How to Secure Pupillage at a Commercial Chambers: Part Two
This is the second article in a two-part series on how to effectively prepare your pupillage applications to commercial chancery sets. This article will focus on the interview stage of the application process.
If you are invited to interview, well done! This means your written application has made it through the paper sift and a barrister at that chambers considers you to be a legitimate candidate for pupillage. Getting an interview is no small feat: the number of applicants far exceeds interview spaces every year and many talented candidates narrowly miss out.
The written application was an introduction to chambers of your written, presentational and analytical abilities. The interview is your chance to show that you are just as capable in person as you are on paper. This means chambers will have a set of expectations about you when you arrive for interview. These will generally be based on the selection criteria that your application was marked against, which will be set out on their website.
Types of interviews
Generally, there are two rounds of interviews. The first is usually a shorter “sense-check” to see if you are the type of candidate they are looking for. The second is invariably longer and typically involves some kind of legal exercise. However, both rounds may include a mix of biographical, motivational, legal and competency-based questions.
The structure and approach to interviews will differ from chambers to chambers, year on year. At one end of the scale, sets like 4 Stone Buildings have a single-interview process (at the time of writing). At the other end, sets like Littleton Chambers host a two-day, in-person assessment between the first and final round interview (at the time of writing). This demonstrates the variety of approaches of commercial and chancery sets. Below, I set out 10 steps you should take to effectively prepare for an interview.
Step 1: chambers research
The top priority before any interview is to familiarise yourself with the chambers you are interviewing at. At first rounds, this will help you to answer motivation questions such as “why do you wish to join our chambers?”. At second rounds, it will help you to convince them that they are your top choice and that they should make you their first offer.
In terms of the level of detail required for each set, your research should be just enough to enable you to (i) distinguish them from competitors, and (ii) show that you know what the day-to-day as a pupil/junior looks like at that set.
Adequate research will enable you to ask interesting questions at the end of the interview. This is not compulsory by any means, but a genuine question that arises organically from a gap in your (otherwise thorough) understanding of chambers can demonstrate your motivation to join them.
Step 2: study your written application
This is the second most important step of your interview preparation. You must know your written application and CV inside-out. I suggest taking a highlighter and marking anything that interviewers could ask you about. This includes your undergraduate/postgraduate dissertation topic, the submissions you made in any moot you have mentioned, or the arguments made in any journal article you have had published. Do not assume that you will not be asked about something simply because it happened years ago. If it is on your written application, be prepared to discuss and defend what you said in detail.
The same goes for anything you have mentioned in your “interests, hobbies and awards” section. If you have said you like to bake, be prepared to demonstrate your enthusiasm with examples of your favourite recipes. If you have mentioned that you are interested in Ancient Greece, be prepared to discuss your favourite Socratic dialogue. Your interviewer may have studied Classics at university!
Step 3: prepare model answers
Related to step 2 is preparing draft answers to possible questions you may get asked at interview. This will help you to draw your mind to relevant examples and reasons during the interview, minimising the risk of forgetting important points on the day.
I suggest drafting your answers in a Word document by dividing possible questions under the following headings: competency, motivation, and biographical. Then think of three to four possible questions under each heading and list three points in answer to each one.
For example, under the “motivation” heading, you might include “why do you wish to join our chambers?” You should think of three reasons and list them using short bullet points, e.g. “(1) my academic interests align with your practice areas; (2) I am interested in the variety of work at the junior end of chambers; and (3) I am drawn to the practicing second-six during pupillage”. For competency-based questions, structure your answer using the ‘STAR’ method, i.e. Situation-Task-Action-Result.
You should not repeat the same example in your answers, unless you are referring to a totally different scenario within that example. E.g. your volunteering experience in a pro bono legal clinic can used as an example to answer “tell us about a time you worked under pressure”, if you did this while also revising for exams. It can also be used to answer “tell us about a time when you resolved a conflict”, e.g. if you dealt with a difficult client.
Step 4: “speak” your answers
You should practice answering typical interview questions under timed conditions. This will help you to translate your thoughts into structured, well-reasoned verbal responses, which is more challenging than it sounds.
Your answers should not take longer than two minutes and they should be structured and concise. The flow of your delivery should be confident and conversational. You should use your draft model answers in step 3 as a guide, but do not read them like a script. This defeats the purpose of the exercise: the aim is to know roughly what you are going to say, even if your delivery is different each time. You want to sound natural yet well-considered on the day, rather than robotic and rehearsed.
Once you are able to answer each question under two minutes, it helps to record yourself and watch out for any verbal utterances or physical gesticulations that you would like to avoid on the day. Common follies include: (a) saying “like”, “kind of” or “basically” as fillers in between sentences, (b) waving your hands about too much as you speak, and (c) lack of eye contact.
