SERLE COURT 2021
pupillage RAISES THE BAR IN CHANCERY AND COMMERCIAL
Information for 2022 applications
pupillage
“At Serle Court we regard the recruitment and training of able pupils from all backgrounds as vital to maintaining our position as a leading Commercial & Chancery Set� Hugh Norbury QC, Pupillage Committee Chair
At Serle Court we regard the recruitment and training of able pupils as vital to maintaining our position as a leading Commercial & Chancery set. Our pupils are our tenants of the future, and we know our clients value our strength in depth at all levels in chambers, particularly when building teams for substantial cases. This leaflet includes information on our commitment to equality and diversity, what chambers looks for in our applicants, how to apply for pupillage, what we offer, and insights regarding pupillage and junior tenancy. If you have any further questions and would like to chat to someone here, we would be happy to help. You can find contact details for appropriate people on the last page. Hugh Norbury QC
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Who are we Serle Court is one of the leading Commercial & Chancery sets, covering the whole range of ‘business’ law, from offshore litigation, company and insolvency law, civil fraud all embraced by our standing as a leading commercial litigation set. We are at the forefront of private client, trust and probate work and are instructed in the leading cases year on year. We are recognised as one of the top sets at the English Bar, with 70 barristers including 28 silks. Our Head of Chambers is Alan Boyle QC and he and all our barristers and staff are committed to providing exceptional service which is regularly recognised in the legal directories where Chambers is currently recommended in all its core
practice areas. Multiple members of chambers are recognised in each of its core areas and in additional specialist areas by both Chambers UK and Legal 500. Serle Court provides a wide range of services across the spectrum of Commercial & Chancery law, including civil fraud, commercial litigation, company, insolvency, international and offshore, partnership and LLP, private client trusts and probate, property, mediation and arbitration. We are acknowledged as “one of the very best commercial chancery sets, and one of the few that genuinely competes in both traditional chancery and commercial litigation.” – Chambers UK.
What we are looking for Chambers looks for highly motivated individuals with outstanding intellectual ability, combined with a practical approach, sound judgment and excellent oral and written communication skills. We are looking for candidates that have the potential to become successful advocates and a capacity to establish and maintain good relationships with solicitors, clients and the judiciary. Serle Court has a reputation for ‘outstandingly
clever, brilliant technicians’ (Legal 500) and seeks to continue this reputation through its pupils. Chambers generally requires a degree classification of a good 2:1 as a minimum. We aim to recruit three pupils each year with a view to offering as many tenancies. The pupillage award is £65,000 (of which up to £22,500 can be drawn down during the year prior to pupillage).
Application and Selection Process
Equality & Diversity
Serle Court is currently participating in the online pupillage applications scheme Pupillage Gateway. Every applicant for pupillage at Serle Court must be made through the Gateway and within its timetable.
Serle Court is interested in well-rounded candidates from all backgrounds. Chambers is committed to equality and diversity and encourages and welcomes applications from candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the legal sector. Several members of chambers are actively involved in schemes to increase diversity at the Bar and our programme of corporate
Once the deadline has been reached, all applications are anonymised and considered by two members of chambers. A third member of chambers will then review the anonymised applications independently. This process leads to about 30 candidates being invited to a first interview conducted by a panel of three members of chambers. The interview usually lasts around 15 minutes.
social responsibility has a focus in this area. We also consider wellbeing to be at the centre of how we think and act in Chambers; it is not a separate subject, it is part of our ethos. For more information on our Equality and Diversity policy, please visit our website.
From those candidates interviewed in the first round, around 10 will be invited to a second interview. The second interview is also conducted by a panel of three members of chambers and the Chief Executive. These interviews take the form of a mock client conference. Candidates will be given 40 minutes to consider a short problem question and prepare to deliver advice in conference to members of chambers playing the role of clients/solicitors. The interview itself will last around 30 minutes. Please note, all members participating in the pupillage process will only be involved in one element of the process.
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Life as a pupil at Serle Court How pupillage is structured As a pupil at Serle Court, you sit with four supervisors, each for a period of three months, and a real effort is made to have supervisors from each of Serle Court’s practice areas, including general commercial litigation, civil fraud, traditional chancery and domestic trusts. One of the best aspects of Serle Court is its breadth of practise areas, but that was also very challenging – one day I would be focused on a freezing order in a commercial case, and the next I would be researching law from an offshore jurisdiction for a trusts case. As well as doing work for your supervisors, once you are settled in you can begin to do work for other members of chambers, which is a good way of getting to know them and of experiencing more specialist practise areas. However, your supervisor tends to act as a gatekeeper, which stops you from feeling overworked.
