A Pupil's year

You will be immersed in our diverse and exciting practice areas from the outset. Your pupil supervisor may be instructed in a large international group action which you will see up close and become part of the team. He or she may be working for an important government client in a high profile piece of litigation, in which case you will get a ring-side seat.

In your second six you will have your own clients, particularly in the public housing sector, and will have command of your practice from the beginning. We expect our pupils to be ready to take whatever comes, whether taking judgment in the Supreme Court or appearing at the last minute in a vacation hearing in the High Court when nobody else is around. Pupils are typically instructed in possession actions, property-related injunctions and in small claims of various sorts. Assessed advocacy training is provided in Chambers.

We operate a feedback system in which each completed piece of work is assessed by the recipient. This enables our pupils to learn from each piece of work and to improve on what is a very steep learning curve. The assessment forms then go before the Recruitment Committee at the end of the year and feed into the tenancy decision.

Towards the end of the year, our pupils undertake an advocacy exercise in front of a full time or part time member of the Judiciary in order to demonstrate the skills of legal analysis and advocacy which they have developed.