Pupillage starts in October each year. At QEB Hollis Whiteman, pupillage is split into a ‘first six’ of six months, followed by an extended ‘second six’ of ten months. We decide whether to take on a pupil as a tenant in January each year, after their pupillage is completed.

The first six

The first six months will be spent entirely in the company of your pupil supervisor. (S)he will rely on you to give assistance and input, and to be punctual and reliable. You should be aware that your pupil supervisor’s primary function is not to be your teacher, but to represent their clients.

The Bar is a stressful profession. In working closely with your pupil supervisor, you will be involved in the problem solving, decision-making and advocacy that make up a barrister’s daily working life.

Throughout your first six, we run an in-house course of advocacy classes, which are attended by barristers of all levels of seniority, including the Head of Chambers. These courses lead to a mock trial at the Old Bailey in March each year.

You will probably be at court almost every day during your first six. As you approach your second six and your first brief, we will ensure that you go to court with our most junior tenants, so that you can watch them dealing with the type of work that you will soon be doing.

The second six

The extended ‘second six’ at QEB Hollis Whiteman lasts nearly ten months. This allows us to get to know pupils as well as possible before we decide whether their future lies within QEB Hollis Whiteman.

Each successive generation of pupils provides valuable help and encouragement to their successors during the four or five months that their careers overlap.

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 and, if our recent pupils are an accurate guide, you are likely to be appearing in court four or five times a week.

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 pupil supervisor certifies that you are ready and competent to do such a case.

Please be aware that 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 their clients 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, although you should be aware that barristers’ fees are paid somewhat in arrears.