Pupillage hours are genuinely 9am – 6pm at Serle Court; although I sometimes chose to stay later, that was, and felt, entirely voluntary.
The type of work you do as a pupil I was very fortunate to experience three trials as a pupil at Serle Court, all concerning very different areas of law: one was a six week Chancery Division trial concerning breach of directors’ duties with multiple defendants
(which meant that my supervisor, and I, ended up working closely with barristers from other sets who were representing those defendants). Another was a fraud trial being run in parallel to a criminal investigation into the same defendant, and the last was about knowledge and approval of a will, in which one of the central factual issues was whether the testator could speak English. I really enjoyed assisting with drafting submissions and crossexamination notes. Experiencing trials meant that I was mainly focused on “live” work, but that was also a general feature of pupillage. Working on live files meant I was able to compare my final product with my supervisor’s, and get a good sense of how long they took to complete the same piece of work. The only time I worked on “dead” files was in my last few weeks of pupillage, where my supervisor checked whether there was anything I hadn’t done, and got me to practise drafting particular types of documents. One of the documents was a settlement agreement, and
I was very relieved I had done that when I found myself drafting one late at night in a mediation a couple of months into tenancy.
Atmosphere While pupillage at Serle Court is demanding, members genuinely try to make it as stress-free as possible. Pupils are not in competition with each other; my two co-pupils both got taken on alongside me, and we are good friends. Assessment of pupils is less formal than at other sets; in my pupillage there was one formal advocacy exercise and one written pupil exercise that all the pupils did (neither of which was treated as a competition!), but otherwise the focus is on supervisor feedback. Members of chambers were very welcoming to us, and we were invited to all chambers events.
Stephanie Thompson Pupil 2017–18
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Life as a pupil at Serle Court The type of work Even though I had a sense of what a commercial chancery practice entailed before I started pupillage, I was still (pleasantly) surprised by the breadth of work that Chambers did. In effect, ‘commercial chancery’ – to Serle Court at least – comprised a spectrum with ‘pure commercial’ work at one end, ‘traditional chancery’ at the other, and everything in between. For example, one week I would be drafting submissions for a dispute that followed the fallout of an M&A deal; and the next I would draft a skeleton for a trusts and estates dispute. (The quality of the work was not affected by this range – all across that commercial chancery spectrum, my supervisors were often up against chambers that were in the top tiers for that kind of work.)
This variety is especially valuable during pupillage as this provided plenty of opportunities to see and learn different types of advocacy – as well as keeping things interesting. The pieces of work I did were equally varied. My supervisors made sure that I had a good diet of the bread and butter work (opinions, pleadings and skeletons). However, I also got to try out other, less traditional, pieces too. This included letters before claim; cross-examination notes; submissions to an expert accountant; and mock conferences.
The vast majority – almost the entirety – of what I did during pupillage was on ‘live’ work. I found this very satisfying. Supervisors were always genuinely interested in my input and it was rewarding to see the fruits of my work go before a judge or client. This did present its own challenges: deadlines were often tight. But, in turn, this gave me a good feel for the pace of practice.
From the very first day, it was impressed upon me and my co-pupil that there was enough space for both of us if we met the requisite standard. There was therefore no sense of competition – which meant that we could be each other’s sounding board during difficult times.
The structure of pupillage
Pupillage is undoubtedly a demanding experience but everyone at Chambers was supportive and friendly.
I sat with 4 different supervisors, each for 3 months. My hours were very respectable and regular: 9am to 6pm. Although there were inevitably some exceptions to this, this was a result of helping with urgent deadlines. Although there were two formal assessments (an opinion and an advocacy assessment), pupillage at Serle Court is more informal in the sense that the tenancy decision is predominantly based on the feedback from your supervisors. There was no risk of being left in the dark as to how I was doing though. In addition to appraisals after sitting with each supervisor, I would often be told whether each piece of work I did was up to the standard expected. This was very much appreciated so I properly knew where I stood.
The atmosphere in Chambers
Following accepting my offer, Chambers organised celebration drinks. I was particularly impressed by the fact that a wide-range of members attended these: from junior juniors to silks. It seemed like lots of people from Chambers were genuinely interested in pupils and getting to know them. Between my offer and starting, I was invited to events in Chambers so that I had the opportunity to meet people before I joined. On my first day, a number of members stopped by to introduce themselves. Then, welcome drinks a few weeks into pupillage were also well-attended – with the clerks coming in order to meet us properly. As to this, it was noticeable how strong the relationship between the barristers and clerks was in Chambers. When I was applying for pupillage, I would often read sets describe their work as varied and the atmosphere as friendly and collegiate. These are things you often hear. I feel that my pupillage at Serle Court demonstrated this concretely.
