speech that will leave you punching the air with enthusiasm.

While the video does concede life at the magic circle firm includes “late nights, hard work, early rises”, it does feature a plethora of perks including its swimming pool, squash court and gym. An honest account of life at the firm.

CMS Academy video series

CMS has produced a range of swish-looking informative clips to promote its self-styled ‘next generation’ vacation scheme. The CMS Academy video series — which has garnered thousands of views on Facebook — gives students a day-by-day breakdown of vac scheme life through a combination of interviews, montages, timelapses and that all-important funky music.

Dechert partner Miriam Gonzalez’s Instagram

The Daily Mail describes me today as a 'castanet – clacker'. ??Likely to be because I dared to say at a GQ interview that their editor, Dacre, is to Theresa May what Steve Banon is to Donald Trump. Embarrassing that the Prime Minister is close to a newspaper that treats European emigrants like this. She fired her two main advisers this weekend- perhaps what she should do next is to ditch her almost daily calls with the editor of the Daily Mail?! ?. @campbellclaret @britishgq

A post shared by Miriam Gonzalez Durantez (@miriamgonzalezdurantez) on Jun 13, 2017 at 9:24am PDT

Dechert partner Miriam Gonzalez is about as Insta-savvy as lawyers come. The Spanish-born EU trade specialist — who last year spoke to Legal Cheek about how law students should approach Brexit — entertains her 1,600+ followers with her cooking exploits, holiday snaps and witty news story critiques. Even her ex-Deputy Prime Minister hubby, Nick Clegg, makes the odd appearance.

Henderson Pupillages multi-media microsite

The bar isn’t known for its high-quality online content. Pupillage hunters are, unfortunately, sometimes greeted with a basic-looking website full of out-of-date information.

But that’s not the case over at Henderson Chambers. This London-based set has a dedicated pupillage website containing various videos and a detailed section on its specialisms, work experience opportunities and what it looks for in wannabe barristers.

Herbert Smith Freehills’ ‘Too Good to Miss’ competition

As part of its ‘Too Good to Miss’ competition, Herbert Smith Freehills invited more than 1,300 students from across the country to produce short videos explaining what makes them stand out from the crowd.

Last year’s winner, the University of Birmingham’s Laura Kendrick, entered a 60-second clip inspired by the ‘Visit California’ adverts. Kendrick’s prize? A jolly to Hong Kong and Australia where she hung out with lawyers at Herbert Smith Freehills’ international offices.

Linklaters’ Silks canteen Instagram

We celebrate The Chelsea Flower Show with floral adorned avo on rye! #chelseaflowershow2017 #linklaters #silks #floralfood #greengoodness

A post shared by Silks at Linklaters (@silks_at_linklaters) on May 22, 2017 at 7:02am PDT

Linklaters‘ special food-themed Instagram account is sure to leave you salivating at the mouth. Quietly launched last year, ‘silks_at_linklaters’ regularly posts delectable images of the food dished up to lawyers at the magic circle outfit’s London HQ.

Michelin-starred standard munch includes Chelsea Flower Show-inspired “floral adorned” avocado on toast. Expect baby veg with edible soil and grey buttermilk chicken burger with piles of curly fries, too.

Shearman & Sterling’s Facebook livestreams

Shearman & Sterling is one of only a handful of law firms to embrace Facebook’s livestream feature. The US outfit’s informative clips — which are produced by its graduate recruitment team — cover hot topics including common vac scheme application mistakes and how to handle those dreaded assessment centres.

And they’re proving popular. The latest offering, ‘What training do you get on a training contract?’, has racked up more than 1,600 views.

The UK Supreme Court’s Instagram

So we're all gutted about #Konta but we've got another British hopeful in training for next year…. (Lady Hale pictured at staff table tennis night ? ?) #Wimbledon #BTS #FridayFun

A post shared by UK Supreme Court (@uksupremecourt) on Jul 14, 2017 at 7:27am PDT

Yes, that’s right, Lady Hale and her fellow justices are on Insta. The account — which went live last summer — is one of a number of initiatives by the Supreme Court to improve openness and transparency. Highlights include the court’s first trip outside London to Edinburgh and Hale playing ping-pong (no really).

The winner of this category of the Legal Cheek Awards will be decided by an independent judging panel. Check out the other Awards shortlists here

The post The best use of social media — 2018 edition appeared first on Legal Cheek.

We asked more than 500 junior barristers, including pupils, at over 60 leading barristers’ chambers about their experience of training at the bar.

Were they nurtured or left to fend for themselves? Was the work they were given to cut their teeth on the sort that would lead them one day to the Supreme Court… or the Online Court? Was the training they received worthy of exclamation marks, or did it just leave questions?

The results of the Legal Cheek Pupil and Junior Barrister Survey are in — and the highest-rated chambers, in alphabetical order, are…

Brick Court

For the 0.01% who make it beyond the magic circle set’s pupillage application process, the good news is that on the other side exists a surprisingly nice world of gentle gigantic intellects keen to help another one of their kind thrive.

