Never ever confide in a fellow pupil in your chambers. Career suicide.

The perfect advice! Do this 100%

This is such, such good advice, and saved my sanity many times as a pupil.

It’s not for everyone. Find your happy place and you will enjoy your life. Hate your job, you will hate your life.We all have cases we hate, we all have clients who are unbearable, but they are the minority.

Humility goes a long way. I went from a partner in a law firm to the Bar at 42 years of age. Started again at the bottom. Eighteen years later, and 35 years in aw, I still love my job. Although I do live in Sydney.

1) Be very proactive and responsive to instructing solicitors, even if you are given a very simple or low paid brief. First impressions count, and providing an attentive service can persuade your solicitors to give you repeat work (and better paid work).

As an instructing solicitor, I endorse this comment. Very early on in my career I heard a phrase from a partner – ‘Crap barristers starve’ .

The ability of a young barrister or pupil to get on with solicitors and be a team player is incredibly important. We generally instruct barristers we like to work with. A clerk told me they don’t just look for brains on a stick. Same with solicitors. If you are approachable and responsive – you will quickly be talked about in the litigation department. You will start getting better work and rates.

Tenant: “Do this for me as soon as possible”
Wrong Response from you: “Certainly” – then you stay up all night to finish the work, hand it in the next day, only to find the barrister who wanted it has gone on holiday for two weeks.
Right Response: “Certainly – I can get it to you by noon Friday , does that work for you?”

Or
Pupil Supervisor: “Do this for me please by tomorrow please”
Wrong Response “Of course” – cue staying up all night, because four other barristers also asked you to do something for them for the same date”
Right Response “Of course – just to make you aware, I’ve been asked to do X and Y for these people – which of these would you like me to prioritise? And do you want it first thing Friday, or by 5pm?”

Every week you will be asked to do more than is humanly possible, just as you will in practise when you make it – it pays to be positive and show willing of course, but it shows maturity if you learn to manage this right from the start – no one can work all night or 24/7 and still perform at their best, despite the stories of heroics people will tell you. You will really stand out if you show you can manage the demands of being self-employed during your pupillage. Don’t try to be a hero, be smart. Good luck, it’s not easy, but remember it’s an incredible privilege to learn to represent people who really need help…remember that and enjoy it!

So if someone asks you to cover a hearing or whatever, even if it’s in an area you hadn’t considered practicing in. Subject to your ability to competently do so of course. (We used to have a book called Fridd that was like an idiots guide to every conceivable form of hearing, not sure if it still exists).

But the worst that can happen is you’ll confirm it’s not an area for you. But you might well find that a field you hadn’t even considered turns out to be something you are good at, and really enjoy.

Keep in with the clerks, but don’t suck up to them. If you don’t like football don’t pretend you do.

Keep solicitors happy. They are less concerned about results and more about making their life easy. So full attendance notes as soon as you can get them done after the hearing, and be reasonably easy to contact. If they have to chase you they just won’t bother next time.

But I would say the key thing is, just enjoy yourself. Pupillage can be hard, but it’s also a lot of fun. And if you have fellow pupils be nice to them. You may feel you’re in competition with them, but you’re not. You’re all in this together, so support each other. And remember, people are watching you. If we think you’re a cutthroat asshole we won’t want you in chambers regardless of how good you are. We want people who are easy to get along with and nice to be around.

Agree with nearly all the points, having been a Pupil except:

Don’t offer an opinion unless asked.

– To clients? No. But always share your opinions or thoughts with your supervisor. You’d be surprised how much they value your insight.

Be seen to be the first to arrive in Chambers in the morning and the last to leave at night (if not in court).

– Yes but I find many more pupil supervisors and chambers to be more interested in getting the work done, and getting it done properly; as opposed to simply being the first in or last to leave. Most people at the Bar, I found, went home after 6.30pm or so to carry on at night if required. Pupils included. I found the Bar a place where presenteeism was not so required.

If at a loose end (or even if not) knock on other tenant’s doors and ask if there’s any work you can do to assist them.
– Within reason. Protect yourself / judge the room. Don’t lumber yourself with so much work that you cannot do it, or, you end up doing a half-witted attempt for everyone.

For the down-voters (no offence taken)…

I set out above how it may well be for pupils.

I wasn’t suggesting that this is how it “should” be, just how it “is” in many sets.

The rules for tenants and pupils are usually very different.

Pupils wear suits every day. Tenants wear what they want.

Pupils should be in chambers all day, every day. Tenants come and go as they please.

Pupils have to be nice to everyone and keep your head down. As a tenant you have more ability to tell people to jog on if they are being rude or unreasonable.

1) Be very proactive and responsive to instructing solicitors, even if you are given a very simple or low paid brief. First impressions count, and providing an attentive service can persuade your solicitors to give you repeat work (and better paid work).

2) Be friendly to your clerks. Clerks, particularly in a good set of chambers, can go above and beyond in terms of keeping you busy and helping you develop your practice. It is obviously a two-way street – sometimes the clerks might ask you for a favour (eg asking if you can pick up a last minute brief). Doing those favours can go a very long way in terms of building rapport with your clerks.

3) Join specialist bar associations / professional organisations for networking and CPD (eg Employment Lawyers Association if you’re practising employment).

4) Always be proactive in terms of business development/marketing. Attend chambers events. Stay in touch with your solicitors and invite them for a lunch or a coffee. Write case notes/articles, etc.

5) Look after yourself. The Bar is a very rewarding profession, but it can be very stressful and demanding. Embrace all the downtime you have – spend time with friends/family, go to the gym, travel… do whatever you can to unwind every now and then

I would agree with all of this except: “Be seen to be the first to arrive in Chambers in the morning and the last to leave at night (if not in court).”

You never know what nutters are going to work in Chambers until midnight. Arrive before your supervisor and leave after them, unless told otherwise.

Remember it’s the steepest point of the learning curve and embrace that – don’t expect to know everything. At this point, you don’t even know what you don’t know. It will get easier in time.

Try and get along with people (this includes clerks and staff, obviously). Being authentic is far more effective (and sustainable) than brown nosing, but appear interested in evetything (spoiler – much of what is discussed won’t be particularly interesting but barristers for some reason love to talk about their run-of-the-mill cases).

This seems like a tall order, and a lot, but remember that pupillage is an entirely different experience from tenancy. Once you’re a tenant, and as you get more senior, you will have significantly more control over your working life (how much you work, how you work, where you work from etc).

This can include doing research for other members of chambers, making coffee/tea, fetching lunch/ dry cleaning for your supervisor.

Don’t offer an opinion unless asked.

Always look and seem interested.

Be seen to be the first to arrive in Chambers in the morning and the last to leave at night (if not in court).

If at a loose end (or even if not) knock on other tenant’s doors and ask if there’s any work you can do to assist them.

NEVER complain about anything if you want to get tenancy.

Once you’re a tenant it’s different.

It’s not like this in my current Chambers but certainly was in my first Chambers, and I hear anecdotally that this is still the case in some, so take the above as the starting point.