A pupillage is a 12-month period of practical training, under the supervision of an experienced barrister (known as a pupil-supervisor), designed to develop the experience and skills needed to practise as a qualified barrister.

During the first six months, pupils are non-practising ’shadows’ to their pupil-supervisor, and in the final six months pupils can provide legal services and exercise rights of audience with their pupil-supervisor’s permission.

Pupillages must be undertaken with an organisation authorised by the Bar Council, under the strict supervision of a registered pupil-supervisor. In practice, the majority of the 700 or so annually available pupillages are with barristers’ chambers, but some commercial companies, organisations and Government departments such as HM Revenue & Customs and the Crown Prosecution Service train small numbers of employed barristers.

The Bar Council, through the Bar Standards Board, published The Pupillage File, which contains information about all aspects of pupillage.

Pupillage payment

Payment is now compulsory for all pupillages, unless a payment waiver has been sanctioned by the Bar Council. Pupillage should be funded at a level of not less than £833.33 per month (equivalent to the minimum wage), plus reasonable travel expenses where applicable.

Finding pupillage vacancies

See Finding a pupillage for more information.

Beating the competition

There are about half as many pupillages as there are places on the Bar Vocational Course (BVC), so competition is stiff. What can you do to improve your chances?

Choosing your specialism
Investigate the different specialist practice areas – which are likely to best suit your skills and interests? Find out more about barristers’ areas of specialism.

Boost your skills
Your law degree or Common Professional Examination / Graduate Diploma in Law will give you essential legal knowledge and research skills, but make use of any opportunities to boost your skills while at university, for example, debating or mooting as a way of developing your public-speaking and advocacy skills.

Inside knowledge
Court visits provide an invaluable opportunity to develop your understanding of the legal process. Talk to legal professionals to fill in the gaps in your knowledge and to get useful advice and contacts to help you to make career choices.

Get experienced
Any work experience is valuable. Part-time jobs can help you develop relevant skills and provide experience of dealing with people from a wide social spectrum. Relevant legal experience is fairly widely available and almost obligatory for any serious applicant for pupillage.

Mini pupillages
Mini-pupillages are virtually a must. These usually entail shadowing someone in chambers for between three and five days as an insight into the life and work of a barrister. This is your opportunity to make contacts and a good impression.

Some mini-pupillages are formally assessed through a piece of written work or research and are used as part of the selection process. Two or three mini-pupillages look good on your CV, and should give you a broad view of the field. Details of mini-pupillages are listed online at www.pupillages.com.