Predictably there are no touchy-feely training programmes, with “learning taking place by doing”. But do you really need much formalised help when you’ve got an IQ of 200 and you’re at a chambers that contains more QCs than most large towns?

Do Brick Court rookies have any complaints? “Solicitors sending through documents on a Friday evening”, apparently. Fortunately the set’s members are brilliant enough not to let it spoil their weekends — some of the time, at least.

Read Brick Court’s full chambers profile.

Devereux Chambers

“There’s nothing that can really prepare you for practice except practice itself,” one Devereux rookie tells us, although they concede that “pupillage was excellent”.

The supportiveness of the members of the multi-specialist set is one of the factors that makes training here so good, we are told. Self-employed they may be, but apparently Devereux bazzas make “a great team” and “help each other rather than helping themselves”. Another insider reports:

“Most people are very willing to have a chat when I’m trying to work out an answer to a difficult point, or just commiserate after a hard day.”

Devereux’s pupillage programme is one of the more organised at the bar, with formalised assessments and advocacy exercises conducted before real judges. There’s also an informal element to the training which sees barristers of varying levels of seniority pass on their pearls of wisdom to pupils. It’s worth noting that Devereux, which boasts 11 QCs and 39 juniors, doesn’t pit its pupils against each other — if they are good enough, all are offered places as tenants.

Read Devereux’s full chambers profile.

Doughty Street

OK, so we hear that famous tenant Amal Clooney doesn’t come into chambers as much as she used to, but as a worthy wannabe Doughty Street pupil you’re probably not the type to be swayed by the shallow world of celebrity.

Instead, you want first-rate instruction from top human rights lawyers who also happen to be really nice, no? Well, you’ve come to the right place. As one insider tells us:

“You genuinely can walk into any room in chambers to discuss something you’re stuck on without being judged or patronised. From staff to other barristers, it has a genuinely supportive atmosphere.”

Another adds of the set’s members: “I love them all”.

The work is also pretty great. It’s “always challenging”, we are told, and “never boring”. What’s more, “you get to feel like you’re making a real difference”. The money, however, not so much… Legal Cheek understands that in spite of the respectable £40,000 pupillage award, remuneration is a bugbear at the legal aid-slanted glamour set. “Better pay” would be appreciated by those not fortunate enough to have found global megastar spouses.

Read Doughty Street’s full chambers profile.

5 Essex Court

Civil law set 5 Essex Court — which is well known for its police law and civil inquiries work — has one of the most intensive formal pupillage and junior barrister training schemes at the bar. Among other things, there are weekly in-house talks for rookie members of the set and a specialist course delivered by ‘Inner Temple advocacy grand fromage’ Alastair Hodge, a 5 Essex member.

But it’s the friendly vibe that elicits the most effusive praise in the Legal Cheek Pupil and Junior Barrister Survey. A “genuine open door policy” where “even the silks are willing to help” equates to “many hours a week of free advice”. What’s more, the clerks “are brilliant too” and see rookies as “individuals, rather than diary fodder”.

The downsides to life at 5 Essex? The boiler and radiators in the set’s “old” Middle Temple building can be “temperamental”, we hear. But hey: “We are not a gilt-edged set with a corporate feel. That is part of our attraction.”

The social life is also apparently pretty good, even if the workloads can be high. “Members of chambers will go out together for a drink most weeks,” we are told. Plus headline-grabbing instructions — such as Deepcut Inquests, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and the Tunisian Shooting Inquests — mean that “even at the junior end it is common to have one’s case appear in the national papers.”

Read 5 Essex Court’s full chambers profile.

Exchange Chambers

Northern superset Exchange Chambers offers one of the most civilised introductions to the bar around. Rookie barristers get variety, their own caseload (rather than just little pieces of huge cases that some London sets give their young) and a standard of living that those in the capital can only dream of in their early years.

With more than 150 barristers (among them 17 QCs) split between Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds practising in everything from commercial law to serious injury, public law and crime, Exchange can feel almost law firm-like at times.

But its members remain as stubbornly barristerial as you’d find in the Inns of Court. When we asked one how much support they could expect at work from colleagues, we were told to “Get a grip”!

Fear not, though, this is among the friendliest sets out there, with a training regime that includes “lots of things that they can’t teach you in law school”. A culture that avoids mollycoddling its young, but provides thoughtful instruction and backup when needed, allow pupil and junior barristers’ “initiative and dedication to make the difference”.

Read Exchange Chambers’ full chambers profile.

Hardwicke

With its internal bike racks and table tennis table, Hardwicke could almost be mistaken for a generously venture capital-backed Shoreditch start-up. It’s the location in Lincoln’s Inn, and the occasional wig laying around the open plan office, that gives the game away.

Still, this is no traditional barristers set. Pupils are not played off against each other in a brutal race for a single tenancy, while a supportive culture that “seems less hierarchical than most chambers” helps to ease the transition from baby barrister to tenant. In contrast to bar school, “pupillage was useful”, one of the set’s younger members tells us. A chambers colleague’s penchant for baking cakes is also highly valued among Hardwicke’s young.

