What are chambers looking for?
Prospective tenants
What qualities do prospective tenants have?
- Chambers want someone who has all the qualities of a great barrister.
- They want a colleague who can be trusted to take on their cases when they are unavailable. This means that chambers are looking for both ability and integrity.
- They also want someone who is going to be a great ambassador for their set; this person should share the set’s ethos, be interested in bringing business into chambers and/or be keen to get involved in various aspects of chambers’ life (as appropriate), including administration, outreach and, of course, pro bono.
- Depending on the set, many want someone with whom they would enjoy going for a drink. Part of the job involves celebrating/commiserating and schmoozing solicitors.
The pupillage process is not just about finding pupils. Ignore this at your peril.