Pupillage - Guide for applicants

About Chambers

QEB Hollis Whiteman is one of the leading sets of chambers specialising in criminal law based in central London.

Members of chambers have appeared for either prosecution or defence in the majority of significant criminal trials over the last forty years. This involvement is not restricted to the senior members of chambers; it involves, and will continue to involve, the active participation of pupils in assisting at all levels in important cases.

Each and every application is assessed on its own merits. Good advocates come in all shapes and sizes, colours, genders and ages. We do not place special emphasis on academic achievement: it is an important factor, but so are verbal communication and good judgement.

We guarantee close-up experience of a busy criminal law practice and you will receive continual support and commitment in this from our pupil supervisors. If you join us you will find that no two days are the same and you will be in the company of professionals who enjoy training their successors and passing on the expertise that a tenancy in QEB Hollis Whiteman has given them.

PUPILLAGE

VACANCIES

As a general rule we offer four or five pupillages each year. Each one is for twelve months, split into first and second six. You will have a different pupil supervisor for each of the two periods. We do not normally offer third six month pupillages since we have found that they dilute the work opportunities available to second six pupils.

Mini pupillage is available on a limited basis to applicants of at least undergraduate status. We do not offer Work Experience places.

WORK AS A PUPIL

The first six months will be spent entirely in the company of your pupil supervisor. (S)he will rely on you, both in the giving of positive assistance and input, and in being punctual and reliable. The Bar is a stressful profession. Your pupil supervisor’s primary role is not that of teacher, it is the representation of the client. You will witness at close hand the daily problem-solving, decision-making and advocacy that are at the heart of every barrister’s working life.

We run a course of advocacy classes attended by tenants of all seniority, including the Head of Chambers, leading to a mock trial at the Old Bailey in March of each year. We have six former members of chambers on the Bench, and we arrange marshalling with them during your first six. You will probably be at Court every day of your first six, and as you approach your second six and your first brief, we ensure that you go to Court with the most junior tenants in chambers. This will enable you to watch them dealing with the type of work that you yourself will soon be doing.

Once you start your second six months you start fully to justify all the training you have done. You will be in Court very soon. If your recent predecessors are an accurate guide you will soon be appearing in Court four or five times a week. We cannot guarantee a level of work during this time: the Bar is a market profession; we depend on solicitors to send us work. They expect us to give them and the lay client the highest quality of service. Our reputation within the Criminal Bar depends on our ability to do just that.

We anticipate that second six pupils earn in excess of £10,000. We stress “earn” because barristers’ fees are paid somewhat in arrears. The initial work you do will be in Magistrates' Courts, then mentions and applications in the Crown Court. We would not allow you to do a jury trial until very late into your training, and then only once your second six pupil supervisor certifies that you are ready and competent to do such a case.

We decide whether to take on any pupil as a tenant in January of each year. This means that the “second six” in fact lasts nearly ten months. This is entirely deliberate. We need to get to know our pupils as well as possible before deciding whether their professional future lies within QEB Hollis Whiteman. By the thirteenth month of pupillage we do feel that our pupils are ready to do their first jury trial (should it come along). And each successive generation of pupils provide valuable help and encouragement to their successors during the four or five months that their careers overlap.