The work is slanted towards high-end commercial law, but there’s a fairly wide range of specialisms among Hardwicke barristers, so pupils get a fairly broad grounding. It’s a hard-working place, but not obsessively so. “The junior end socialise a lot” apparently, and “there are a lot of business development events”. The networking sessions — which junior barristers are encouraged to attend — often have a diversity theme, with Hardwicke’s corporate responsibility programme one of the most well-developed at the bar.

Read Hardwicke’s full chambers profile.

Henderson Chambers

Don’t expect huge amounts of formal training at Henderson (although what there is is apparently “excellent”). Instead, this hotshot-filled commercial set concentrates on fostering a nurturing environment where big brains can develop happily. An insider tells us that there is “an unbelievable amount of support, encouragement and advice is available from virtually all members at all levels.”

Work is apparently a nice balance between “complex led work” and “simpler cases which offer the opportunity for trial advocacy”. Henderson members — who number 12 QCs and 36 juniors — are currently instructed in the Grenfell Tower Fire, the VW Emissions litigation, Nigerian oil spills and the Seroxat group action.

What’s more, this is one of the few chambers to offer an international secondment, with pupils given the chance to spend four weeks in the Turks and Caicos Islands during their second six. No wonder they are happy!

Read Henderson Chambers’ full chambers profile.

Littleton Chambers

As with most elite chambers, pupils shouldn’t expect a lengthy induction period. “I was thrown in at the deep end right away on complex and interesting employment disputes,” one of Littleton’s juniors recalls, adding: “But my work was always judged against realistic expectations.”

Getting those expectations right is one of the set’s big strengths, insiders tell us. The secret to its success in this respect seems to be found in a closeness among Littleton members. Reports an insider:

“Far more than I might have expected from the reputation of the bar — people make a real effort to engage with me and see how I’m settling in, as well as answer any legal questions I might have.”

Another gushingly adds: “It’s not a case of asking you to passively and politely watch and learn from the best (although your supervisors will also be that): across the board chambers proactively helps you to develop as a budding barrister (and a human).”

The feedback is also apparently pretty good. “Right from the start I’ve received very detailed feedback and constructive criticism, helping me learn as quickly as possible.” Excellent pay and a decent social scene round off one of the bar’s best training experiences.

Read Littleton Chambers’ full chambers profile.

Radcliffe Chambers

Rapidly expanding Radcliffe now has so many members that it is split across three different sites in Lincoln’s Inn. Indeed, the chambers, which is becoming one of the bar’s top Chancery sets, is so busy these days that it has relaxed its old one pupil policy and is now hiring two a year.

Those who begin their career here get a lot of attention, with Radcliffe’s members following a longstanding policy of seeking to help mould “the best qualified barrister possible”.

One recent completer of the process tells us:

“Radcliffe took an excellent collaborative approach to my pupillage. I had the benefit of Radcliffe only taking one pupil in my time, and the focus of chambers was to make me the best possible barrister for the commencement of my tenancy.”

This is also a sociable place, with daily chambers morning coffee, afternoon tea and ad hoc drinks. But it’s the work that has the juniors here most excited. There’s an “incredible variety both in terms of practice areas and scale of disputes means you get hands on at a very early stage and have plenty of room to grow.” Another adds: “Chancery work is as intellectually stimulating as it gets.”

Read Radcliffe Chambers’ full chambers profile.

Serjeants’ Inn

Alongside all the ‘learn on the job’ opportunities that come with starting out at a set containing some of the best medical law barristers in the land, Serjeants’ Inn also gives its rookies lots of formal training.

There’s the legal stuff, naturally, but also tech and IT training and even wellbeing courses. Juniors seem to like it, describing the sessions as “useful” and “imaginative”.

This takes place in one of the most collegiate chambers at the bar. “Sharing of knowledge” is encouraged and young barristers are encouraged to approach “down to earth” QCs and other experienced colleagues “who can give very sound advice/feedback”.

The high profile work — which recently saw members act for Great Ormond Street in the Charlie Gard case — “is tough but never dull”, and “is always sensitive and often public”. Some think this may account for the close bonds among the set’s members.

Read Serjeants’ Inn’s full chambers profile.

2 Temple Gardens

2TG is one of the few chambers to operate a pupil mentoring scheme, in addition to its standard pupil supervisor system. The aim of the scheme is to encourage “positive relationships” between pupils and barristers at all levels of experience — and once you’re buddied up, you get to keep your mentor indefinitely.

This may account for the “friendly” vibe of 2TG, which despite its whopping £70k pupillage award — double what most City law firm trainees earn — has a reputation for being one of the nicer commercial chambers.

Amid all the big money rolling in from all sorts of major international banking cases, it’s still got an old school vibe, with facilities befitting of an ancient building on Middle Temple Lane. One member gently asks for “more heat in my room in chambers”. A great view of Middle Temple Gardens and a lively social scene makes up for the occasional icy drafts.

Read 2 Temple Gardens’ full chambers profile.

The winner of the Best Chambers for Training will be announced at the Legal Cheek Awards, sponsored by BARBRI, on Wednesday 14 March at Landing 42 of the Cheesegrater. The full collection of shortlists is here.

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