The pupillage offers have been sent out, and you find that
despite your best efforts, you did not secure pupillage. It’s easy to get upset.
It’s easy to think there’s no point trying again.
I don’t agree.
First things first. You need to come to terms emotionally
with not getting what you want. Rejection can be difficult to take. I
understand that. Don’t force yourself to be positive straight away. Feel angry,
feel sad. Tell your close friends and family about how you feel. Get it out.
Work through those feelings, and don’t bury them.
Then think about what you are going to do before the next
round of pupillage applications. What experience, what activities on your CV, what
work can you get to help enhance your chances next time. If you need to get
help from tutors, pupillage advisers, your Inn, your careers advisers, do that.
But don’t wait around, start this process as soon as you can. The next round
will re-open faster than you think.
I asked my brilliant former BPTC students what you should do
next if you didn’t manage to get pupillage this year. As ever, they didn’t
disappoint.
Sophia Stapleton, who is now in practice at 2 Dr Johnson's
Buildings is a BPTC success story. She is not only in practice, but she won the
2016 ICLR Pupillage Award for a pupil in chambers doing primarily publicly
funded work. She writes about how she stayed motivated during her search for
pupillage here:
I would endorse all of Sophia’s advice. I think making a
bank of potential interview questions is a fantastic tip I’ve not seen
elsewhere. One to take on board.
Kate Riekstina shows how persistence and self-reflection can
make all the difference:
“I applied 3 years in a row and every year I reflected on my
applications, and pursued a different job to fill the holes in my applications.
I worked in prison, completed an LLM and worked for a solicitors firm.
My advice would be to reflect on what’s missing. There is no
point of continuing in the same job if it’s not going to add anything to your
applications. I also think you need something that’ll make you stand out. For
me that was working in the prison. But anything that would grab the attention
of the reader would benefit the applicant.”
Nobody likes being overlooked. The idea of rejection is
something which is very hard to take. So I understand for some people coming to
terms with not getting pupillage is hard. But I absolutely agree that some form
of personal reflection is needed, to work out how to improve your chances
later. But that reflection should be genuine and focussed on improving your CV,
your applications, your interview technique. It shouldn’t be beating yourself
up and sinking into negative thoughts.
If you are going to reflect on your past round of
applications, you might need a little bit of help to get started. Getting feedback
with help you work out which areas you need to work on.
Jo Moore suggests:
“Most chambers will be more than happy to give feedback,
even if they don't advertise as such. I often drop an email to an unsuccessful
applicant who wants some tips, and have telephoned them or met them for coffee
before too. Particularly if you have a dream chambers, there's nothing to lose by
asking what they were looking for and how you can improve. It also shows
dedication and a will to improve.”
I didn’t realise chambers would be willing to provide this
kind of feedback, I will confess. So I am particularly grateful to Jo for making
me aware of this possibility. This shows how important it is to talk to people
who have been through the process to learn what you can about what to do next time.
Study coach, mentor, Solicitor and former BPTC tutor Suzanne
Reece says:
“Chambers are looking for someone that has personality and
can connect with potential clients. Look at what makes you unique and play to
this. Brush up on your social media/blogging skills and show your connections,
communities and links.”
Students often forget that Barristers work with people.
Their clients are people, judges are people, juries are people. So connecting
and communicating are key attributes. One can become too preoccupied with perfecting
the content of their answers to interview questions and one’s application form,
forgetting that human element. Clients want a barrister who is human. Fellow
barristers want to share their chambers environment with a human. Blogging is a
very good idea, and some of our best students, current and former, have been
involved in writing blogs or guest blogs about the law, legal procedure or
their study experience. I would say this ties in with having good outward
facing professional social media accounts.
Former student Richard Sampson suggests:
“If they are interested in crime or family: Get a job as a
Trainee Legal Adviser at HMCTS! Experience of live cases, a knowledge of
practice and procedure which they will NOT get from the BPTC unless something
radical has changed with the syllabus...
A successful legal adviser needs a quick mind, ability to
problem-solve, good legal knowledge and rapid research and assimilation skills.
Finally, you have to be able to explain complex legal concepts to people who
often have limited understanding, whether that’s unrepresented defendants,
witnesses, magistrates or the odd advocate!”
Richard’s advice is excellent; sometimes we focus too much
on mini-pupillage and outdoor clerking as means of expanding our legal work
experience. Actually, doing something that keeps your procedural knowledge
alive and keeps you in touch with what happens in everyday practice is very
important.
Lady-Gené Waszkewitz has advice on your applications, the
need for help from others, and the need to be constructively critical about
your application:
“I think my advice would be like most others: re-read your
application again and again and again. I applied twice and my first
applications are actually quite bad compared to the one that finally got me
Pupillage. I wasn’t being clear as to WHY I wanted to be a barrister, or join
their chambers, or liked their practice area. It sounded nice but didn't say
much. The second year I made sure to get as many people as possible to read my
application. Not just friends and family as the year before but I used the
services at City and Lincoln's, which made a huge difference in the kind of
feedback I got. Another difference was the additional work experience I had
gained and was able to add to my application. I had done a great internship at
the ECCC before applying the second time. I had other internships under my belt
already, and I'm not sure it was the most relevant to the chambers I'm now
joining, but I'm sure it was a talking point. I was able to talk about the
skills I gained, but also about what it took to secure and fund that unpaid
internship. Unlike in the UK, I couldn't just waitress in the evenings to cover
living expenses.....blah blah blah I'm waffling. I hope this helps. Be
relevant, be reflected and don't just rely on your Mum to read your application
:)”
I think people just "check" the form for spelling
and grammar rather than actually checking what it reads like - so very good
advice. Understanding what your experiences have helped you develop as skills
is also important. Too many people think their experience is just a
"passive" thing they went through, rather than a learning process.
Identifying the skills and where you got them is important.
And finally, I would recommend this fabulous website from Beheshteh
Engineer and Simon Myerson QC: https://pupillageandhowtogetit.com/
Thank you to my contributors for all their thoughtful and
helpful comments. I am eternally grateful for your help to my current students!
