Applying for pupillage - should I wait?

Hi guys,

I was hoping to apply for Inns of Court scholarships and pupillage this year, but I've only undertaken one mini-pupillage so far. I've also only ever mooted twice competitively but unfortunately have not won any prizes or progressed past the first round.

I did, however, graduate top of my year with a first (albeit from a non-Russell Group university) and achieved a Merit grade in the Oxford BCL.

I'm not sure whether it would be sensible to wait until next year after I've completed at least another two mini-pupillages? However, the only issue with this is, I will then have to wait until 2026/27 before completing the Bar course... Please help.

If anybody also has any alternative ideas for funding the Bar course, I'd really appreciate it! I have considered working part-time alongside the course but I'm worried that this may have a detrimental impact on my grade :frown:

Thanks everyone!

Reply 1

Stiffy Byng

You can do the Bar course now, without waiting for mini pupillages or an offer of a pupillage. You should apply for pupillages and Inn Scholarships now. If you get lucky on the first attempt, great. Some people do so. Others have to apply for two or three years before obtaining a pupillage, and some never obtain a pupillage. Your academic credentials are excellent, so crack on. Good luck.

Reply 2

accessdenied8398

Original post by Stiffy Byng

Thanks so much for your response. The only issue I have is, I can't start the Bar course right now due to insufficient funding so was hoping to get a named scholarship from the Inns of Court (although I appreciate that these are super competitive). I wasn't sure how competitive my scholarship application would be this year due to my lack of mini-pupillages/mooting experience, however if I wait until next year I risk pushing the Bar course back even further.

I know most people finance the Bar course by drawing down their pupillage award and/or through an Inns of Court scholarship, and at present I have neither. ☹️

I'm really sorry for any confusion, I realise that I didn't phrase my question very clearly. Thanks again for your time and help 🙂

Reply 3

Cessle

Applications for Bar Course scholarships open later this month and close in late November. Each of the Inns set out their criteria which they use as a benchmark when assessing scholarship candidates. Inner Temple and I think Middle Temple interview all applicants but even were you successful you would be looking at next next year before you could start your Bar Course. Were it me I would apply for a scholarship asap. In the meantime you could easily arrange some minis before the interviews are held next year. Getting pupilage is a process that ends in success when candidates are best prepared for the process itself and that is often when they have been through it two or three times. Providers of Bar training also offer assistance to pay for the course. Good Luck.

Reply 4

Stiffy Byng

Original post by accessdenied8398

Thanks so much for your response. The only issue I have is, I can't start the Bar course right now due to insufficient funding so was hoping to get a named scholarship from the Inns of Court (although I appreciate that these are super competitive). I wasn't sure how competitive my scholarship application would be this year due to my lack of mini-pupillages/mooting experience, however if I wait until next year I risk pushing the Bar course back even further.
I know most people finance the Bar course by drawing down their pupillage award and/or through an Inns of Court scholarship, and at present I have neither. ☹️
I'm really sorry for any confusion, I realise that I didn't phrase my question very clearly. Thanks again for your time and help 🙂

OK, I see your difficulty.

Possible options:

(1) Look at the Directory of Grant-Making Trusts, if that still exists. This used to be a book, but it may now be a website.

(2) Try to obtain a part-time job.

Long ago, I self-funded a Diploma in Law and the Bar course, and I recall how difficult that was, although the fees were, in real terms, much lower than they are now. Pupillage was still unpaid at that time. Those were three skint years (after a full maintenance grant and no tuition fees at university).

I obtained an entrance scholarship from my Inn. That paid the entrance fee. I obtained charitable grants from two City Livery Companies (the Skinners and the Mercers). I worked part-time as a barista in a fancy coffee shop (those were rare then, and baristas weren't yet called baristas in the UK; but now I can boast that I was a barista before I was a barrister.). I did some low-paid history tutoring at my Oxford college at weekends. My non-affluent Mum and Dad helped me out as much as they could, but they had other children still at school. I lived in a horrid rathole flat on the Caledonian Road, cycled everywhere on a beaten-up old bike, and spent very little money.

That got me through the two years of postgraduate study. For pupillage (unpaid), I obtained an award from my chambers (these were quite rare in those days), a modest scholarship from my Inn, and was paid by the Inns of Court School of Law to supervise video advocacy exercises (this was a prize for doing well in the Bar exams). I was still mega skint. In my chambers second-six pupils did not do work of their own. I bought barrister-ish clothes in charity shops.

