Pupillage

Each year, we recruit one pupil to join Chambers for a 12-month pupillage, but this year we will be recruiting two pupils to join us, starting in October 2025. This pupillage is terminable after six months (by either Chambers or the pupil) and carries an award of £80,000.

Pupils undertake four “seats” of three months, each with a different supervisor, throughout the pupillage year. New Square Chambers also offers a practising second-six, during which you will have numerous opportunities to be instructed and appear in Court on your own cases. You will gain exposure to a broad range of Chambers’ work, and are encouraged to undertake work for a number of other members of Chambers, so as to get the broadest experience of life at New Square Chambers.

If you are interested in pursuing a career in business and property law, be it trusts, wills, commercial disputes, civil fraud, insolvency or real property, and want to undertake pupillage at one of the leading Commercial Chancery sets, then we might be the Chambers for you.

Many of our members, across the breadth of seniority in Chambers, are ranked as leaders in their particular specialist fields, and appear in significant cases both in England and Wales, and offshore jurisdictions.

Pupillage at New Square Chambers is an intense, but rewarding and mentally stimulating experience. We aim to provide you with the skills and experience that you will need to build a fantastic career. You will be supported throughout your pupillage, both by virtue of our “open door” policy and through pastoral support from the pupillage team.

We are rightly proud of our friendly and collegiate ethos, and are demonstrable commitment to improving equality, diversity and inclusion in Chambers and at the Bar as a whole through recruitment. We run a number of initiatives specifically targeted to prospective pupillage applicants, including our Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage and our seminar programme for prospective applicants. We strongly encourage applications from female, ethnic minority, disabled and socially mobile candidates.

What are we looking for in applicants?

First, and most importantly, we look for ability regardless of background.

In the majority of cases we would expect you to have obtained, or be predicted to obtain, a first class or upper second class degree, and a “Very Competent” on the Bar Course (or equivalent). However, we welcome applications from candidates with an atypical educational background, and, if this is the case, encourage you to demonstrate other exceptional personal achievement and motivation when applying. Additionally we will, of course, take into account any relevant and genuine extenuating circumstances.

We assess pupillage applicants in accordance with the criteria which we consider are necessary or desirable for pupils and members of Chambers to have, including:

Oral advocacy skills;
Written advocacy skills;
Good communication skills, orally and writing;
Analytical ability;
Interpersonal skills;
Commitment to The Bar;
Commitment to or interest in one or more of Chambers’ practice areas;
focus and drive;
Ability to deal with conflict, stressful and difficult situations; and
Ability to work independently.

Applicants should ensure that they identify and describe their skills and experience that fulfil those criteria in their applications for pupillage.

How can you apply?

We recruit pupils through the Bar Council’s Pupillage Gateway. We do not accept, and will not consider, applications made other than through the Bar Council’s Pupillage Gateway, unless candidates request a reasonable adjustment.

The submission window for applications for pupillage commencing in October 2025 opens on 3 January 2024 and closes 7 February 2024, 23:59 pm

Two rounds of interviews will take place prior to 10 May 2024, likely in April 2024.

Successful candidates will be notified through Pupillage Gateway of the status of their application.

Any offer of pupillage will be made on 10 May 2024.

Download our Reasonable Adjustments policy

More information

Jeff Hardman is the head of the pupillage committee and is assisted by the pupillage co-ordinator, James Saunders. Any enquiries in respect of pupillage should be made to James Saunders on +44 (0)20 419 8000 or at pupillage@newsquarechambers.co.uk.

Download our Pupillage & Mini-Pupillage policy

Our Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage programme

Since starting the programme in 2020, we have welcomed 36 prospective pupillage candidates from socially mobile backgrounds to undertake assessed work experience. Mini-pupils who perform well are guaranteed a first-round pupillage interview in the next recruitment round in which they are eligible to apply. If you are considering applying for pupillage at New Square Chambers, and fulfil the criteria for our Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage, we would strongly encourage you to apply for a Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage. In recent years, a number of candidates have been invited to first-round interview solely by reason of their performance in the Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage assessments.

You can find out more about the Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage here.

Download our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion policy