Education

• Recruitment
• Introduction from Mukul Chawla QC
• Education
• Mini-pupillage
• The Pupillage Committee
• Selection of twelve-month pupils through OLPAS
• Obligations of pupil supervisors
• Applications for third six pupillage
• Recruiting Tenants from the pool of pupils
• What happens when you start a pupillage in Chambers
• After pupillage
• Rights and entitlements of a pupil at 9-12 Bell yard
• Duties as a pupil
• Useful telephone numbers

All pupils are required to complete the following courses:

Chambers courses

In-House Advocacy

Chambers provides a comprehensive in-house advocacy programme for its pupils. The training sessions take place at least once every fortnight at 6pm within Chambers.

Advocacy training is led by Mukul Chawla QC with the assistance of Daniel Stevenson who will arrange the exercises for and the times of each session. However, there will invariably be other senior and junior members of Chambers present to assist with role-play and feedback. Advocacy training therefore provides an important opportunity for pupils to meet members of Chambers at all levels (and of course for members of Chambers to meet pupils and observe their advocacy).

Advocacy training sessions consist of role-play exercises for witness handling (examination-in-chief and cross-examination), pleas in mitigation, applications, legal submissions and conference skills. Pupils will generally receive papers for the exercise the evening before the session in preparation for receiving briefs the night before a court appearance. Occasionally the exercise will require the submission of a skeleton argument, in which case papers will be distributed the Friday before the session.

Advocacy exercises used are often based on real cases, albeit suitably edited and redacted. As far as possible, we aim to use exercises different to those used by the Inns of Court. Pupils will perform the role of the advocate, with members of Chambers playing the part of the tribunal, witnesses and clients as required. Advocacy trainers will then provide oral feedback. In general terms, Chambers follows the Hampel Method, which is the same method for teaching advocacy used by the Inns of Court. The feedback will focus on one key area in which the advocate can improve, (the headline) and they will be told why they should improve on this (rationale), how they can do so (remedy), and finally will be shown by the trainer how to improve their performance (demonstration), before they have another go themselves (the replay). However, as the programme continues through the year, pupils can expect more than one point of constructive criticism from their trainers.

Pupils will in addition receive written feedback on their performance. Feedback forms will be completed after each session by the Queen's Counsel (or most senior member) in charge of a particular session, in conjunction with the other trainers. The purpose of the feedback form is two-fold: Firstly, it provides a record for pupils to review and monitor their progress after each session and to remind them of the areas of comment from previous sessions; secondly, the feedback form provides a record of pupils' progress in advocacy training which will eventually be considered by the Tenancy Committee at the conclusion of pupillage. Under NO circumstances will pupils' feedback forms from advocacy training sessions held before the Christmas break (i.e. in your first few months of advocacy training) become part of the consideration for a pupil's tenancy application.

Attendance of pupils at in-house advocacy training is compulsory and the importance of proper preparation for and timely attendance at advocacy training cannot be over-emphasised. Pupil supervisors are informed that in-house advocacy training takes priority over whatever work pupils have for their supervisors and during their first six months pupils are expected to leave court early to ensure that they arrive back in Chambers in time for advocacy training.

In-house advocacy sessions are generally followed by an opportunity for pupils to get to know members of Chambers (and each other) in less formal surroundings.

Local Authority Prosecutions lecture

This is a mandatory lecture given by John McGuinness QC to prepare you for local authority work which you may do during your second six. It is held in Chambers on a day that you will be notified of. This work is important to Chambers and careful note should be taken of the content of the lecture and the lecture handout as the work is specialised and complex.

External courses

Inns of Court Advocacy

These courses are held either over two weeks (Middle Temple) or on residential weekends. They are mandatory and must be booked through the education department of your Inn without delay.

Advice to Counsel

This is a mandatory one day course. It can be booked through the Bar Council. You will receive a booking form on registration of your pupillage.

European Court of Human Rights course

This is currently a mandatory course lasting two days. The Crown Prosecution Service and Bar Council are reviewing the course and it may be withdrawn. The Bar Council will contact you with the latest position after you have registered your pupillage. Attendance on this course is a prerequisite to carrying out prosecution work.

Forensic Accounting

(a course lasting three days, optional during pupillage - mandatory during first three years of practice).

It is a matter for you whether you attend the course during pupillage or at a later stage. Many pupils find it helpful to undertake it in their first six so as not to lose three days work later.