Pupillage

Littleton Chambers specialises in commercial litigation, employment law and professional negligence. Established over forty years ago, Littleton Chambers has a record of success. It is acknowledged as being a top class set in each of its main practice areas. Its success is based upon both the desire to maintain high professional standards and a willingness to embrace change. It prides itself on the skills of its tenants, not only as advocates and advisers on the law, but also for their analytical and practical skills.

Chambers takes a considerable amount of care in choosing its pupils and prefers to recruit its tenants from persons who have completed a full twelve months of pupillage with Chambers. It likes to take on pupils who not only have good academic skills, but who also show flair for advocacy and the ability to understand practical commercial issues.

Chambers vigorously pursues a policy of equality of opportunity and actively encourages diversity in the applications it receives for pupillage and mini-pupillage.

Recruitment of Pupils

We generally offer pupillage to two people each year. Our offers of pupillage are made as early as possible (within the OLPAS timetable), and where appropriate, in the academic year before Bar Finals. This means that each of our pupils can be confident that, at the end of their Bar Finals, there is a place at which they can complete the vocational stage of their training. Each of these pupillages is funded and, if necessary, it is possible to draw down some of this funding during the year of Bar Finals.

We generally make our offers of pupillage on the basis of an assessed mini-pupillage which forms part of the pupillage application process. Mini-pupillages are not offered outside of this process. Following an initial assessment of each application we ask the selected applicants to spend a week in chambers, both shadowing one or more member of chambers and attempting a piece of written work. The mini-pupil supervisor provides a written assessment of the mini-pupil. At the end of the week a panel of at least two barristers will carry out an advocacy exercise with you. We hope that, after a week in chambers, our mini-pupils have a fair impression both of us and of our work and will want to apply to us for pupillage. Following this we then offer a 12 - month pupilage to the two candidates we believe will best fit with Littleton.

We will be offering pupillages commencing October 2008 in July 2007.

Funding of Pupillage

We currently offer each of our pupils a scholarship worth up to £40,000, a proportion of which may be available during the BVC year.

Pupillage

A pupil at Littleton Chambers receives training of four distinct types:

Working with a pupil supervisor is the principal form of training. Your pupil supervisor will provide support and guidance to you throughout your pupillage, ensuring that you understand not only the nuts and bolts of a barristers work, but also the ethical constraints which are such a distinctive feature of our professional life.

You will be asked to draft statements of case, prepare written Opinions and Skeleton Arguments, and to conduct legal research. Your pupil supervisor will give you access to the papers in the case and will expect you to prepare as if you were the barrister instructed by solicitors. The strengths and weaknesses of your work will be discussed with you, and your pupil supervisor will show you how he has completed the work.

A number of training courses have been set up within chambers to focus on the development of your knowledge and skills:

• an induction course is run at the beginning of your pupillage so that you understand how chambers operates and what will be expected of you.

• advocacy: a series of practical exercises in the presentation of cases in court will be carried out in the first six months, giving training in writing Skeleton Arguments, drafting Orders etc. as well as presenting oral argument

• ethics training is conducted to discuss problems which arise in the course of professional practice.  The object of these seminars is to reinforce your knowledge and understanding of the Bar's Code of Conduct and how it impacts upon the way in which you conduct yourself in court and in your professional relations with counsel, solicitors and clients.  The emphasis is on problems which arise in the course of day-to-day practice.

External training is provided by the Inns of court and pupils are encouraged to attend the various lectures and seminars offered by the specialist bar association.  We regard this training as an invaluable supplement to the training which we will give you.

After six months pupillage, you will be entitled to take on your own work. Typically, pupils in Littleton Chambers have been briefed once or twice a week. Your pupil supervisor will provide assistance in the preparation of these briefs to ensure that your client receives the best possible service from you.

Tenancy

In July each year, we usually decide whether to offer tenancy to any of our pupils. By then, we generally have enough information to assess the skills, knowledge and potential of our pupils. We set exacting standards because we want to recruit people who will contribute significantly to the success of Littleton Chambers. Tenancy is a long-term commitment both for chambers and for the newly recruited tenant.

Tenancy decisions are made by reference to a number of criteria including:

• drafting and other writing skills
• research skills
• the ability to assimilate and analyse issues of both fact and law
• the ability to construct or destroy a line of argument
• formal advocacy skills
• the capacity to work well with others inside and outside chambers
• sound judgement
• a firm understanding of relevant professional standards

We do not expect that, at the end of pupillage, a pupil will be "the finished product". However, we will not offer tenancy to someone in whom we do not have confidence.

Applying for Pupillage - OLPAS

We are registered as an OLPAS provider for the summer season.  All applications MUST be made through OLPAS.  Please go to www.pupillages.com to make your application. We suggest that you apply at least 12 months before you are due to start Bar Finals.

Gerard Hickie
Chief Executive
Littleton Chambers
3, Kings Bench Walk North
Temple, EC4Y 7HR