All About Law | Training Contracts | Vacation Schemes | Law School | Law Careers

• Brick Court

• • General

  • Off the Record

  • Work Focus

  • What They Want

  • Pupillage

  • Rewards

  • Apply

  Brick Court Chambers (BCC) is one of the star performers currently holding court at the UK Bar. A unique mix of expertise in EU, commercial and P&A law makes the set in great demand.
  
  Capping off sterling and memorable achievements are high-profile and notable appearances in cases such as Equitable Life v PWC, Courage v Crehan, Pender v C&W, Three Rivers DC v Bank of England, Occidental v Govt. of Ecuador and Weir v Railtrack. The set has also advised the likes of the London Reinsurance Market, General Electric, British Airways and Virgin Air.

  Brick Court is the chambers of choice for aspirants wishing to pursue a legal career at an exciting & constantly evolving set. You’ll get three specialisations for the price of one pupillage. Elsewhere you’d have to apply to three different sets if you were looking for a first-class training programme in these areas.
  
  The pupillage is also very flexibly structured; there is no fixed quota of time and the supervisors you will be rotated amongst. Enough and more emphasis is laid on formal training and regular assessments, keeping pupils on track with their performance and potential avenues of growth.
  
  Even for pupils not making the tenancy cut, the fact that they’ve been taken on by the chamber for a pupillage itself opens many doors for future opportunities. The set also assists such pupils in gaining permanent placements elsewhere.
  
  Back to the regular pupillage and tenancy programme, most pupils and juniors initially expect the atmosphere to be daunting and stiff-necked; the reality is very much the opposite. A convivial ambience at chambers and the fact that all personnel at the set thrive on being part of an exclusive and elite group means that camaraderie and egalitarianism are the order of the day.
  
  This is not to be interpreted as backslapping familiarity and palling around being OK, rather the prevalent notion is one of mutual respect and friendly interaction and cooperation.

  The chamber specializes in commercial law, European Community law and public & administrative law. The commercial practice covers the full range in international trade, finance & commerce, banking, insurance, shipping, aviation and professional negligence in commercial fields.
  
  EC law covers competition, intellectual property, pharmaceuticals, state aid, procurement, transport and tax. Public and administrative law includes regulatory compliance, agricultural grants & subsidies, broadcasting, financial services regulation, health, education, human rights, local governments and statutory bodies, telecommunications and constitutional law.

  The chamber looks to recruit around four pupils each year, looking specifically for candidates who match the eligibility criteria set for new tenants. A 2:1 degree or higher in any discipline is the minimum educational qualification sought by chambers.
  
  Ideal candidates would be individuals with outstanding intellectual abilities, not merely through book learning but also by having a quick and flexible brain to assess any situation or problem, strip it down to the basics and then build up a coherent, logical and brief argument in favour or against the issue at hand.
  
  Excellent communication and negotiation skills, sound commercial awareness and an aptitude for advocacy are also crucial. Other important qualities are confidence, enthusiasm, a creative lateral thought process, controlled aggression, strong oral and written advocacy capabilities and the flexibility to blend and work as part of a team with common goals.

  Pupils are assigned to about three or four supervisors during the pupillage year. The year-long programme is structured in such a manner that all pupils cover the basics in EU, public, commercial law and litigation. Pupils’ preferences are also taken into consideration and the assigning of supervisors with expertise in different areas is done keeping in mind such preferences and needs of the chamber.
  
  Those interested in pursuing EU law can also gain a secondment to Brussels, while pupils looking to pursue careers in public and commercial law are placed in the respective courts with judges who were former members of BCC in jobs such as marshalling, etc.
  
  Litigation experience is built up with monthly advocacy sessions conducted in chambers. Pupils will take on various roles and present arguments to a panel of members from the chamber, undertake direct and cross-examinations, opening and closing statements or defend their pleadings in a variety of advocacy proceedings.
  
  Individual feedback is provided immediately after the session to keep pupils in the loop on improvements or changes required. Pupils can also undertake some actual advocacy work during the second six.Mini-pupillage is one of the compulsory conditions to apply for a full pupillage at a later point in time.
  
  As such, the mini-pupillages conducted at Brick Court are assessed and run for a period of one week. Trainees are assigned to a member of chambers who they will shadow through the week.
  
  Trainees will undertake research, attend client meetings, attend court proceedings and review one set of case papers for their supervisor. They are also required to complete a written assignment which will be assessed for the final decision on full pupillage.

  The chamber currently awards an annual grant of £ 42,000 for maintenance and expenses during the pupillage year. All expenses for compulsorily training courses and travel outside London on work are also covered in full by the chamber.
  
  New tenants can avail an interest-free loan of up to £ 50,000 which is disbursed in monthly instalments during the first year of practice and repayable out of the receipts earned by the tenant.
  
  No room rent or other expenses are required to be paid by tenants during the first year of practice or until receipts total £ 50,000 for the year, whichever is sooner.

  Brick Court is a subscriber to the OLPAS summer scheme of recruitment and application forms can be found at http://www.pupillages.com. Application forms can be submitted during March & April as per dates specified by OLPAS. At this point candidates should have already completed an assessed mini-pupillage or must immediately apply for one at chambers.
  
  Mini-pupillage applications 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 final year and non-law students who’ve completed at least one term of the conversion course are eligible to apply for assessed mini-pupillages.
  
  The first round of interviews is conducted when applications for mini-pupillage are being evaluated. Candidates with good assessments during the mini-pupillage will be invited for the second round of interviews, usually held in July. Offers to selected candidates will be made as per OLPAS guidelines.

Browse Firms
Please click on the links below to browse through the city firms.