Pupil’s View

During the first of my four seats I worked solely with my supervisor, giving me time to settle in and practise the basics of drafting pleadings, skeleton arguments and advices before the formal assessments began. Those assessments covered all of chambers’ main practice areas and different forms of written and oral advocacy, and were designed so that they were valuable learning exercises in themselves, as well as assessments. They were not the sole determinant of the tenancy decision but were supplemented by scored pieces of work for other members and supervisor reviews from each of the first three seats, which meant there were many opportunities to demonstrate progress across the year, even if a particular exercise did not go perfectly.

We also had formal handover meetings at the start and end of each seat. These were taken seriously rather than being a tick-box exercise. My current and future supervisors would sit with me to review what I had done, identify areas for improvement, and agree a practical action plan for the next seat, for example particular types of drafting to practise, hearings to attend, or barristers to work with. These meetings proved far more useful than I had anticipated and helped to ensure the year felt structured and purposeful rather than simply reactive to whatever work happened to come in.

Real care was also taken to ensure that I worked on a wide range of matters with barristers across chambers, not just my supervisors. Seeing how different practitioners approached such a broad range of cases — from substantial appellate litigation to shorter Employment Tribunal hearings — was crucial in helping me start to develop my own approach in junior practice.

I also regularly received detailed written feedback, and often had the benefit of comparing my drafts directly with those of my supervisors and discussing the reasoning behind particular approaches. Even when a piece of work came back heavily marked up, the comments made clear where the analysis or structure could be improved and how the argument might be presented more effectively. This contrasted with what I had heard from friends at other sets, where the emphasis was more on following by example and working out for yourself how best to meet the tenancy criteria.

Finally, I benefitted from a network of formal and informal mentors who were hugely generous with their time, offering support on anything from difficult legal questions to the practicalities of building a junior practice. Members are consistently willing to make time for pupils and junior colleagues, including helping to introduce us to opportunities with solicitors, so that by the time tenancy begins you already have the beginnings of a practice.

Looking back, pupillage at Littleton was immensely rewarding. The work is consistently interesting and the expectations are high, but the training is thoughtful and thorough. Perhaps most striking was how willing people were to invest time in pupils which made the experience both challenging and enjoyable in equal measure.

Whilst I had a practising second six, I did not have my own cases until July. From then on, I continued assisting my last supervisor with his work, but also had the opportunity to do preliminary hearings for myself, and draft pleadings for instructing solicitors.

During pupillage you will be exposed to all the key practice areas of Littleton. I was with an employment practitioner in my first and last three months, and with commercial practitioners in the middle six months.

The general thrust of pupillage is that you do work for your pupil supervisor, whether that be current work they are working on or past work which is used to develop your skills. The type of work and the type of courts or tribunals I experienced varied: I shadowed members of chambers in the Supreme Court; I drafted various pleadings (both for the Claimant and Respondent); I observed trials in the high court (for civil fraud) and also in the employment tribunal (for unfair dismissal, whistleblowing and discrimination); and I advised on various complicated (and sometimes unexplored) areas of both commercial and employment law.

In addition to work for my supervisor, I completed work for other members of chambers. This allowed me to continue to get involved in other areas of Chambers’ practice. For example, whilst I was with a commercial pupil supervisor, I advised on an employment matter, and drafted some pleadings in relation to a sports arbitration.

During the 12 months my co-pupil and I also had assessments, which tested both drafting and advocacy skills, and again involved the different areas of Chambers’ work. Following each piece of work for other members of chambers, and following each assessment, I received a mark out of 10 as well as helpful feedback. The entire process was transparent, and I always knew how to improve.

At the end of each three months, I had a handover with my previous and subsequent supervisors to discuss what work I had and had not done and what I needed to work on. I personally did not have the smoothest of beginnings, but Littleton really invested in me and wanted to see me succeed. The steep trajectory I then experienced was not just because of my own hard work, but also because of the efforts of those in Chambers with responsibility for my training. I am fortunate that I am now a tenant at such a supportive Chambers.

There is no shying away from the fact that pupillage is tough, but the people, the quality of work and the satisfaction you gain from life at the bar and at this Chambers, for me, made it all worth it!

My work during pupillage typically involved preparing a draft of documents that my pupil supervisor or another member of chambers was working on, including pleadings and other court documents, skeleton arguments and written advice. I also attended a range of court hearings from case management hearings to multi-day hearings on liability, both in the Employment Tribunal and the Civil Courts. I was encouraged throughout to discuss cases with my supervisors and other members of chambers and, to my surprise, found that even from day 1 they were interested to hear my views. It was particularly rewarding when I saw my own work being used in court or in front of clients.

To give a flavour of the kind of work you might see during pupillage at Littleton, the cases I worked on included a 2 week merits hearing in claims of workplace discrimination, a team move case in the High Court, a civil fraud claim involving parties in the UK, the US, Italy and China and a contractual dispute between a premier league footballer and his agent. Littleton pupils are on their feet once April comes around and so I also had my own matters by the end of pupillage. That was a little daunting at first, however, the clerks liaised closely with my pupil supervisors to make sure that the workload stayed manageable, and I received plenty of support and guidance where required.

Chambers really does want pupils to succeed. And whilst it is fair to say that the nine months leading up to the tenancy decision can be stressful, the process at Littleton is extremely well organised and transparent. I received careful and detailed feedback on every substantive piece of work that I did on pupillage. This not only helped me to improve but relieved the pressure of not knowing whether or not I was on the right track (which friends who did pupillage elsewhere described as one of the hardest parts of their year).

Finally, but importantly, Littleton is a very welcoming place and the level of support creates an atmosphere in which pupils and junior tenants are able to thrive. It is also very sociable. I transferred to the Bar after 5 years at a firm of solicitors and had been concerned that it might be a more solitary existence. Fortunately, this has not been my experience at Littleton.

Although pupillage was a stressful time, with written and oral assessments being done throughout the first 9 months, the members of Chambers who marked the assessments gave comprehensive feedback and the assessments were marked using a grid format so that I could clearly see how the marks were allocated and where there was room for improvement. This helped me manage the stress of the upcoming tenancy decision (somewhat!). Having spoken to pupils at other sets, and heard about how pupillage was handled there, I am very happy that I was lucky enough to have done my pupillage at Littleton.
Having come from practice in South Africa one of the biggest pluses at Littleton, for me, was that during my second six I could take on my own work and get back on my feet in court. This work involved drafting witness statements and pleadings and attending preliminary hearings in the Employment Tribunal.

Like Alex, I also saw a balance of employment and commercial work, which are Chambers’ core practice areas. Additionally, I was also fortunate enough to be exposed to some sports law work – which is one of the areas I would like to develop my practice towards.

During pupillage (and after) the members are always happy to help with both practical and legal questions and it is this sense of camaraderie that makes Littleton a great set to be a part of. Additionally, Littleton has an amazing administrative team that makes all the admin headaches of pupillage and practice bearable.

If I had to pupillage again (heaven forbid!), I would definitely choose Littleton – I can’t give higher praise than that.