HOW TO APPLY LIFE AS A PUPIL

HOW TO APPLY
LIFE AS A PUPIL
Pupillage
My abiding memory of pupillage was the genuine desire of
chambers for its pupils to succeed. Pupillage is always going
to be a tough year, but our chambers wants its pupils to get as
much out of the year as possible so that if and when tenancy
comes around, you can hit the ground running.
Chambers is a member of the Pupillage Gateway
(www.pupillagegateway.com) and all applications
for pupillage are considered under that scheme.
If you have any questions, please contact us at
[email protected] or alternatively
visit our website: www.landmarkchambers.co.uk
We are committed to providing our pupils with relevant,
constructive and considerate training. Our Equality & Diversity
Policy and Diversity Committee actively ensure that all pupils are
treated with courtesy, respect and without discrimination of
any kind.
Mini-pupillage
Send a full CV with a covering email to
[email protected]
Due to the limited number of places available preference is given
to third year law undergraduates or those on the CPE course.
Deadlines for applications are as follows:
February-March: The preceding 31 December
May-June: The preceding 31 March
October-November: The preceding 31 August
Landmark Chambers
180 Fleet Street London EC4A 2HG DX:1042 (LDE)
t: +44 (0)20 7430 1221 f: +44 (0)20 7421 6060
e: [email protected]
@Landmark_LC
www.landmarkchambers.co.uk
Design searsdavies.com
Pupils do not compete at Landmark for only one place in
chambers. If all three pupils are good enough then, within
reason, all three will be taken on. I got on very well with my
fellow pupil (there were only two of us in my year), and we
now share a room together in chambers.
You’re assessed based on the work you do for your pupil
supervisors along with four more formal assessments (one
advocacy exercise and three opinions) which you’ll sit
throughout the year. You will also do a number of pieces of
work for other members of chambers but, unlike other sets,
you’re not required to get around every member of chambers
so you will not be in until 3am desperately trying to finish an
opinion for each and every one.
You also get to be really involved in your supervisor’s work.
You will not be handed a set of papers which your supervisor
completed a year ago so that when you finish your opinion they
go through it with a red pen showing you where it differed from
theirs. Instead you will generally be given current papers. Going
through an opponent’s last minute skeleton received minutes
before flying out to the Isle of Man to see the case argued, and
then assisting in drafting speaking notes in reply, stands out as
an example of this happening. And finishing in time to still
sample a Burns’ Night supper is not a bad memory either!
As to hours of work, you will generally be in chambers from
9am to 6pm. If you’re at your desk past 6:30 you’ll invariably
get someone pop their head round the door and remind you that
you don’t need to be there into the wee-small hours. After that,
the decision’s up to you - if you need to stay and work, no one
will stop you, but the key thing is that you’re never expected to
be here late or on weekends.
There are plenty of opportunities to be involved in cases that are
on the cutting edge of the law, but also plenty of opportunities
to be involved in the social life of chambers. So you can expect a
challenging year, but an incredibly rewarding (and at times even
a fun) one too.
Andrew Byass
LIFE AS A
NEW TENANT
One of the best things about being a new tenant at Landmark
Chambers is the huge variety of work that you get to experience.
From day one the majority of work is dealing with your own
cases whether that be in the county court, the Leasehold
Valuation Tribunal, the High Court, the Magistrates’ Courts,
in front of a planning inspector or an immigration tribunal.
In a typical week you might be in court perhaps three times and
the remainder of the time is paperwork. The great thing about
Landmark is that because you practise in more than one area
the paperwork is varied and there is always something new and
exciting to get your teeth into.
There are also fantastic opportunities to be led on high profile
and complex cases by more senior members of chambers. For
example I recently acted as a junior in a leading five week
environmental nuisance case in the High Court in Birmingham
which involved me cross examining the witnesses of fact.
