Pupillage Application Watch: 2024-2025

Hey everyone,
I thought I would open the new thread for the Hunger Games this year 🙃
I don’t even know if I’m reapplying yet and I suspect if I do, I won’t be telling anyone about it and I’ll go full on stealth mode.
I was however able to successfully help others last year and hope I can again should anyone need it. So welcome back to those who survived last round and are feeling masochistic enough to have a crack at the next, and also to newcomers.
Adverts are now live, so I’m having a G&T, and taking a peek. Out of curiosity.

Interestingly a lot of big Family sets not advertising this year? Where are 4PB, QEB, 1 Hare Court, Coram…? 🤔 adverts have to be live by now right?

Interestingly a lot of big Family sets not advertising this year? Where are 4PB, QEB, 1 Hare Court, Coram…? 🤔 adverts have to be live by now right?

They are slowly adding, I think? Those Chambers that you have mentioned are now live. Red Lion wasn't there until yesterday. There are still so many sets not advertising though!

I found a few "templates" for CVs dedicated to the pupillage application process. I was wondering, is it better to have more of a paragraph description for work/legal experience, or rather bullet points?

I found a few "templates" for CVs dedicated to the pupillage application process. I was wondering, is it better to have more of a paragraph description for work/legal experience, or rather bullet points?

I found a few "templates" for CVs dedicated to the pupillage application process. I was wondering, is it better to have more of a paragraph description for work/legal experience, or rather bullet points?

Hi!
Can I please ask where you found these few "templates"?

Have a look at legistlab.com

I would be extremely wary of this website. I joined to have a look at the free resources it offers, and specifically the 'successful' pupillage application. The application itself is decent. The author says that he got interviews at the likes of Exchange and Lincoln House, and I'm sure he did with that application. It's not a flawless application by any means, but it does show a fair few examples of good practice when it comes to pupillage applications. It's some way short of the best I've read, though. It's also a bit of a stretch to call it a successful application, given that the author did not get pupillage at the set that the application was written for. I'd have no issue with applicants using it as a reference point, but anyone who does should very much be aware of its limitations. No attempt is made as far as I can see to provide any insight or information as to the strengths and weaknesses of the application, and how others have incorporate the good elements into their own applications. Bluntly that is because the author doesn't have that insight to provide it, because as a new barrister who has not been involved in recruitment himself, he won't know exactly why he got interviews or pupillage ultimately.
Which brings me onto the negatives. The entire website is geared towards selling courses which I am confident the owner does not have the experience or expertise to competently run. It's not cheap, either. A £495 payment to take a 'course' about pupillage applications that was created by someone who became a barrister with the CPS in 2022? I would hope anyone seriously considering a career as a barrister would have the sense not to fall for that. The free resources contain no content from the owner at all save for that one application, so I admittedly do not know what sort of quality you can expect from those courses. But given that the owner's selling point is him and there's no mention of anyone more qualified or experienced being involved, I think I'm justified in assuming that it is just him who is running this. In which case at the very least I seriously question the value for money, or indeed whether what is on offer is worth any sort of payment at all. There are many vastly more experienced practitioners who give advice for free, and I would be comfortable in predicting that that will be much better advice on the whole. Indeed, the free resources that the author provides on that website are predominantly documents taken from other websites.
Whilst it may not be the first issue that people consider, it is also worth noting that the terms and conditions of the website appear to be copied and pasted from an American source, and are both grammatically incorrect as a result, and do not seem to rely on law that is relevant in the UK, bearing in mind the website is marketed by someone practising in the UK to people hoping to practise in the UK. It is also not GDPR compliant, and indeed using personal information in the manner provided for in the privacy policy without gaining further consent would absolutely be unlawful. Again, it may be that the owner has no intention of using data in any unlawful way, but I equally would hesitate to give such a person £495 on the promise of premium resources that enhance your prospects of obtaining pupillage.
I'm not going to knock anyone for trying to make a living and being entrepreneurial. But I'm equally not going to shy away from being critical of a website that, in my view, is more opportunistic than entrepreneurial. From what I've read, the owner is trying to quite shamelessly make money by providing advice that he does not have the experience or expertise to competently provide. If he or anyone else wants to push back on that I'd be happy for them to. My view has been formed after a relatively brief review of the website and is not fully informed. But as of now, and based on what I have seen, there are red flags all over that website. If you must approach at all, approach with considerable caution.

Question on the employment section of the Pupillage Gateway:
Suppose you have taken on longer internships spanning months at a solicitor firm and international law firms abroad, within Chambers’ practice area. Would it be wise to employ a lengthier write-up so you can fully set out the depth of what you learnt (averaging a higher word counts of 250/300), rather than the brevity typical of the write-up for a mini-pupillage that usually don’t cross 150/300 words?
This is an important question, I feel, as being concise is key. But being concise does not always mean having 2 bullet points at the maximum, if you are being concise about various key things you learnt out of the depth of a longer and more enriching experience a longer stint spanning months provides over a 3-day mini-pupillage.
Thoughts?

I once received advice from a head of pupillage who stated that the more important experiences SHOULD have longer, more detailed write-ups. In fact, they mentioned that write-ups should not have a standard length, and it is a skill in itself to understand how much to write and where.
Do with that what you will

In the marketing spiel that was emailed around the time it was launched, it alleges to have the aim of widening access to the Bar and providing support to those without connections. Frankly that’s laughable given the cost makes it prohibitively expensive to many in that target group. I’d hate to think that someone with very limited income has been persuaded to pay for this under false illusions about the quality of content and resource they would be receiving. I offered similar feedback in an email survey asking why I hadn’t signed up.