Timothy Benham-Mirando Pupil 2019 - 20
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A clear sense of direction: my pupillage at Serle Court On our first day of pupillage my fellow pupil and I were summoned to a meeting with Chambers’ Chief Executive. To my surprise, he immediately started mapping out our career path at Serle Court not only for the pupillage year, but at the start of tenancy too. I must have looked puzzled at what seemed like premature information, prompting him to stress that Serle Court’s careful recruitment process aims to ensure that pupillage is only offered to those suitable for tenancy. His working assumption was that we would be joining Chambers in twelve months’ time. We soon discovered that far from being mere platitudes, these words were symptomatic of an approach to the pupillage process that – as far as I have been able to discern by comparing my experience with that of others – is unique.
No surprises The most important distinguishing feature of this approach is “no surprises”. Right from the start, we were given constant feedback on whether our work met the expected standard, and on whether we remained on track to be offered tenancy. The regular, constructive feedback I received from supervisors and other members of Chambers both helped me to improve and recognised my efforts when I managed to do so.
This policy enabled me and my fellow pupil to focus on learning without the anxiety that being kept in the dark about our progress would have provoked. It also incentivised us to support each other’s learning and talk unreservedly about what we found challenging, by removing any sense that we were in competition with each other for a place.
Relaxed and collegiate The second striking aspect of Serle Court’s unique approach was that people treated me with the genuine warmth and respect one might show to a junior colleague as opposed to someone on a year-long interview. Everyone from new juniors to senior silks would stop for a chat, and the experience always felt like a normal, friendly, part of office life rather than an assessment. So relaxed and collegiate is the atmosphere for pupils that one of the junior tenants even trusted me to look after her beloved Miniature Schnauzer (also called Max) in Chambers for a morning while she attended a conference! Those working in management, business or administrative roles were equally friendly and welcoming.
Indeed, after the response to Covid-19 exiled us from Chambers, these spontaneous and informal, yet stimulating, interactions were one of the things I missed most.
Focused on the future Thirdly, and importantly, my supervisors at Serle Court deployed a strategic attitude to the selection of matters for me to work on: all were chosen to develop my skills or my practice with tenancy in mind. One consequence of this was exposure to some of the most groundbreaking, high-profile and/or high value litigations in this jurisdiction. Highlights included working on a claim for a High Court injunction to free a client imprisoned by a creditor in Dubai for an alleged $430m debt, a $1bn fraud claim by HMRC against General Electric, and a £5bn class action against BHP in relation to the collapse of a dam in Brazil.
A clear sense of direction Coming to pupillage as a second career, having previously been a solicitor and legal researcher, I had wanted to get stuck in to my new profession straight away, and so I was very grateful indeed for the clear sense of direction provided by Serle Court’s unique approach to the pupillage experience. I was challenged yet supported throughout. I was thrilled to be offered tenancy alongside my fellow pupil and happily realised, on accepting, that Serle Court already felt very much like home.
Maximus Marenbon Pupil 2019 - 20
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What to expect during pupillage Each pupil will spend a 12-month period shadowing four members of chambers, which enables pupils to be exposed to a range of practice areas. By shadowing members of chambers, rather than taking on work in their name, each pupil is as well-qualified and confident as possible before starting practice. During the year, pupils do not get the opportunity to practise advocacy in court, however, we ensure that advocacy exercises, conducted in front of a senior member of chambers,
and other assessments designed to improve practical skills, take place. Supervisors provide frequent and relevant feedback and monitor pupils’ progress to ensure that the work they are given fulfils their training needs. We strive to make pupils feel a part of chambers from the time that they accept their offers of pupillage. They are invited to chambers events, both formal and informal, and are encouraged to get to know both members and staff.
Tenancy at Serle Court Serle Court strives to live up to our reputation as a ‘definite go-to chambers’ (Chambers UK), however we also believe it is important to have a balanced life. Tenants can choose their own working hours and strategic approach to their practice, and will work alongside the clerks to achieve this. Our clerks are highly recommended in the legal directories, with clients stating, ‘it’s an absolute breeze to instruct them – the clerks are really responsive and good, very available and respond quickly’ (Chambers UK).
