Wilberforce Chambers - Pupillage - October 2027 in London

Pupillage Vacancy Information
About Authorised Education And Training Organisation
Wilberforce Chambers is one of the leading Chancery Commercial sets of chambers in the UK, comprising of 89 specialist barristers, including 35 KCs. Our barristers are involved in some of the most intellectually challenging and legally significant matters undertaken by the Bar today. We offer a full range of advocacy, advisory, drafting, arbitration and mediation services to a wide variety of clients, both in the UK and across numerous international jurisdictions.

Structure of Pupillage
Wilberforce Chambers looks to offer up to four 12-month pupillages with substantial funding. Chambers has an excellent retention record. It is unusual for pupils not to be recruited as tenants at the end of their 12-month pupillage.

There is no limit to the number of tenancies we offer at the end of the pupillage process. Chambers offers pupillage with a view to taking on all pupils as tenants at the end of their time with us, so we take great care in our selection process to identify candidates who have real potential to join Chambers at the end of their pupillage. Importantly, our pupils are not in competition with one another for a tenancy but are assessed solely on their own abilities and performance.

In Addition To The Substantial Pupillage Award, Substantial Amounts Of Barrister Time (both Of Supervisors And Others) Are Spent On Pupils, And We Look To Give Pupils a Structured And Comprehensive Introduction To Life At The Bar. That Includes

• sitting with at least five different pupil supervisors during their 12 months with us;
• sharing the daily professional life of their pupil supervisor;
• seeing a spread of chambers\’ work;
• producing pleadings and opinions in their pupil supervisor\’s cases;
• attending conferences with their pupil supervisor, the solicitor and the lay client;
• attending Court with their pupil supervisor and other members of Chambers;
• receiving regular feedback on their work from their pupil supervisor;
• having their work-load monitored by their pupil supervisor;
• having an opportunity to work with a variety of junior tenants and silks;
• getting to know our clerks and begin to learn what skills and approaches will assist in building a successful practice; and
• having an opportunity to contribute to life in chambers.

We are looking for pupils with (i) high intellectual ability, (ii) good oral and written communication skills, (iii) an interest in Chancery Commercial work, who are (iv) mature and confident, (v) have the ability to work with others, and who (vi) can analyse legal problems well, demonstrating (vii) good practical and commercial sense. We have a minimum requirement of a 2:1 degree in law or another subject.

We have a strong record of recruiting non-law/GDL students and as explained below we take care to ensure that our interview process does not disadvantage those who have only recently commenced their legal studies.

All applicants to the Gateway will be given the opportunity to submit information via the integrated RARE contextual recruitment system as part of our recruitment process, if a candidate wants us to have that information. The RARE contextual recruitment system provides us with information about applicants which assists us to select candidates with the potential to become pupils. We take