Happy ending? I was taken on in my chambers, which were quite smart at the time and later became what people now called Magic Circle. I quickly became an insufferable flash bazzer with a fancy High Court practice and shedloads of money. Being a yuppie in the late 80s and early 90s was such fun.

So, have a look around to see if you can scrape together enough to do the course ASAP. If you can't, then plug away at applications for mini pupillages and scholarships until you can afford Bar school. Do the FRU training and take on FRU cases. Doing this is very rewarding (obtaining justice for real people, against the odds), helps you to become a good advocate, and burnishes your CV.

Short-term full-time Job ideas:

Look for contract work on projects such as financial services redress arising from mis-selling. Large banks sometimes have teams of law graduates assessing claims for compensation made by customers to which the banks cynically sold rubbish products, with the FCA saying "pay up, or we will kick your butts".

There may be other one-off projects in various sectors, and Public Inquiries sometimes want junior staff to assist the Inquiry's legal team.

Paralegaling at a law firm could also a few quid.

Tutoring rich people's obnoxious children can pay well, if you can stand it.

Good luck!

Reply 5

DOTEOT

Original post by accessdenied8398

Thanks so much for your response. The only issue I have is, I can't start the Bar course right now due to insufficient funding so was hoping to get a named scholarship from the Inns of Court (although I appreciate that these are super competitive). I wasn't sure how competitive my scholarship application would be this year due to my lack of mini-pupillages/mooting experience, however if I wait until next year I risk pushing the Bar course back even further.
I know most people finance the Bar course by drawing down their pupillage award and/or through an Inns of Court scholarship, and at present I have neither. ☹️
I'm really sorry for any confusion, I realise that I didn't phrase my question very clearly. Thanks again for your time and help 🙂

Heya, some really good advice here from others. I’d say that there’s no rush to do the Bar Course (full-time or part-time), particularly if you’re not in a position to fund it. I had a similar situation a couple of years ago where I felt there was a strong need for me to start the Bar Course as soon as possible. Unlike you, I already had attempted to get an inn scholarship and failed. I decided to wait, build up my experience, and have a second go at an inn scholarship - which ended up being successful. Fast forward to this year and I got an offer of pupillage at my first-choice set.

Someone else has said about the difference which can be made to a CV in a matter of months which I think is completely true. If you can get a paralegal job / pro bono experience / minis (formal or informal), mooting etc. (not saying you need all of this) before your scholarship interview in February / March, you’ll have an opportunity to bring these up at your interview one way or another. Note also that Inner and Middle Temple guarantee interviews so if you don’t think your CV can make the sift at the other two, that’s something to think about (your academics sound great though so that’ll obviously go in your favour).

Reply 6

Blayze

Check out Grays Inn; there is not the same hierarchy of scholarships (other than a couple of specific bequests I think) - everyone gets a set amount, and then more up to a cap which is based on means testing. If you are struggling to fund the bar, I suspect the means testing will help you a lot.

It's also a great inn, highly recommend.

Reply 7

Stiffy Byng

Original post by Blayze

I agree. My chambers are in Gray's Inn, and it's lovely. Once it was the biggest of the four Inns, Now it's the smallest, but none the worse for that.

Choice of Inn doesn't matter hugely, or at all. I was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple. I'm also a member of Lincoln's Inn ad eundem. I joined Lincoln's Inn after about eight years at the Bar, purely in order to bag a cheap parking space, but years later I mutated into a Chancery lawyer, by accident. Being a member of Lincoln's Inn allows me to pretend not to be a grotty common law hack from the wrong side of the Strand when I'm at Chancery Bar Association events. Phew! Inner Temple does the best lunch.

Reply 8

accessdenied8398

Thanks so much everyone, I really appreciate all your helpful guidance! I've been researching Gray's Inn based on your recommendations and apparently they also offer a residential scholarship (unlike the other Inns), which would be so helpful in keeping living costs down! Thanks again folks, I can't thank you enough.

Reply 9

Blayze

Original post by accessdenied8398

Do bear in mind I think there are very few of these, but they are definitely worth it. You'll be expected to join in with Inn events, but everyone is very friendly and willing to help, so I wouldn't see that as a downside.