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• 20 Essex Street

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  The set at 20 Essex Street (20ES) was originally located at 3 Essex Court in the Temple (moved in1994) and began life as a distinguished commercial set in the 1920s. Since then, the set has embraced and mastered commercial, public & private international law and domestic public law.
  
  According to information furnished at the chamber’s website, the set was divided into two different entities given its standing and control over the litigation field during the 1960s. Prominent tenants include stalwarts such as Lord McNair, Lord Glennie, Lord Lloyd, Sir Christopher Straughton and Lord Justice Rix.
  
  A list of cases recently undertaken by the chamber include JJB Sports v OFT, Trafigura v Kookmin Bank, Marks & Spencer v David Halsey, Hamdan v Rumsfield, shipping cases The North Star, The Golden Victory and The Jordan II.

  An interesting fact to note and remember about the chamber at 20 Essex Street is that pupils are forbidden to work after 6.30 PM and cannot come in on weekends and holidays. They are not provided with keys to the chamber and need to seek special approval to gain entry to the premises should they have pending work to finish – very, very interesting and should perhaps be made the norm elsewhere as well.
  
  The pragmatic and practical approach that the set brings to its practice continues to be evident in the kind of training and support provided for new talent. Drilling the basics and realities of life as a commercial and international law barrister is accomplished throughout the pupillage year, with pupils working for a number of members and being exposed to a vast range of work and practice styles.
  
  The working ambience is one of friendly cooperation and teamwork; there is seldom room for OTT familiarity and camaraderie. Also refreshing is the lack of any established hierarchy; everyone is looked on as an important contributor and at the end of the day, it is all about doing your work and doing it well.

  Core areas of practice for the chamber comprise of commercial law, EC law, public international law, arbitration & mediation services, private international law, professional negligence, public and administrative law.
  
  Most of the work done at chambers deals with legal advice and dispute resolution for companies and all kinds of businesses, state and public authorities, competition, free movement of goods and people within the European Community, financial services, transport and shipping among other things.

  A first class degree in law or non-law subjects is required to apply for a full pupillage at chambers. In certain circumstances, chambers may consider an upper 2:1 degree as well. Non-law students should apply once they have taken up the GDL/CPE course and are able to display an aptitude for a career in law.
  
  The chamber lists certain specific criteria it applies in the recruitment process, whether for mini-pupils or full pupils or tenants. You must have a proven legal ability with a good knowledge of legal principles and the ability to research and ferret out details and information from all areas of law.
  
  You must also be able to demonstrate excellent oral and written advocacy, as well as a keen interest and commitment to a career at the Bar. In addition, candidates should have charismatic, confident and outgoing personalities, be quick-thinking and mentally agile and of course, ambitious.

  Pupils are assigned to four different pupil supervisors, moving every three months, and undertake work in relation to the supervisor’s case-load. After the first term, pupils are assigned work from other members of chambers, through the supervisor.
  
  The supervisor monitors the pupil’s schedule and workload, making sure that the latter is not unduly overburdened with work. The Bar Council guidelines which state that pupils should put in a minimum of 35 hours per week and have a minimum 20 days of vacation during the pupillage year are strictly adhered to.
  
  During the second six, pupils may also be allocated small cases of their own to handle. Formal training sessions on advocacy are conducted in-house and pupils are encouraged to attend advocacy sessions conducted at their Inn and take up at least two cases from the Free Representation Unit.
  
  Feedback forms attached with every piece of work done by the pupil are to be filled and returned to the pupil supervisor as and when the work is completed. The supervisor also holds a performance appraisal every quarter and the results are filed with the feedback forms and assessment ratings from advocacy sessions.
  
  Tenancy decisions are taken by all members of chambers at a selection meeting after all performance reports and opinions of supervisors and other members who’ve interacted with the pupils are taken into consideration.
  
  Mini-pupillages are conducted for a period of four days, during which trainees will read through active and resolved cases, accompany barristers to court or arbitration hearings, attend client meetings and settlement conferences if available and complete one written work assignment which is assessed. They will also get opportunities to meet and interact with other members and current pupils during these four days.

  The chambers provides an annual award of £40,000, of this an amount up to £12,000 can be drawn during the Bar Vocational Course programme. Mini-pupils are paid an allowance of £ 50 per day for four days when they attend a mini-pupillage.

  The chamber subscribes to the OLPAS summer schedule of recruitment and application forms are available at http://www.olpas.gti.co.uk. Applications should be submitted at the latest by 30 April, interviews will be conducted at the chamber during June & July and offers to successful candidates will be made by 31 July.
  
  The selection process is comprised of a single interview round which lasts for about 30 -35 minutes. During the interview, candidates will be provided with a legal problem which they will need to analyze and discuss with the interviewers.
  
  Applications for mini-pupillages can be made by sending a detailed CV and covering letter via post or email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Law students in their second year and non-law students who’ve completed at least one term of their CPE course are eligible to apply.
  
  Mini-pupillages are conducted throughout the year, excluding August and the first half of September, hence applicants should send in their forms at least two months in advance of the date they wish to attend the mini-pupillage.

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