Step 5: practice legal questions
Legal problem questions feature in every final-round interview and in some first-rounds. It is an important part of the assessment process as commercial and chancery sets place more weight on “intellectual ability” in their mark schemes. It is therefore crucial that you practice answering legal problems under timed conditions, giving yourself about 30 to 50 minutes of prep time and roughly 20 mins to deliver your answer.
I would suggest going back over some old problem questions in contract and tort law past papers on your GDL or LLB. The purely commercial sets (e.g. One Essex Court, 4 Pump Court etc) may set you a problem based on contract law. Mixed civil and commercial sets (e.g. 3 Hare Court, Crown Office Chambers etc) may set you a problem requiring you to apply principles of tort law. Specialist sets may ask you to read a case or a short piece of legislation and apply it to a common fact pattern that arises in their line of work (e.g. tax, construction, property, insolvency, company law etc).
NB: The chambers named in the examples above are provided for illustrative purposes only and their inclusion does not imply any endorsement, affiliation, or insider knowledge of their recruitment processes. The examples should not be interpreted as guaranteeing, predicting, or accurately reflecting the nature or type of problem questions set by these or any other chambers.
Step 6: commercial and legal awareness
At many first round interviews, you will be asked to discuss a debate question rather than a legal problem. This might relate to a current commercial topic, a general legal topic, or something more abstract or philosophical (so-called “curveball” questions). An example of each could be: the advantages and disadvantages of social media, whether fee caps in litigation should be scrapped, or why all restaurants should serve penguin.
To substantiate your responses to debate questions, you may find it useful to write down some key facts and statistics on a single side of A4 relating to the economy, commercial and chancery litigation, or certain sectors you are interested in. You could also note down some recent headlines relevant to the practice areas of the sets you are applying to and turn them into debate questions, setting out the “pros and cons” of each side.
Finally, it is important that you are prepared to discuss a recent case (from the past 12 months) that you consider to be interesting/important. You must be able to explain why, whether you agree with the outcome, and what the counterarguments are. This can be a Supreme Court or Court of Appeal decision in contract or tort law, but you might want to have a few examples up your sleeve if your are applying to some specialist sets. The most important thing is that you (a) read the case, (b) understand the ratio, and (c) learn the counterarguments. Interview panels are notorious for asking you to “argue the opposite”!
The jury is out on whether you should choose a case that your interviewer has worked on. I would advise against this as you are putting yourself at a disadvantage: the panellist will be an expert in that case and will have been “living” it for months. To level the playing field, it is better to pick a case of more general application. Having said that, it does not hurt to keep chambers’ cases in the back of your mind to use as examples in motivation-based questions.
Step 7: mock interviews
Mock interviews are essential to effective pupillage interview preparation. Ideally, you will arrange mock interviews with barristers. If you have been unable to do so, practising with others who are also going through the process can be just as effective, if not more so. The Inns of Court, Bar Course providers, and barrister associations such as TECBAR offer mock interviews. You should prepare for them as though they are the real thing. This will allow you to identify and correct any mistakes in advance.
Step 8: self-reflection
We are all human. Even if you take all the right steps and thoroughly prepare, something can still go wrong on the day. It is important that, after each interview, you note down: (a) all questions that you were asked, (b) what your responses were, and (c) how you think you could have improved. This introspective approach will set you up for success at the next interview and will help build your confidence.
Step 9: confidence
Nerves are a necessary part of pupillage interviews. The key is getting the balance right: don’t allow your nerves to take over, but also don’t be complacent. You need to present yourself as confident and self-assured, but not arrogant and conceited.
Lack of confidence often stems from self-doubt. This is understandable when going from university to a regulated profession. To build your confidence, you should practice daily ‘affirmations’, i.e. write down in a journal all the things that make you a great candidate for the Bar. This may include obtaining a particularly high grade, positive feedback about your pro bono work from clients, or feedback from a judge about your moot performance.
You will meet a diverse range of candidates at in-person interviews. Generally, this is a very positive bonding experience with like-minded people who wish you well. However, do not let any comments of a competitive or comparative nature trigger your self-doubt. Just remember: you are not there by mistake. Chambers have selected you for interview for a reason. You are on your own path and comparing yourself to others is a fool’s game!
Step 10: do not over-prepare
Last, but certainly not least, do not overcommit yourself to interview prep. This is even more important if you are lucky enough to have secured multiple interviews, or where you have a full-time job. It is important to take regular and frequent breaks. Brain-fry is a real thing, and the last thing you want is for months of preparation and successful first round interviews to go to waste because you were mentally burnt-out during the final round.
This means you should go to the pub for that after-work gossip, if only for an hour. Instead of bailing on your social plans, perhaps it is a great opportunity to test out your ability to explain a complex legal case to a non-lawyer in clear and simple terms (though you might owe them a drink after!).
I wish you the best of luck with your interviews. Remember to relax and be yourself. If you follow these steps, you are well on your way to impressing the panel and securing an offer.
