How our pupillage works

The 12 month pupillage is normally divided into three periods, each of four months duration. The pupil shares his or her pupil supervisor's room and works closely with that person. The Bar Council produces checklists which help ensure that a comprehensive training is received. The checklist in any case will depend upon the pupil's preference and the identity of the pupil supervisor. It will be one or more of:

• the common law checklist
• the planning and local government checklist
• the administrative law checklist

We organise advocacy training sessions in which pupils pit their skills against one another or a junior member before a 'Judge'. Several members of chambers are involved in the advocacy training programmes organised by their Inn of Court. Pupils are likely to be in court on their own account during their second six, although the amount of work will vary. We consider working for FRU and other pro bono schemes to be a rewarding and instructive experience and pupils are encouraged to participate in them.

Clare Parry, who completed pupillage and is a member of these chambers, is featured in the 2010 edition of the Training Contract and Pupillage Handbook where she gives an account of her experience as a pupil here. Click here for the full article.

Please read our Pupillage policy document to get a clearer understanding. It can be downloaded from the side bar on the right.

Applications for pupillage

Chambers normally offers 2 pupillages of 12 months' duration each with an award of £35,000 for the year (which includes guaranteed minimum earnings of £10,000 in your second six months of pupillage). Applicants should have a degree of at least class 2:1. We are a member of Pupillage Portal (formerly OLPAS) and applications should be made through their website. We take part in the Summer round of interviews. For further information, visit the Pupillage Portal website here.

If you are exempt from applying through Pupillage Portal, applications should be made in writing to Clare Parry, with a CV and covering letter. The basis upon which exemption is claimed should be set out in the letter and it should be indicated whether the Bar Council has confirmed that status.

Mini-Pupillages

We welcome mini-pupils who spend a week in chambers seeing a wide a range of work as possible.

Mini-pupillages are only available in the Summer and preference is given to those in the final year of a law degree or who are on the CPE. To apply for a mini-pupillage please email a current CV and covering letter before the end of March to minipupillage@cornerstonebarristers.com .

Life as a Junior Tenant at Cornerstone Barristers

Pupillage at Cornerstone barristers is an incredibly challenging and equally rewarding experience. You will sit with at least three pupil supervisors during your first nine months of pupillage and together they will cover the core practice areas within chambers.

During pupillage you will have the opportunity to work alongside leading barristers in their field who will be instructed on important and complex litigation. During your first six months, you will make regular trips to Public Inquiries, the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court with members of the set. In return, you are expected to work hard and produce excellent written work which will, in part, inform our tenancy selection process.

Your pupil supervisors will also ensure, prior to the start of your second six, that you spend time with the junior members of chambers, and accompany them to court in order to understand the work that they do and that you may be instructed to do in your second six when you are on your feet.  In addition to your supervisors, the junior members of chambers will always be ready to talk you through any concerns that you have.

Second Six

In your second six, you will be in Court on average three times a week whist continuing to work with your pupil supervisor, who will continue to involve you in senior work and review the progression of your written work. Your court experiences during your second six are invaluable as you will be taking the first steps towards your life as an advocate.

Whilst there can be no escaping the intensity of a pupil’s life, the ethos at Cornerstone is such that you will feel supported by junior and senior members alike. Our twelve most junior members have all become tenants after successful periods of pupillage within chambers and are always willing to help and support you through the process.  There is a strong sense of cohesion amongst those members, who regard peer support and friendship as key to a balanced and successful career at the self-employed Bar.

At the junior end we recruit primarily from our own pupils and the overriding assessment criteria for our selection process is that of ‘excellence’.  Your pupil supervisors will prepare reports on their assessment of your work.  Feedback will be obtained from members of chambers for whom you have done substantial pieces of work as well as from solicitors who have instructed you during your second six.  The pupillage committee within chambers will meet on average 6 times during your pupillage to review the placement of pupils with tenancy supervisors and to ensure that your pupillage is progressing appropriately. At their final meeting they will review all the feedback that has been obtained and make a recommendation as to whether or not a tenancy should be offered.  That decision is determined by a 2/3 majority at a full chambers meeting.

Junior Tenants

If you are selected for tenancy, you will become part of one of the most progressive and respected sets at the bar and you will soon develop a busy practice within chambers’ core areas. Many junior tenants maintain a deliberately broad practice as they develop into seasoned lawyers who are able to turn their hand to all aspects of work within chambers.

You will be in Court on a regular basis and will regularly advise clients on a range of local government, planning, housing and civil matters. As your practice becomes more developed, and given the expertise of chambers in planning law, you will be instructed on planning inquiries, some of which may last for weeks.  There is also an experienced team of junior immigration practitioners at Cornerstone, who have enjoyed early opportunities to argue administrative law principles in the Tribunal setting far sooner than they might expect to be in the Administrative Court.  Many junior members work alongside more senior members and are led in large and complex public inquiries or within the higher courts exposing them to a level of work wholly out of step with their call. Junior members are also used to taking on work, such as seeking and responding to applications for urgent injunctive relief for example, at short notice.

There is an informal ‘open door’ policy at Cornerstone which means that junior members do not hesitate to ask for help on their cases from those more experienced members within chambers. There are many occasions in your life as a junior tenant where you will encounter a seemingly insurmountable point which suddenly becomes far more manageable once you have had a chance to discuss it with someone else.

We also encourage you to develop your skills and broaden your horizons by seizing opportunities such as Pegasus Scholarships. Three of our junior members have won scholarships in recent years. Josef Cannon worked as an advisor to the Guyanese Government in Georgetown, Guyana and both Sophie Weller and Jenny Oscroft had successful periods with the Centre for Constitutional Rights in New York where they both worked on behalf of Guantanamo detainees.  Another of our members recently spent a year as Judicial Assistant in the Supreme Court.

Junior members at Cornerstone also sit on boards and act as trustees, bringing their professional legal experience to bear on the work of other organisations.  There is also a strong commitment to pro bono work at the junior end, and you are encouraged to speak to members if you are interested in becoming involved.