Tip 4: Enjoy it. Applying for pupillage has dominated my Januarys and Februarys for the past two years and I wanted to share one incredibly frustrating experience I have had following the latest round of applications/interviews. Chambers are only able to interview a small minority of applicants. Luck is the clincher. See examples of competency-based questions, Find out how to answer questions about legal news, Get prepared for whatever the interviewer throws at you. Many will have Masters degrees. Even though it will probably feel very unequal, the interview should be as much an opportunity for you to think about whether you want to be surrounded by the people interviewing you and the ethos of the chambers. Looking back, I was fortunate not to have a chair thrown at me. For example, my husband gave me a mock silk interview the day before my real interview. It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information. This, Im afraid, is the reality. As a barrister, you have got to be a problem solver. Second round interviews are more intensive, and candidates are usually given a set of papers to review, following which they present an argument to the interview Panel. Others will have friends or family in chambers, or relatives in the judiciary. Ask for the question to be repeated and drink some water to give yourself a little time to compose yourself and think about your answer. candidates for interview; and 7 May: Pupillage offers are made. This is to see how you cope under pressure. Some pupillage interview feedback. Before the interview. They want you to give the right answer and to respond well to their questions. They ought to be making reasonable adjustments for you. Perfect what you want to say. The first is undoubtedly preparation. There are a million variables that may influence your chances in any given interview. You do not have to pretend you are a barrister giving advice to clients". The right answer to this question (at least if I am interviewing) is to show you understand what work junior tenants at the chambers do (probably not something you can find out from the website go to chambers events/law fairs etc and ask) and explain convincingly why this kind of work interests you. Looking at the profiles of other junior tenants on the chambers website can be a sobering experience. Chambers are usually supportive when it comes to this, but you often have to request. Failing that, tickling the ego of your interviewers with a non-grovelly acknowledgment that the chambers is a leading set (all sets like to consider themselves leading) in the particular area of practice is a reasonably safe line. The pupillage interview process how best to prepare for your pupillage Tip 1: Thoroughly research the Set you have applied to. But you only need one good interview, so dont beat yourself up too much about the ones that go badly. Tip 4: Some chambers ask you to take part in a mock conference, as if you are advising a client in chambers. Answer honestly, the question is not designed to catch you out, but your answer should demonstrate humility. Those applying for a specialist pupillage will . You should also be aware of the changes affecting the regulation of the profession so, in addition to the news websites, keep up to date with publications by the Bar Standards Board (BSB). Debate-Related Pupillage Interview Questions. Stuart Withers on Twitter: "Some pupillage interview feedback. 1 The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement". Therefore, to that extent at least, you control the narrative of your interview. Or are you proactive, responsive and adaptable? If you did that, it would actually be a point against you because we are interested in the analysis of the principles and not how many cases you know. You will hear competing theories over whether you do in fact need to have a prepared response to the final, dreaded, Do you have anything youd like to ask us? My advice is to have at least three questions in your back pocket (just in case the panel unhelpfully answer one or two of them in the course of the interview). They know what is on their website. Its boring but it works. Why then make it so hard to become a barrister? So dont strain yourself stretching for originality; aim for simple honest sincerity. The people the panel remember from the interview were the ones who gave clear, compelling, insightful answers to our questions, not the people with wacky hobbies. Impact: the way in which you express and handle yourself during interview. Discover what a first-round pupillage interview really looks like. This question is asked to assess how diplomatic you can be and argue a case sensitively and professionally without feeling conflicted. If your form includes reference to specific cases you enjoyed studying or were interesting to research on a mini, or even a topic you wrote a dissertation on, expect to be asked more about that. We dont expect you to know anything about that, but commercial practice more generally). Tip 2: It can be a daunting experience to be presented in front of a panel of barristers asking questions. Through my blog, I share information I wish I had access to back in the day. Well the Pupillage gateway website has opened for viewing. Presidents of University Law Societies are ten-a-penny. Having relevant questions for pupillage interview panels demonstrates that you have a genuine interest in their chambers. This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos. Your answer should be sincere, and perhaps you can draw on your experiences of seeing a good barrister in action in Court who you thought demonstrated great character when handling a difficult case. You will have rejections for pupillage. Dont be. It can reveal