Pupillage Blog
Pupillage Month 4
March 2025
Written by Imogen Smalley
Month Four
I took the first week of January as annual leave. During the second week I had the mandatory BSB ethics examination. I then stayed for one week in Birmingham, where I shadowed family and civil matters, and represented Chambers at their pupillage open evening. In the final week of January I shadowed a robbery trial.
What I have seen this month
Public Family
- Issues resolution hearing – counsel was for applicant mother who was opposing the children being permanently taken from her due to drug and alcohol difficulties.
- Final hearing – counsel was for the respondent mother. Mother agreed with CAFCASS recommendations, and therefore counsel’s main task in the final hearing was asking the CAFCASS Officer to elaborate on the reasoning behind their decisions.
Private Family
- Child Arrangements Order – the purpose of this hearing was to establish if a fact-finding hearing should take place.
Regulatory
- The first day of a Teaching Regulation Agency hearing. Counsel was representing the teacher who was being accused of unacceptable professional conduct. The hearing was in front of a panel, who were to decide: if the facts of the allegations had occurred; if so, whether they amounted to unacceptable professional conduct; if they did, whether the teacher should be prohibited from teaching (and if so, for what length of time), or if the publication that the teacher had committed ‘unacceptable professional conduct’ was enough of a sanction.
- A social worker disciplinary case management conference.
Civil
- A credit hire hearing in Coventry.
- Drafted a skeleton argument in response to an application for strike out and/or summary judgment. This case hinged on whether the facts fell into existing doctrines that extend the Hedley Byrne doctrine, and therefore whether a duty of care to protect against pure economic loss had been created.
Criminal trial
- I shadowed defence counsel for a trial over four days. During this time I drafted: the defence statement, a skeleton argument that set out why we were opposing the prosecution’s application to admit the defendant’s bad character, and the closing speech.
What I have learnt this month
In family proceedings, a ‘composite hearing’ is a fact-finding hearing and a final hearing combined. In advance of the composite hearing, the social worker will write an ‘either or report’ which details different options for the child/ren depending upon which factual scenario is found in the fact-finding hearing.
Something that I did not expect
I did not realise that the judiciary in family proceedings rarely depart from the recommendations of the social workers in the case.
What I have particularly enjoyed this month
The Teaching Regulation Agency hearings require a different advocacy style to criminal and civil matters. It has been beneficial to see this advocacy approach before being on my feet, so that I can consider in advance how to adapt to this style when necessary.
Pupillage Week 12
March 2025
Written by Imogen Smalley
Week 12 of pupillage
It is four working days until Christmas. Since last writing, I have travelled to Birmingham once to shadow private family hearings and to promote Chambers at Keele Law Fair. I have also travelled to Nottingham for the Law School’s annual fair and have travelled to Croydon for a multi-handed sentencing. My evenings this month have been taken up with revising the Bar Standard’s Board Handbook for the mandatory ethics exam in January.
There has been some socialising too. Chambers’ Maidstone branch hosted their Christmas dinner at the local tapas two weeks ago. Additionally, Maidstone Crown Court had a celebratory church service marking 40 years since the resurrection of the building, which was attended by the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales.
What I have seen this month
I have mainly been shadowing criminal matters. However, at the beginning of December I was given a commercial construction research task to occupy myself with when I have a moment. This task was allocated at my request from a member of Chambers who I know practises civil law. It is not a formal piece of work, but rather a way for me to familiarise myself with the range of civil and commercial matters that Chambers covers. The matter spans construction, general negligence and pure economic loss.
At the end of November, I shadowed two private family hearings. First: an interim order hearing, where child contact arrangements between the separated parents needed setting for the period leading up to the final hearing date. After a three-hour conciliation process, the parties agreed to a draft interim order which was approved by the Court. Second: a directions hearing, brought by a vulnerable mother who wished to double the contact time spent with her child each month. Again, over a three-hour conciliation period, the parties reached a draft order which was approved. The order set the mandatory minimum number of hours that the mother was allowed to physically see her child. Although the parties are permitted under this order to increase these contact hours should they subsequently agree.
A fortnight ago, I drafted my first sentencing note. My mentor was kind enough to upload this onto the digital case system for the Judge.
What I have learnt this month
This week, Chambers’ Head of Pupillage, Rebecca Keeves, provided a seminar on credit hire. Rebecca kindly ran through the essential cases for each issue within such disputes, and pointed out frequent mis-interpretations of said cases that she hears when sitting as a District Judge.