Our clerks adopt a flexible and sensitive approach working with our barristers to assist them in building the practice they desire. 21 out of the last 24 pupils are now tenants. New tenants at Serle Court pay no rent for their first year of practice, and no chambers expenses until their earnings exceed £50,000 per annum. We provide an income guarantee worth up to £120,000 over the first two years of practice.
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Mini-Pupillage Mini-pupillage at Serle Court is designed to be an enjoyable and useful experience. Our mini-pupils experience various aspects of life as a practising barrister and gain first hand experience of our informal and friendly atmosphere. Mini-pupillages last for one day and are not assessed or funded, however we do encourage prospective pupils to undertake a mini-pupillage with us prior to their application. We offer 30 mini-pupillages each year to individuals who have completed the first year of a law degree or at least
one term of the GDL or equivalent. These are available all year, but please note, they are heavily oversubscribed. Therefore, we encourage prospective pupils to apply as early in the academic year as possible. Applications for mini-pupillage should be made on a Serle Court application form and addressed to Lyric McDonald. Applications can be submitted via email to pupillage@serlecourt.co.uk, or via post to 6 New Square, Lincolns Inn, London, WC2A 3QS.
Facilities Support Chambers is located in one of the finest buildings in Lincoln’s Inn. It is a spacious 17th century premises which has undergone extensive refurbishment which enables us to provide excellent facilities for members, clients and staff. Our staffing team is led by Chief Executive John Petrie and Head Clerk Steve Whitaker. Our clerking team is made up of 8 clerks, a post room team and fees clerk, all of whom are consistently recognised for providing
a ‘good service and making things happen’ (Chambers UK). Working alongside the clerks, we have a business development team of 3, a finance department and a general administrative support team. We have access to all the best online research facilities and all of our IT platforms are accessible remotely, enabling members to work from home, or indeed any location around the world.
Your personal data & GDPR Serle Court holds and processes a wide range of data, some of which relates to the individuals who are applying for pupillage. All of the information that we contain has been provided by you on your application, for example, your contact details. Your details are anonymised during the application process to all members of chambers; however, the pupillage administrator will have access to the
non-anonymised records during the interview process. For those applicants that reach first round interviews, your application details cease to be anonymised. All applications that are not successful are destroyed at the end of the calendar year.
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List of all members of chambers Queens Counsel
Junior +10 Years
Juniors –10 Years
Alan Boyle QC
Julian Burling
Adil Mohamedbhai
Patrick Talbot QC
Andrew Francis
Jonathan McDonagh
Kuldip Singh QC
William Henderson
Emma Hargreaves
Frank Hinks QC
James Behrens
Zahler Bryan
Elizabeth Jones QC
Richard Walford
Amy Proferes
Paul Chaisty QC
Nicholas Harrison
Prof Suzanne Rab
Dominic Dowley QC
Kathryn Purkis
Adrian de Froment
Conor Quigley QC
Andrew Bruce
Oliver Jones
Philip Marshall QC
David Drake
Stephanie Wickenden
Philip Jones QC
Justin Higgo
Sophia Hurst
Lance Ashworth QC
Timothy Collingwood
Eleni Dinenis
Khawar Qureshi QC
Giles Richardson
Charlotte Beynon
David Casement QC
Thomas Braithwaite
Gregor Hogan
Christopher Stoner QC
Simon Hattan
Mark Wraith
Michael Edenborough QC
James Brightwell
Stephanie Thompson
John Machell QC
Jennifer Haywood
Jamie Randall
Hugh Norbury QC
Ruth Jordan
Russell Hopkins
David Blayney QC
Jonathan Fowles
Timothy Benham-Mirando
Jonathan Adkin QC
Matthew Morrison
Maximus Marenbon
Rupert Reed QC
James Mather
Zoe O’Sullivan QC
Dan McCourt Fritz
Andrew Moran QC
Gareth Tilley
Daniel Lightman QC
James Weale
Richard Wilson QC
Paul Adams
Prof Jonathan Harris QC
Thomas Elias
Dakis Hagen QC
Sophie Holcombe
Constance McDonnell QC
Further Information Pupillage Secretary Dan McCourt Fritz Mini-Pupillage Secretary Paul Adams
For further information regarding pupillage or mini-pupillage, please contact us at pupillage@serlecourt.co.uk
Pupillage Administrator Lyric McDonald 16
6 New Square Lincoln’s Inn London WC2A 3QS T: +44 (0)20 7242 6105 F: +44 (0)20 7405 4004 @Serle_Court www.serlecourt.co.uk