I'm hoping this is the case for a few I want to apply to! Last year there were two chambers I wanted to apply to but was unable to find, felt like I was overlooking something obvious

Reply 7

LibbyZ18

7

Original post by dogear

I'm hoping this is the case for a few I want to apply to! Last year there were two chambers I wanted to apply to but was unable to find, felt like I was overlooking something obvious

Some chambers don't advertise every year. At least that's the case for Serjeant's Inn.

Reply 8

Josher04

3

Anyone listening to any decent law/pupillage podcasts at the moment? Feel free to drop them below xx

Original post by Josher04

Anyone listening to any decent law/pupillage podcasts at the moment? Feel free to drop them below xx

The one every single person in this thread should be listening to is Law In Action. And if you're not listening to it, you should go back and listen to the last few seasons. It discusses legal issues that are in the news, and on that basis there's a good chance that some of the issues it deals with will crop up in pupillage interviews. It's an excellent podcast in its own right, too.

There are plenty of others out there that are worth recommended. I really like the Advocacy Podcast. The advice on it is excellent, and whilst it's really aimed at practitioners more than pupillage applicants, some of the advice carries over. The Transform Justice podcast focuses on criminal law issues, and is perhaps not quite as polished and accessible and some other podcasts, but again discusses issues that may come up in pupillage interviews. In terms of area specific podcasts, Employment Law Matters is good for (shock) employment law, but it deals with specific areas of the law and is aimed at business and HR professionals rather than students. There are some really good family law podcasts that deal with current issues and new case law. Professionally Embarrassing and Family Law and Lattes are the two I'm subscribed too.

That's off the top of my head. I'll add others when they come to mind.

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 10

TMBarristerNorth

3

Is anyone else finding it difficult to bridge the gap between paralegal work and pupillage on applications? A lot of my paralegal experience involved quite a bit of admin and I'm trying to strike a balance between making use of this and not over-embellishing my work

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 11

r.doraisingam

2

Original post by TMBarristerNorth

Is anyone else finding it difficult to bridge the gap between paralegal work and pupillage on applications? A lot of my paralegal experience involved quite a bit of admin and I'm trying to strike a balance between making use of this and not over-embellishing my work

I am having a similar problem.

Reply 12

Lawguy19

7

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone had any advice or pointers. For Chambers which require a Cover letter, I have been covering why I want to be a barrister, why I would make a good barrister, and why that Chambers (happy to hear any comments on this). Most Chambers wanting cover letters ask for a CV too, however, one Set has asked for an application form in addition to a cover letter. The application form in question asks all the above questions I usually include in a cover letter. This has left me quite unsure of what to include in the Cover letter. Does anyone have any ideas/advice?

Original post by Lawguy19

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone had any advice or pointers. For Chambers which require a Cover letter, I have been covering why I want to be a barrister, why I would make a good barrister, and why that Chambers (happy to hear any comments on this). Most Chambers wanting cover letters ask for a CV too, however, one Set has asked for an application form in addition to a cover letter. The application form in question asks all the above questions I usually include in a cover letter. This has left me quite unsure of what to include in the Cover letter. Does anyone have any ideas/advice?

You can touch on the same areas but make points that you don't make in answer to the questions on the application form. You could go into your background more generally, for example, or refer to a particular aspect of your experience or a specific achievement that you are proud of and want to highlight, but which might not fit neatly in answer to one of the questions. There are plenty of options and there are no right or wrong answers. Remember that whether covering letters, CVs or application forms, this is all about showing sets who you are as a candidate and why you would make a good addition to their team. It's not about ticking specific boxes that specific sets are looking for. So use the covering letter to show more of who you are.

Reply 14

Lawguy19

7

Original post by Crazy Jamie

You can touch on the same areas but make points that you don't make in answer to the questions on the application form. You could go into your background more generally, for example, or refer to a particular aspect of your experience or a specific achievement that you are proud of and want to highlight, but which might not fit neatly in answer to one of the questions. There are plenty of options and there are no right or wrong answers. Remember that whether covering letters, CVs or application forms, this is all about showing sets who you are as a candidate and why you would make a good addition to their team. It's not about ticking specific boxes that specific sets are looking for. So use the covering letter to show more of who you are.

Thank you! 🙂

Reply 15

littlelegsldn

7

Sadly for the Pupillage Gateway applicants, the gateway this time around again does not appear fit for purpose.