a lot about your character and the characteristics you potentially view as making someone a good barrister. "It is the same for pupillage." Meanwhile, in 2017, Legal Cheek reported that an aspiring barrister had been left "astonished" after chambers asked her to pay a 10 administration fee to obtain feedback. Research the chambers . Tip 1: If you get through the pupillage application stage and you are now preparing for a pupillage interview, well done. You do not have to hit all the buttons, but having some will be good. How do we force cowardly murderers to face up to what they have done? How to ace your pupillage interview: tips from qualified barristers This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Typically, sets will have first and second round interviews. According to student feedback, the most common exercise is an advocacy test of some description, or a presentation. Pupillage Interviews - Round 2 - Congrapps One interview I attended was even more brutal; we were given five minutes to think up a 2-minute presentation on a topic of your choice. I find this poor. Your interview is a chance for you to demonstrate advocacy under pressure. But from my understanding, and certainly in our set, it is much more common to have a structured problem-based interview than it is to have a general interview that asks questions about an interviewee's interests etc. Dont be intimidated. Keep up to date with the legal news and changes affecting the areas in which you intend to specialise. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The disdain from the panel was palpable. The interview procedures adopted by chambers can be very varied. As a result, chambers can be highly individualistic. Be honest, but ensure that you give clear explanations why you have considered other careers and why you ultimately chose to pursue a career as a barrister. Be ready to offer a balanced view with respect to both sides of the argument, particularly on political stories. There are three reasons, in my view. Make sure youve read and watched those for your sets. Although you are being interviewed, you are also interviewing. 'I have my first pupillage interview. Any advice?' - Legal Cheek To describe a time you had to act on your own initiative, draw on your experiences to clearly demonstrate the problem or challenge you faced, how you overcame it and the result of your actions. 30 pupillage interview questions (plus example answers) The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors. 4. The list of questions you could face is illustrative and not exhaustive, so you must be ready for anything. I think the best way to prepare for this kind of question is just to read the broadsheet papers and decide what your view is and why. The pupillage application process continues as hundreds of aspiring barristers prepare for interviews this month online and in person. All will have done debating, mooting and other forms of public speaking. Application. The . This is another deliberate question asked by pupillage interview panels to gauge what you think makes a good barrister. First, do your research about the chambers you have an interview with so you know what their practice areas are very well. This website is witty, it is erudite, it is hard-hitting, it is focused and it is awesome.. Mock interviews. This cookie is used to store the language preferences of a user to serve up content in that stored language the next time user visit the website. You are expressly prohibited from electronically storing any material found here or republishing it by any means. That, I was later told, was the clincher. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies. But it shouldnt be beyond your wit to come up with a couple, just to keep the conversation flowing. In two days of this article being released, we had over 2000 views and several messages saying it was some of the most detailed pupillage advice the pupillage hopefuls had seen. The fact that a chambers (as in this case), can congratulate you for securing a second-round interview, and identify how incredibly competitive the process was, in the same email as refusing to provide feedback, to me is confusing and demonstrates a reluctance to help future colleagues in contradiction to the posts I see on social media platforms all the time from members of the profession. Dont rely on the same example for every question, but demonstrate how you have shown intellect, flexibility, determination, teamwork, research skills, oral advocacy, persuasion, and conflict resolution, among other skills. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. I was a disaster. Linked to the foregoing, make sure you have prepared to talk about something anything that is not law. Tip 2: Structure your answers. Debate-related pupillage interview questions are more difficult to prepare for, but you won't be expected to solve a specific problem in two minutes. Many thanks to the silks again for their valuable contributions. Pupillage interview season is looming. The application process begins with a two-day mini pupillage (or if necessary a virtual mini pupillage of one and a half days). Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Make sure you have properly understood what it is really like to work at that set and/or in that practice area (broadly described:for example my chambers does construction. However, the fact that you are a decorated Morris dancer, or were thrashed by Daphne and co on Eggheads, or once interviewed Mike Tyson for your student newspaper with the opener (and closer), For our readers who may not have heard of you, what do you do? these will remain with the panel afterwards. When you are thinking of examples, it is almost inevitable that you will gild the lily slightly. But the same basic social rules apply in both circumstances make eye contact by looking into your webcam when answering questions and take note of everyones names so that you can speak to them individually throughout the different stages of the interview. Talking to friends and others who are either applying at the same time or who have just done it. However, as long as you prepare properly for a pupillage interview, there's always a chance that you're the lucky applicant. You'll need to be able to back up what you say about yourself with evidence from your work . Perhaps role-play something similar with your friends. T - True You must be true to yourself. While you are speaking you may be interrupted and challenged on one or more points in your argument. For example, at our chambers, we set different problem questions every year. Go through your whole form, identify all the points you might be asked to elaborate on (these will be points which relate to the selection criteria), and do this for every single one. This cookie is set by linkedIn. Read publications and websites such as. Do not worry about how you come across. However, as is so often pointed out, resilience is key and rejections are a natural part of such a competitive process, so, its something you have to try and get used to. We also received over 50 requests for an article on tips for pupillage interviews. In reality, prepare for the unexpected is fairly useless advice; the best antidote for this kind of stuff is experience. Give yourself a pat on the back because it means you are doing something right. Your performance at interview plus any presentation or advocacy exercise will be used to assess this. Pupillage interview panels will not expect you to be strong in every area of the law. I cross my fingers and toes and hope that as many of my applications as possible end up in that first and smallest pile - the interview pile. The Panel are looking to assess your raw intellectual competence, your ability to digest and consider information and your oral advocacy. The instructions vary on the chambers and the types of problems that they set. If you narrow down your options too much, you might be missing opportunities for yourself. In fact, the very best advice it has to offer in these situations is to be found on the cover. Stand your ground under pressure from smug interviewers, but be prepared to make concessions if your argument is expertly blown apart. This is also not taking into account the fact that the vast majority of applicants will have spent many hours applying for, and then working in jobs which they feel will make their pupillage applications stronger, i.e. You don't always have to ask because most chambers have a wealth of information of their website. If you get offered pupillage, you can start making enquiries, I think its a bit pointless otherwise. On 25 May I then received a response which stated that the chambers could not offer any feedback, except to say that 2 of the applicants were a little better and they were successful. If youre seduced by the idea of parading about in a wig, bands and a gown, grow up. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. All of the skills above are what you should be thinking about in your daily life that you can apply to them. If there is a case coming up, go and see if you can sit in it. Mine certainly did, as I was sure I did not want to do crime, but it turns out I love advocacy and my criminal pupillage meant for daily fun and excitement. Barristers love lists. Applications for pupillage with Mountford Chambers commencing in 2024. You would need to answer this question honestly and remain true to your convictions. Like so many others applicants, I failed to secure a pupillage this year which in itself is very frustrating and disheartening (to say the least). A few nerves are good for your performance. The first point to make about the Constable Quotient is that thats alotof nerves. That will just make you self-conscious. What was good, what was bad? The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Do not be overly formal. Used by Microsoft Advertising as a unique ID for visitors. we gear our entire lives around trying to secure one. My brilliant colleague in Chambers, Adam Constable QC, says that as a barrister you should be on average 30% nervous all the time. Tip 4: Bearing in mind that a pupillage interview is a daunting experience, remind yourself that the panel are people who want you to succeed. But dont be overawed by the invitation to discuss yourself in front of members of chambers who are only there because they have to do their turn at interviewing. Copyright 2023 Legal Cheek Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Make sure you've researched the chambers thoroughly. But dont be arrogant, and dont bullshit to try to preserve the illusion of confidence interviewers are likely to see through that so if you dont know, say so. As an advocate, your very purpose is to convince the Court that you have the better case; an interview is no different. Here is a short list of competencies for the Bar: Getting into the Bar requires resilience, adaptability and determination. Pupillage - Twenty Essex Weve had a number of applicants who attempted to spout stuff from our website back from us when we asked the why us? question, and I strongly disagree that this is a good idea. Interested in a future career as a lawyer? Developing a mantra. Kieran Alker is a first class law graduate. It seems that it is equally applicable to pupillage interviews.
Trinity Management Group Florida,
Land For Sale In Norway Europe,
James Pepper Rutland Net Worth,
Midwest High School Lacrosse Rankings,
Articles P