Ab Initio
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4. What are the best aspects of your job?
Being able to ask the advice and opinion of senior members of Chambers, many of whom are leaders in their field, about my cases.
5. What are the worst aspects of your job?
Not getting the right result for a client.
6. What were the biggest challenges you faced when trying to secure a pupillage?
Standing out from the sheer number of applicants.
7. Does a mini pupillage provide enough of an indication to a candidate of what an actual pupillage is like?
An assessed mini-pupillage is the most akin to an actual pupillage. Simply shadowing (which most mini-pupillages are) is not very realistic.
8. What advice would you give to students that are trying to pursue a career in law?
Undertake experience in a varied number of workplaces (solicitors, chambers, local council legal departments etc) to see if that's the sort of work you would enjoy. Although it should be noted that an over-abundance of mini-pupillages is unlikely to be helpful, one or two at the most.
9. What interview tips would you give to a candidate?
Remember the people interviewing you are advocates, used to hearing and responding to very good advocacy. Make your answers clear, on-point and relevant. In particular, you should have a thorough idea of the work that chambers undertakes and, finally, you should have a ready answer to justify your chosen area of practice. Understanding the challenges facing the junior Bar in many practice areas will also lend credibility to your application.
10. What are the most common qualities of successful candidates?
Good academic credentials, a sociable personality, an understanding of real life and, an ability to think outside the box. In short, a personable and articulate problem-solver.
11. How can a candidate become commercially aware?
By understanding law is not practised in a vacuum. Firms and chambers are commercial enterprises in business to make a profit, clients (in civil law) largely resort to the law to protect their commercial interests, and judges make decisions based on legal rules driven in no small part by economic policy. Any understanding of any of the realities, by having a job, balancing household outgoings, running a voluntary organisation on grants or, best of all, establishing and running your own business, will impress.
Dr Ashley Bowes LL.B (Hons.) Ph.D | Pupil Barrister | Guildford Chambers
What are the benefits of having international experience?
1. Tell us about your University experience.
My university 'experience' didn't actually kick in until my fourth and final year, after I returned from a year studying abroad. Whilst I was a member of the Law Society and took part in activities such as Client Interviewing and Mooting in the first two years, I never really appreciated the wide variety of activities I could (and should) have been participating in! In my final year, I was vice-president of Carrington House and also took part in the Peer Assisted Learning Scheme as a mentor for first and second year students. I continued with Client Interviewing competitions and mock moots but was also conscious of balancing those things with studying and preparing for final exams.
I can't stress enough the importance of getting involved and contributing to university life – I regret not making more of the opportunities available in the first couple of years.
2. Why did you decide to study abroad for a year? Tell us about your experience.
I found out about the programme through a friend who was applying to a university in Australia – until that point, I had no idea about it! I made some enquiries with the Study Abroad team and luckily, they had just decided to extend the application period. If I am honest, I do not recall much about the application process but I think it was relatively straightforward.
My experience was simply amazing. I went to Grand Valley State University in Michigan. The lovely Kate Stoetzner is the director of the study abroad programme - she and her team couldn't have done more to welcome us and help us settle in. It was easy to think that life in the US was going to be similar to life here in the UK – how wrong I was! It was a huge culture shock. Everything is so huge and vast and it’s a different way of life. But it's something new and different and you learn to adapt quite quickly.
I studied modules from the Legal Studies and Criminal Justice programmes – modules that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to study at Kingston, such as Factual Investigations and Crimes against Women. The lecturers were standout