Last year it was explained that the previous provider of the platform unexpectedly terminated their relationship with the Bar Council in Q4 of 2021 and so they had little time to get a new platform partner but did so with Tribepad in time for last years window.

Issues invariably occurred, the loss of all historic applications and applicants having to re-draft a sample application form and make new accounts. These problems were hugely frustrating but at least they were understandable, particular as there were promises that all the issues would be sorted out over the year in time for the 2024 Gateway window.

To recap when last year’s window opened previous functionalities had been lost and some that were there did not seem to work, such as the watchlist/bookmark function was effectively pointless but these have it appears been fixed this time around so credit where credit is due.

The filtering by practice areas, whilst not perfect can be mostly overcome through the keyword search but filtering for those advertising on or off the gateway still does not appear possible again this year, or by the number of pupillages offered. All these functions had been available in the older version and the missing functions had been pointed out to The Bar Council last year.

This year whilst some aspects have improved these appear to be outweighed by changes applied to the gateway this year without explanation as to why they were or are required.

The User guide explains that “You can edit any information in the profile builder section but note that doing so will not only update your ‘Profile’ on the Pupillage Gateway, but also any current applications that are either outstanding or submitted.”

The problem with this aspect is it removes the bespoke nature of applications. If for example I wish to apply to a common law set, they do not need to see, and I may not wish to show, any mini pupillages done in other types of chambers. In fact it is widely suggested that one only add a handful of mini pupillages completed that are relevant to the chambers practice areas.

Unfortunately though, it seems if I include those that are only relevant to that chambers and complete another application whereby, I include different mini pupillages completed, then the way the gateway is set up is to change the mini pupillages that I had included in the original Chambers application whether or not I have already submitted that application. This is nonsensical, Particularly as I cannot withdraw or amend that submitted application myself. I have no way of knowing what version has been provided to Chambers.

As stated, the ability to withdraw and resubmit applications has also been lost and whilst it was not possible to be added last year, I was informed that the bar Council had asked for that function to be included in the roadmap for this window yet it is again not available.

How can it be right that I have submitted a detailed application only for that to be changed and for me not be able to know exactly what has been seen by the advertising chambers. This is surely discriminatory towards any applicant submitting more than one application.

The Bar Council have previously stated that they were confident that the site would continue to meet the strategic aims of improving inclusion and diversity at the Bar through the facilitation of transparent, inclusive, and progressive application processes but this seems to not be so. Instead the functionality of the gateway is limiting and frustrating and rather than saving time by re-populating data across applications it is time consuming and does not allow an applicant to choose how to formulate their answers to highlight their unique selling points to a specific chambers. This is not inclusive to prevent an applicant from having full knowledge of the process particularly when the data they have directly provided to that chambers can inadvertently be changed by an application made to another chamber.

As if that was not bad enough it gets worse!

You would think that section 3 for ‘Further Education History, Scholarships, Awards, and Prizes’ was quite an important one, The Bar Council do not appear to think so.

This year for Step 3, questions 1 and 2 relate to whether any waiver was applied for the vocational component, with the answer allowing for 200 words for further details. However, question 4 relates to 'Scholarship, Awards and Prizes' and this has been reduced from 200 words to only 100 words this year without rhyme or reason.

Why would this section be limited that an applicant may not even be able to fit just the names of any scholarships, awards and prizes that they have achieved? Particularly when the Guidelines next to it states for applicants to “Please provide details of any scholarships, awards, or prizes that you have obtained, alongside the name of the awarding body and the date obtained. For example: ‘Advocacy Scholarship, BPP University (2021)’ or ‘GDL Exhibition Award, Inner Temple (2019/20)’ or ‘Winner, Landmark Chambers Property Moot Competition (2021)’.”

The same argument applies for question 7 and 8 of Step 3, positions of responsibility and interest and recreational activities, again with guidelines asking for specific information but each again limited to 100 words.

If specific questions are asked then at the very minimum, when requesting specific information, allow enough word count so an applicant is given enough room for that information to be added.

Changes needed to be made urgently. before this window closes so that at the very least, once an application is submitted it must be locked against changes made in subsequent applications from taking effect in the earlier submitted and distinctly separate application.

Gaining pupillage is hard enough, why does the Bar Council seem bent on making it even a harder and less fair process!