Crown Office Chambers - True Picture

Crown Office Chambers pupillage review 2026

The Chambers

Anyone that says a jack of all trades is a master of none, clearly hasn’t met Crown Office Chambers. In fact, “it’s a slight rarity at the Bar to find a set which practices such a broad range of work to such a high standard,” one pupil told us.

“For all intents and purposes, we’re a broad church of chambers,” senior clerk James Wilkinson confirms, “We do an array of civil and commercial work. With respect to our insurance funded disputes, we act across the full spectrum of claims; if an insurer underwrites a policy, we have the strength and depth to provide representation. This, of course, includes emerging areas.”

“The diesel emission litigation is going before the court, and we have a team of counsel working on it.”

While the Building Safety Act and updated Arbitration Act will undoubtedly influence the set’s work, “we’ve seen a big upwards spike in disputes being leveraged and the emergence of more mass tort litigation,” Wilkinson tells us; “currently, the diesel emission litigation is going before the court, and we have a team of counsel working on it.”

The set is awarded top-tier rankings in London for its health and safety, personal injury and property damage expertise in the Chambers UK Bar guide. There’s also a top nod for the set’s personal injury (industrial disease) work across all circuits, and further merit for its work in areas like construction, inquests and public inquiries, and construction and engineering related international arbitration.

In one recent example, Dominic Kay KC acted on behalf of BT Openreach in a high-profile corporate manslaughter investigation after an engineer drowned in North Wales. Elsewhere, Andrew Rigney KC acted for Rydon (the main design and build contractor) in relation to the multi-party group civil litigation surrounding the fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017.

On the international side, “We have a long-standing reputation in both the MIddle East and East Asia, and we will continue to be active those regions while also giving consideration to emerging markets. At this stage, it’s predominantly construction disputes,” Wilkinson tells us, “but certainly, we’re seeing an increase in commercial and insurance disputes as the markets start to mature.”

Each year around three pupils join the set. “In more recent years more of our juniors are specialising in areas like construction, insurance and commercial,” Wilkinson observes, “and that is a hallmark of how well those areas have developed. There is more demand, and through pupillage there is a greater interest in the bigger ticket work, as it’s often framed.” Outside of that, “we regularly look for lateral hires but that is subject to practice areas requirements,” Wilkinson notes, “those five years call and above can always apply. If we think someone is going to add real quality to our bench, then we look to recruit them.”

The Pupillage Experience

Pupillage at Crown Office Chambers consists of two three-month seats followed by a practising second six, each with a different supervisor and focused on their practice. Occasionally pupils also do work for other members as well. As such, the idea is that by the very end, newbies will have had exposure across the spectrum of the set’s practice areas.

The majority of the time pupils are working on live cases; however, supervisors might assign dead work to further develop their skills or knowledge around a specific point of law. Looking back on the year, one pupil shared: “I’ve looked at professional negligence insurance claims worth hundreds of millions, a criminal case of corporate manslaughter, lots of personal injury and clinical negligence, and property damage too.” Pupils typically assist with legal research on bigger cases and drafting advice on prospects of success, as well as particulars of claim, defences, schedules of loss and counter schedules. If the opportunity arises, there’s also room to assist with prep for oral submissions for court too.

Gearing up for the practising second six, pupils complete at least three written advocacy and three oral assessments. Each written piece takes about a week to complete, and is blind double marked. One of these “has been handed down to the last 30 years or so in Chambers, so basically everyone has done the assessment – a very tricky piece of advice,” a junior divulged. As for the oral assessments, usually the task is a short procedural application in front of a panel.

On top of receiving feedback on the assessments, throughout pupils receive feedback from their supervisors. More formally, they also sit down with the head of pupillage to talk through their end-of-seat reports. As it’s a structured and transparent process, “there are no real surprises,” a pupil agreed.

“…you can ask any silly questions that you need to. It made it much less frightening than it might otherwise be.” 

With an emphasis on advocacy, the second six is practising. Just before pupils get on their feet, training sessions are run by junior tenants and members who sit as judges, outlining what to expect and the law and procedure around the cases. They have the chance to shadow junior barristers in court before getting on their feet, too. Pupils also have support from the aunt and uncle system, where they are paired up with a barrister who doesn’t have a say in the tenancy decision. “You can ask any silly questions that you need to,” a source praised, “it made it much less frightening than it might otherwise be.” 