The jump from pupillage to tenancy can be challenging and
I have really benefited from having a more senior member
of chambers as a mentor. Although all new tenants have a
’designated’ mentor the reality is that everyone in chambers
is happy to listen and provide guidance and assistance.
I have found my first few years challenging and immensely
rewarding but most of all fun.
Katie Helmore
PUPILLAGE
MINI-PUPILLAGE
“A VERY
SLICK OPERATION”
ABOUT CHAMBERS
“IF YOU WANT VERY BRIGHT COUNSEL... YOU NEED TO GO TO LANDMARK”
Chambers UK 2013
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Up to three pupillages a year, each of 12 months duration
normally starting in September/October
£45,000 per pupil; up to £12,000 may be taken as an
early drawdown
Four three-month seats each spent with a different supervisor
Four formal exercises (three written and one oral) and,
along with individual feedback from your supervisors,
we will provide more formal feedback sessions after
three and six months
In your second six months you will be in court on average
once a week on your own account, usually in the County
Court on small applications
We will encourage you to work for others and will often
send you to work with a silk or senior junior on more complex
cases. This allows you to see a wide variety of work and for
more members of Chambers to get to know you.
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Approximately 50 mini-pupillages (not assessed) per year of
between three and five days duration
A mini-pupillage will give you valuable insight into the realities
of life at the bar in the areas of law in which we practise and
of life at Landmark Chambers
We operate three mini-pupillage seasons per year: FebruaryMarch, May-June and October-November. Approximately 1520 places are available for each season
Mini-pupils are assigned to a junior member of Chambers
who acts as a supervisor for the week. They will be
responsible for ensuring that you see a broad cross-section
of work
As far as possible we will place you with someone practising
in an area, or areas, in which you are interested. This will give
you a chance to see the type of work that you would
experience as a junior tenant, and may include the
opportunity to produce written work.
Chambers UK 2013
“A LEADING SET”
Legal 500 2012
Landmark is a leading chambers in the UK offering integrated
advocacy and advice in four key areas:
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Environmental
Planning
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Property
Public
Landmark Chambers is ranked as the number one Planning and
Environmental chambers in the UK by the top legal directories.
We are consistently regarded as one of the leading sets in our
other two main areas of work: Property and Public law.
Members of Chambers have been involved in some of the
most significant cases and inquiries in recent years, including
the Leveson Inquiry, the High Speed 2 rail line and the third
runway for Heathrow.
Landmark has 77 barristers, including 28 QCs. A number of
barristers sit as Deputy High Court Judges, Recorders and act as
Arbitrators, Experts and Mediators. Working throughout the UK
and abroad, we have significant experience of litigation in the
Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, the European Court
of Justice, the European General Court, the European Court of
Human Rights, the UN Aarhus Compliance Committee, the
Northern Ireland courts and the courts of a number of other
jurisdictions, including Hong Kong.
IMPORTANT CASES
Legal 500 2012
“A
SUPERB
REPUTATION”
Environmental Law
Property Law
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R (HS2 Action Alliance) v
Secretary of State for
Transport
R (Morge) v Hampshire CC
R (Edwards) v Environment
Agency (No 2) and R
(Edwards) v Environment
Agency
Berkeley v Secretary of
State for the Environment,
Transport and the Regions
(No 1)
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Public Law
Planning Law
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The Shard of Glass
Crossrail
Health and Safety Executive
v Wolverhampton City
Council
R (Alconbury Developments
Ltd) v Secretary of State for
the Environment, Transport
and the Regions
City of London Corporation
v Samede
Cobbe v Yeoman’s Row
Management
Hosebay Ltd v Day and
Lexgorge Ltd v Howard
de Walden Estates Ltd
Chartbrook Ltd v
Persimmon Homes Ltd
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The Leveson Inquiry
R (Shoesmith) v Ofsted
R (Cart) v Upper Tribunal
R v Bow Street Metropolitan
Stipendiary Magistrate, ex
parte Pinochet (No 2)