New mini-pupillage hub is launched

If you want experience in a set of chambers, then look no further.

The Bar Council has just launched its mini-pupillage hub, a new initiative to centralise the provision of mini-pupillages and widen the pool of students who can benefit from this type of experience.

Mini-pupillages are short periods of work experience, usually for one week, in a set of chambers.

For students, mini-pupillages provide an invaluable insight into life as a barrister.

They give barristers the opportunity to attract new talent into chambers and support the next generation of the Bar.

The Bar Council is now offering chambers the opportunity to advertise mini-pupillage opportunities free of charge on the Bar Council website. On its first day, 1 December 2015, 35 chambers were already listed.

Alistair MacDonald QC, chairman of the Bar, said: “Anyone trying to find information about careers at the Bar, or opportunities at the Bar need one location to find what they are looking for. The Bar Council is the obvious place for students to go.

“Opportunities such as mini-pupillages need to be visible to everyone rather than being heard about through word of mouth. This is about opening up a career at the Bar to a wider talent pool.”

The Bar Council’s mini-pupillage hub follows soon after the first Bar Council Pupillage Fair (21 November) which saw more than 1,500 students register to attend and 50 exhibitors take part.

The Council has also been strengthening its support for those barristers in the early stages of their careers with the launch of its Young Bar Hub and Toolkit in October to provide online support to the young bar.

MacDonald said: “The Bar Council has vital role to play in supporting barristers right from the moment they have an interest in joining the profession, during the early stages of their career and then beyond.

“Our mentoring service for QC and judicial appointment is just one example of how that support extends well into the later stages of a barristers’ career. We want the next generation of the profession to know we are with them all the way through their career.”

While advertising through the mini-pupillage hub is optional, chambers may find that they are able to attract a more diverse pool of talented students by using it.

It is hoped that this will also mean that more students, including those from non-traditional backgrounds, will hear about opportunities.

The Bar Council represents barristers in England and Wales. It promotes the Bar’s high quality specialist advocacy and advisory services, fair access to justice for all, and the highest standards of ethics, equality and diversity across the profession. It also supports the development of business opportunities for barristers at home and abroad.

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