Typically, pupils are in court two to three days a week, dividing their time between court sessions and working alongside their supervisors. Typically, these cases involve handling minor personal injury matters such as road traffic accidents and small contractual disputes in the County Court. While the clerk’s room is “the hub of chambers” and pupils have familiarity with it, at this point they are paired with a junior clerk supporting their practice: “They have regular dialogue with the clerking team about their diary,” Wilkinson tells us: “When they become tenants proper, we meet to discuss their practice goals and aims, as at that point they have more agency.”

And the hours? “During pupillage, standard hours are 9am till 6.30pm ish,” a junior outlined. However, “sometimes if you’ve an assessment or court commitments in the second six, then it may be a little later.”

Eventually the time comes for the tenancy decision. “The final decision is made by the pupillage committee,” pupillage committee member Farrah Mauladad KC explains; “a recommendation is sent to the executive committee who will either agree with it, or, if they need further information, come back to us.”

The first six weeks “is a complete grace period, as some people perform fantastically and others need to settle in a bit. Our whole ethos of pupillage is about an upward trajectory. We are about growth in pupillage, not traps,” she emphasises. What’s more, “we heavily invest in our pupils, and we want to take them on. We always say to the pupils that they are only competing against themselves, not each other, which encourages a strong bond to form between them.”

When newbies start pupillage, as per tradition, the juniors take them out for a curry night. “Right from the start pupils are invited along, everyone is very welcoming and friendly. People talk about a niche point of law in the coffee room, but also have fun.” With a variety of social events, every Thursday drinks are hosted in the chambers own ‘Slater’s Bar’ continuing the legacy of a former member, John Slater: “It’s a big thing. Everyone of all seniority comes along and you’re able to chat about anything; there’s not a hierarchy to it all.” As one pupil put it: “It’s not a stuffy chambers!”

The Application Process

Crown Office Chambers processes its applications through the Pupillage Gateway (which has recently implemented Rare Recruitment). “The competencies we’re looking for are intellectual ability, analytical skills, written and oral advocacy, and fit within chambers,” Mauladad tells us. All members on the marking panel have participated in Fair Recruitment training and, at each stage, their scores are calibrated. At the written application stage, around 30 candidates from the paper sift are invited to the first-round interview, which lasts around 20 minutes. This interview is focused on the candidate’s application, alongside some legal questions. 

From there, around 12 applicants are invited to the final round interview. Candidates have an hour before the interview to work on a previously undisclosed problem and 15 minutes to present it in front of the panel. “What the interview really tests isn’t legal knowledge – after all, we see applicants from a wide range of backgrounds, some with law degrees and some without. What we’re assessing are analytical skills and the ability to think on your feet,” Mauladad emphasises, “Interviews are a two-way process, and you get the best out of a candidate when there’s a genuine rapport. When a candidate heads down the wrong path and we point that out, the impressive ones are those who pause, reassess, and redirect their reasoning. That adaptability is incredibly impressive, and mirrors exactly what life at the Bar is like.” From there, finalists are asked an ethics question, a question related to a controversial event or debate, and another based on the application form.

“Think creatively about your experiences. You might not realise it, but dealing with customers, resolving complaints, or even persuading people in everyday situations is all advocacy.”

For those interested in applying, the advice from Wilkinson is clear: “Mini pupillages can’t be overlooked at all. It’s really important to get some experience of chambers as we will look at someone having undertaken mini pupillages as a positive step.”

Additionally, advocacy is vital: “If you’re aiming for the Bar, don’t wait – start thinking now about how you’ll build your oral advocacy skills,” Mauladad highlights, “Think creatively about your experiences. You might not realise it, but dealing with customers, resolving complaints, or even persuading people in everyday situations is all advocacy. Your everyday life is full of examples that show the skills chambers are looking for – you just need to recognise them and be ready to talk about them.”

As one junior put it: “Tailor your application; the easiest way to miss out at the sifting stage is to write an application which is copied and pasted. Spend time researching so you have a good sense of what the chambers are about and the work that they do, and, if you can, attend any open day.”