Are you an aspiring barrister unsure how best to prepare for your pupillage interview? A year on, Emily Mawdsley reflects on her own interview experience and shares her top tips.

Tip 1: Research the Chambers

The website and LinkedIn page of the Chambers in question is a good place to start. Who are the existing members of the team and what are the types of cases they’re regularly instructed on?

Tip 2: Why Personal Injury?

Pupillage is a big investment for any Chambers. They’ll want to know you’ve done your research and, in the case of Express Chambers, you’re serious about a career in personal injury and the employed Bar.

Do you:

  • Have a personal experience involving personal injury law – perhaps a claim involving yourself, family, or friends?
  • Have experience working in and/or shadowing personal injury claims in the past?
  • Value the positive impact you can have on clients’ lives?
  • Do you enjoy learning about the intricacies of medical evidence?

Your reasons don’t have to be groundbreaking, but an ability to explain why you’re interested in personal injury is a must.

Tip 3: Anticipate Common Interview Questions

We’ve all been asked the dreaded ‘why do you want to be a barrister?’. These types of questions are often designed to test your commitment to the Bar, your resilience in the face of rejection or failure and your ability to persevere. Life as a barrister, while rewarding, can be tough. It’s full of urgent deadlines, long days and challenging conversations.

Before your interview have a think about examples of when you’ve been robust or pushed through adversity.

Have you ever successfully advocated for something or someone, and what was the outcome? Can you provide an example of when you’ve performed well under pressure? Remember, you can draw on both legal and non-legal experiences.

Tip 4: Stay Up to Date with the Industry  

Keeping up to date with the issues impacting the industry is a good way of demonstrating your commitment and interest in a career as a barrister.

Ways to stay up to date:

  • Civil Litigation Brief – a well-known industry blog by Gordon Exall, a barrister at Kings Chambers.
  • Chambers websites often publish articles discussing case law and developing legal principles.
  • Check out streaming platforms such as Spotify for free legal podcasts. Many are produced by barristers independently or on behalf of their Chambers.

Tip 5: Always Consider an Argument from Both Sides

Debating is a core component of being a barrister and you should be prepared to showcase your ability to put together an effective argument at interview. You may be presented with a statement and asked to argue for or against it and it’s easy to practice this at home.

Remember to always consider an argument from both sides. Not only will this help you identify the pitfalls in your own position, but it will help when you’re inevitably asked to make arguments for the opposite side. Focus on being logical, concise and structured in your answers, and take an evidence-based approach where possible. This is what will be expected of you in court.

Tip 6: Revisit Ethics

Ethics based questions at interview are common and largely revolve around your relationship with the court and your client. The general principles ‘do not mislead the court’ and ‘own up to your mistakes’ will get you far. Remember that your first duty is to the court, your second duty is to your client. You are required to act with honesty and integrity when dealing with both.

  • The Bar Standards Board Handbook is your bible for professional ethics. For the purposes of interview, a working knowledge of the 10 core duties will suffice.
  • Refresh your knowledge of the Civil Procedure Rules and have a quick look through your White Book to remind yourself of the chapters. You don’t need to be exam-ready, but being familiar with the rules will help, especially during the advocacy exercise in your interview.

Tip 7: Manage Your Nerves

It’s important that you believe in yourself and try to project confidence. This may be easier said than done – pupillage means a lot to all of us, and it’s completely natural to feel nervous. However, try not to let your nerves get the better of you.

The ‘fake it till you make it’ mindset is key. Think about all you’ve done to get yourself here; your law degree, the Bar course, all those mini-pupillages and extracurricular activities and not to mention surviving pupillage applications and securing an interview! Everybody on the panel started somewhere.

You’ve worked hard and you deserve to be here.

Tip 8: Plan for the Day

The day of interview can be nerve wrecking. To make the experience easier I’d suggest getting a good amount of sleep the night before and arriving early. Pupils are encouraged to plan to arrive at court with an hour to spare to account for any travel delays and this is a good idea for your interview too.

You’ll likely have been asked to prepare an advocacy exercise and you may be given some additional information to consider shortly before interview on the day, so providing yourself enough time to arrive and prepare is key.

Tip 9: Dress to Impress

My advice would be to try and look as fantastic as you can. To a certain extent this is to impress the panel but a well-put-together advocate is a more persuasive advocate. This can be a massive source of confidence in a difficult situation.

Wear your nicest suit but keep it to dark colours only. Make sure your shoes are clean and polished, a scruffy pair can undermine an otherwise polished appearance!

Tip 10: Be Yourself

There’s an assumption that everybody will have good grades and everybody has undertaken various mini-pupillages or work experience. This is information that will be readily available in your application, so you don’t want to waste your time regurgitating information the panel already knows.

The best way to stand out is by having the confidence to be yourself. This is still a professional interview, meaning you need to approach it with the formality it requires. However, if you can overcome your nerves and give the panel a glimpse of the person existing underneath, you will be instantly more memorable.

You might feel silly but try practicing some mock interview questions out loud in front of the mirror. I do this when I’m nervous about a tricky application hearing and it works wonders.

You can practice your intonation and pronunciation, which helps you to speak more confidently in the moment. This will get you high marks in an interview.

Pupillages at Express Chambers

At Express Chambers, we offer up to four pupillage positions each year, which you can learn more about on our dedicated page. Applications for pupillage will be available via the Pupillage Gateway.