Pupillage at Exchange Chambers

We are a busy set of chambers with premises in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool. We practise predominantly in the North but also much further afield, Chambers having a national reputation and profile. We are a thriving organisation, having been managed progressively for the last 25 years. We have been at the forefront of many developments at the Bar. We organise ourselves as if a corporation, with a management board emphasising the business aspects of professional life, whilst maintaining concentration on the important, traditional values of the profession.

Having been a leading set of Liverpool chambers for much of the 20th century, in 2000 we expanded into Manchester, and, in 2010, into Leeds. We have a large body of accredited mediators amongst our number. We look forward to continuing our success. At the present time we have 16 Queen’s Counsel and 145 juniors in chambers, who specialise in one or more of: personal injury, commercial law, crime, family law, chancery law, housing law, employment law, professional negligence, construction law and Court of Protection law. In addition, we have experts in taxation, pensions and insurance. A substantial part of our work is for local authorities and government bodies.

Read the Legal Cheek Exchange Chambers profile here. Read Exchange Chambers' pupillage document here.

Qualities

We are looking for candidates with the following qualities: integrity, a fine intellect, a capacity for sustained hard work under pressure, sound judgment, an ability to relate appropriately to the very widest cross section of society, clarity of thought and expression, confidence, enthusiasm, broadness of mind, and an ability to achieve. Whilst we take into account a candidate’s A Levels, we do not require any minimum grades as a pre-requisite for interview. We believe that more recent evidence of academic achievement is of greater relevance to pupillage selection.

As we require evidence upon which to base our decisions we ask all applicants to forward, before the first interview, certificates of A levels, degrees, and post-degree qualifications. Equally, we accept that class of degree alone should not be regarded as an infallible indicator of likely success in practice. However, we receive hundreds of applications each year.

As a general rule, we do not interview candidates with less than an upper second class degree, unless circumstances are exceptional. If a candidate with less than an upper second feels his circumstances are exceptional, he should explain why in his application. We have no requirement that a candidate should have studied at a particular educational institute or type of institution.

Pupillage awards and funding

The Bar Council’s Pupillage Funding Requirements apply to all pupillages commencing on or after 1 January 2003. Chambers’ pupillage award exceeds the Bar Council’s requirements. We pride ourselves that we offer an attractive financial package which is a combination of grant and loan/guaranteed income. In practice this means that we shall make the following payments to each pupil: during the first 6 (non-practising) months of pupillage he will receive £1,666.66 per month during the second 6 (practising) months of pupillage he will receive £2,500 per month, less such amount, if any, as he may receive during that month from his practice as a barrister; and such amounts, if any, as he may have received during the preceding months of his practising pupillage from his practice as a barrister, save to the extent that the amount paid to him in respect of such month was less than £2,500.

Further details will be provided with the pupillage offer. We are also conscious that pupils are likely to carry with them a burden of debt. Should an offer of pupillage be accepted, we will discuss with the pupil his borrowing and may, dependent on individual circumstances, make an offer to assist with the management of that debt. The Bar Council’s funding requirements make no provision for the period after the conclusion of pupillage. Chambers will however guarantee each pupil who is granted tenancy total receipts of £100,000 net of VAT by way of interest free loan during the first two years of practice as a tenant. We hope that the receipts of most new tenants will exceed that sum. But for those tenants who may not have been doing work which is as well or as quickly paid, the guarantee will be there in the background to ensure that their monthly receipts does not on average fall below about £4,000 per month.

Selection procedure

For applications for pupillage commencing in Autumn 2017, Chambers is not a member of the Pupillage Gateway. The initial consideration of applications is carried out in accordance with strict criteria laid down by the Pupillage Committee. The task is delegated to an external source, who will draw up a list of the top 50 or so applicants. Thereafter, the Pupillage Committee will meet in order to select, from that list of 50, no more than 12 who will be invited to first round interviews.

In view of the very considerable number of applications that we receive each year, it is simply not feasible to interview everyone. The deadline for applications is 11am on the 18th May 2016. Applications must be made on Chambers’ own application form, which can be downloaded here. Whilst we prefer applications to be made electronically, a hard copy of the form, which may be completed by hand and returned to us, will be made available upon request. We will make all reasonable efforts to accommodate any applicant who may have specific requirements which need to be met in order for him to be able to complete the application form.

First round interviews will take place on Saturday, 4th June 2016 in Manchester. No interview on that day will last longer than 25 minutes. Some days prior to the interview, candidates will be provided with a question to answer; it will form the basis of discussion which will occupy part of those 25 minutes. Candidates must be prepared to defend the opinions they express.