PUPILLAGE AND PUPILLAGE AWARDS
Chambers has a wide range of work. Our major areas of practice are commercial law, employment law, personal injury, clinical and other professional negligence, and insurance and reinsurance.
We believe that we are an extremely friendly and forward-looking set of Chambers, supported by an efficient administrative team and computerised accounting and diary systems. What follows, is an outline of Devereux Chambers? policy and approach to pupillage and the recruitment of junior tenants. It applies only to those pupils intending to go into private practice at the English Bar.
APPLICATION
Chambers offers two twelve month pupillages per year, each with substantial funding. We participate in the OLPAS scheme and applications for pupillage should be made through OLPAS (www.olpas.co.uk) only, unless there is some exceptional reason for not doing so.
SELECTION
Pupils are selected on merit. While we have no absolute requirement as to class of degree, a high standard (generally no less than a 2:1) is expected. We normally select about forty candidates for a preliminary interview. After this we shortlist about ten candidates who are invited to attend a further interview. Following the second interview we normally recruit two pupils (provided there are enough candidates of suitable quality).
PUPILLAGE ? HOW IT WORKS
Pupils will spend two three-month periods with two different pupil masters in their first six months, and will then spend the remainder of their pupillage with a third pupil master. Both pupils will rotate between the same three pupil masters to ensure, so far as is possible, that they see similar areas of work and so that there is parity of assessment. Pupils will work in their pupil master?s room and will have the opportunity of working on their pupil master?s papers (undertaking legal research, drafting advices, pleadings and skeleton arguments), attending their conferences and accompanying them to Court. In addition, pupils will see the work of other members of Chambers (in conference or in Court) to ensure that a broad range of work is experienced and to enable pupils to be involved in cases that may be of some general public interest or importance or of particular interest to that pupil. Pupils are also encouraged to do work for members of Chambers other than their pupil masters so that as many people as possible are able to see their work and so that pupils can get feedback from a wider variety of practitioners, all of whom will doubtless have differences of approach and practice.
In their second six months, pupils will begin to undertake work in their own right (with the assistance and support of their pupil masters and other members of Chambers). Typically this will involve interim applications in the Employment Tribunal or County Court, and small claims track trials.
All pupils are also encouraged to join the Free Representation Unit as soon as they start their pupillage (if they have not already done so) as this provides valuable forensic experience from an early stage.
We operate the Bar Council?s Check List System using the standard check lists produced by the Council. Every effort will be made to ensure that all pupils are given the opportunity to complete the areas of work encompassed by the list, to the extent that those areas of work are available within Chambers.
RECRUITMENT
We expect to recruit one or two new tenants about every 12 months and it is our policy generally to recruit new junior tenants from among our pupils whenever possible. In our last 4 pupillage years (i.e. 2000/1 to 2003/4) we have recruited 7 new tenants from our pupils, 2 of which were from third six months? pupillages outside of our award scheme. We aim to make a decision about tenancy in July each year. Occasionally, however, a candidate for tenancy may be asked to do a third six months? pupillage.
Those pupils who at the end of the second or third six months? pupillage are not offered a tenancy, will usually be allowed to remain in Chambers for up to three months after their pupillage has expired and thereafter may be allowed to remain for up to another three months at the discretion of the Head of Chambers, but no pupil will be allowed to remain as a ?squatter? for more than six months in all. Every effort will be made to assist such pupils in finding other Chambers.
Exceptionally we may offer a first, second or third six months? pupillage to somebody outside our award scheme.
AWARDS
Each pupillage will carry an award of £30,000 ? subject to the following conditions. The first tranche (£8,000) is payable in the BVC year and will be paid in two instalments, the first in January and the second in May. Following commencement of the pupillage, the second tranche (£11,000) will be payable by monthly instalments for the first six months, and the third tranche (£11,000) by way of a guaranteed sum paid monthly for the second six months. The guarantee operates to ensure a cash income during the second six months. Any money actually received by the pupil during the second six months will be offset against the guaranteed sum. The total a pupil will receive from Chambers during this period will therefore be the guaranteed sum less monies earned and received by the pupil. Any money received after the end of the second six month period is not taken into account.
Should the award-holder fail Bar Finals or for any other reason fail to take up his/her pupillage (or should he/she chose not to complete the full term of the pupillage) all parts of the award already paid will be liable to be repaid on demand.
Pupils in receipt of these awards will not receive any other payment for any work that they do during pupillage for their pupil masters or any other members of Chambers.
MINI-PUPILLAGE
Devereux Chambers will only consider applications for mini-pupillage and the student open day made on the designated application form. Completed forms should be returned by email link or post to Sarah Watson, Devereux Chambers, Devereux Court, London WC2R 3JH.
Due to the high volume of applications, candidates are requested to select only one of the mini-pupillage seasons or the student open day in their application. School pupils are not eligible for mini-pupillages or the student open day and priority will be given to students who have at least reached the 2nd year of their law degree or have confirmed places on a law conversion course. Applications must be received by the designated dates, after which time candidates will be informed in writing of the outcome of their application.
| Mini-pupillage Seasons |
|---|
| 15 March - 31 May (applications by 7 March) |
| 1 June - 31 August (applications by 31 March) |
| 1 September - 31 December (applications by 30 June) |
| 1 January - 31 March (applications by 31 October). |
| Student Open Day |
| 27 March 2007 - 2pm to 5pm (applications by 7 March) |
The ten successful candidates for each mini-pupillage season will be invited to book 3 days on which to attend chambers. In order to offer the best range of experience we normally have only one mini-pupil in chambers at a time.
Devereux Chambers considers all applications on an equal basis and does not discriminate on grounds of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief or age. It is not necessary to complete the diversity monitoring questionnaire as part of your application but we would appreciate it if you are willing to do so. The information provided in the equal opportunities monitoring form will be kept separately from your application form and will not be considered during the selection process. It will be used only for monitoring and research purposes.