Here are three ‘starter takeaways’. Firstly, within credit hire disputes, the overriding test is whether the ‘reasonable person’ would have taken out such an agreement. Secondly, failing to switch to a more affordable credit hire agreement during the period of hire is rarely excused by an argument that the hirer had already entered into an agreement. Thirdly, there is no interest on credit hire figures, including storage fees. This is because, the whole purpose of the credit hire agreement is that the hirer does not lose any money during the hire agreement!
Something that I did not expect
For multi-handed theft sentencings, the judge has significant free reign over two matters. Firstly: if the defendant should be sentenced according to the number of thefts they were actually involved in, or according to the total number of thefts the gang as a whole carried out during the period in question. Secondly: if the defendant should be sentenced according to the value of all the goods stolen by the group over the period in question, or just the goods they were physically involved in stealing.
In practice, this can be the difference between a sentence for stealing tens of thousands of pounds, or hundreds of thousands of pounds, for example. Accordingly, that would be the difference between a Category 3 or a Category 1 offence. The former ranges from a Band B fine to 2 years’ custody, the latter from 26 weeks’ custody to 6 years’ custody.
What I have particularly enjoyed this month
I have spent a few afternoons, following criminal matters at Maidstone in the morning, researching the applicability of pure economic loss to the cost of future remedial work arising from potentially negligent building construction. Losing yourself in research feels a little like you are hunting for treasure or that last piece of the puzzle. It is both a peaceful and addictive process. Once you start, you never want to stop!
My first three months of pupillage
March 29, 2021
Written by Danae Larham
Three months into my pupillage means I am now halfway through my non-practicing six, and halfway to being on my feet. At this very moment in time, that prospect is both thrilling and terrifying in unequal measures: quantities of which I’ll leave you to decide!
I am undertaking a common law pupillage, which before starting, I admittedly did not appreciate just what a fantastic and useful experience it would be. As someone who was mostly interested in crime, I thought this style of pupillage would enable me to ‘count out’ the other areas. It surprisingly has in fact been the opposite and I have found myself really enjoying civil work, contrary to my rather strong views on this area during Bar school.
I was fortunate very early on to spend 6 weeks on a murder trial which again, the naïve pupil expected to be completely fascinating but not practically useful at this stage as I will not undertake that level of work for many years. Again, how wrong I was. I learnt so much about advocacy, client care and just how much work goes into running a trial in those 6 weeks than I think I have done in all of my advocacy training so far.
I try to prepare as much as I can for each case that I shadow, however I think that the art is in dealing with the things you cannot prepare for. It’s great thinking up clever submissions, making sure you understand the procedure for each day, but what happens when your client doesn’t turn up? Or when they do, but give an entirely different account to you in conference than you were expecting from the papers? These are the lessons I have found most valuable in 1st six and what I think is really going to prepare me well for being on my feet.
Finally, I have recently been instructed in my first noting brief, which whilst being relatively straight forward work, is a brief with my own name on. Hopefully the first of many to come in 3 months’ time
Second Six
February 18, 2020
Written by Olivia Appleby, Second Six Pupil
Although I am nearing the end of my second six, it seems as though it was only yesterday that I started on my feet, the time has gone so quickly!
I have been enjoying a mixed practice of Crime, Civil and Family, which has enabled me to perform in a variety of court settings. This has been invaluable as it is only when you start out on your own that you really get to know your Tribunal. I have also found it to be a real confidence boost when managing different Court environments – having being well versed in the Magistrates and County Courts, my first appearance in the Crown Court felt much less daunting.
There is a different dynamic from first six to second six in that whilst you have the freedom to manage your own practice, this can often mean late nights and early mornings. It took me a little bit of time to find a working style that suited me, as everyone is different.
Whilst it has been a steep learning curve, the support that I have received from other Members of Chambers has been unparalleled. Whether it’s a quick phone call to run through your opinion on a case, or something deeper, there is always someone to help.
The benefit of pupillage at Cornwall Street is just that. The sense of community and camaraderie in our common room at lunch time is like nothing else, not least because of the daily “The Times” quiz that we answer as a group!
Although being a pupil requires a lot of hard work and dedication, I have of course enjoyed the many social events that have been in the calendar of late! I have enjoyed attending both the Birmingham and Wolverhampton Law Society Dinners, and more recently our Chambers New Year’s Party. As ever, these social events are the perfect opportunity to move the gallows sense of humour that is so often heard in the robing rooms, to the dance floor.
Over the coming weeks, I will be preparing my application for tenancy at Cornwall Street. This, for many pupils, feels like the final bridge of uncertainty to cross. However, given the unfaltering support and kindness shown to me from chambers over the last year, I cannot imagine wanting to be anywhere else.
