Falcon Chambers - True Picture

Falcon Chambers pupillage review 2025

The Chambers

There are a lot of differences between the solicitor’s side of the profession and the realm of the barrister. The two are distinct worlds, but there are a few ways in which they can be similar. For one thing, working out exactly what kind of barrister you want to be as a prospective pupil is important, because there is a surprising amount of variety to choose from, just is the case for aspiring solicitors. At Falcon Chambers, the kind of barrister you’ll wind up being is clear from the off – the set is one of the few that focuses exclusively on property law and related areas. It also happens to bag a top-tier Chambers UK Bar ranking for the practice, alongside agriculture & rural affairs.

As senior clerk Jonathan Stannard explains, the set’s work is split across six different practice areas: commercial property, residential property, agriculture, natural resources, development and telecoms. What’s more: “It’s very expansive in terms of the property work we cover in all of those sub areas.” We were told that there’s a fair mix of each of them, but while commercial cases worth “millions of pounds,” are what give the set its weighty reputation, “at the pupil level, there are probably higher percentages of residential work at the beginning,” Stannard tells us, “then, like all the barristers, they start to find their feet in the core areas, and they naturally start to specialise.” That said: “You’re not stuck. You don't become an agricultural specialist unless you want to!”

“…it is very different seeing property law in action on the ground.”

One former pupil joked that while property law can often be an unpopular module, “it is very different seeing property law in action on the ground.” Indeed, when the Tate Modern built its viewing gallery, it initially prompted a backlash from Neo Bankside, the owners of four flats in the vicinity, who argued that the gallery was, illegally, allowing visitors to peer into their homes. Fortunately, Falcon successfully navigated the case, and construction was able to continue. While the set is based in London, Falcon’s barristers take on work across Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, the West Country and East Anglia. In addition, “we do international work throughout the commonwealth,” Stannard tells us, “which we tend to get through arbitration, in jurisdictions like Bermuda and Hong Kong.” Current members also include one deputy High Court judge and several deputy district judges.

The Pupillage Experience

Pupils will work with four different supervisors for three months each. According to Adam Rosenthal KC, head of pupillage at Falcon, the idea is for pupils to get some exposure to the full range of the set’s practice, as well as the breadth of each supervisor’s practice: “The work they do just depends on what the particular supervisor's workload happens to be over that particular three months.” According to one pupil, this translated to “a little bit of everything. I did a lot of agriculture work when I was shadowing my supervisor, before that it was a lot of telecoms work. So, you get to see different niche areas.” These areas included anything from commercial landlord to public law work, covering mortgage matters and insolvency work (which itself involves property, trusts and equity-related matters).

“It makes it much easier to transition to your own caseload.”

For pupils, typical tasks included plenty of opinion writing, some skeleton arguments, and reviewing papers. Pupils will work mainly on ‘live’ work, assisting their supervisors on whatever cases they are handling. However, there is the opportunity to look over some archive work to ensure exposure to certain issues. The supervision approach was flagged by one former pupil as particularly beneficial, as “you work in tandem with your supervisor. It's good to have someone who make sures you are on the right path and to discuss matters with. It makes it much easier to transition to your own caseload.”

We heard that there is a natural ramping-up in the demands of the work as a pupil progresses through pupillage, and this involves getting on your feet in the second six. As one former pupil told us: “About nine months in and in the final seat, you start taking on your own cases, and you’re on your feet much more.” For those particularly keen to take on their own work, pro bono cases offer room for independence slightly earlier.

The general consensus from pupils and pupillage committee alike was that the emphasis at Falcon is on training and learning rather than assessment: “We understand that pupils aren’t the finished product on day one and the main purpose of a pupillage is to learn rather than be assessed,” Rosenthal tells us, “we have two to three internal advocacy exercises, which are intended to develop advocacy skills, but there is not formally assessed work. Instead, we just want to see an upwards trajectory throughout the pupillage.” We heard that as a part of the training programme, University of Cambridge Professor Martin Dixon runs training sessions for pupils to familiarise them with terminology and other aspects of real estate law. The tenancy decision is ultimately based on the suggestion of the recruitment committee, which takes a look at the material in depth and makes a recommendation to chambers before a chambers-wide vote.

The hours of a pupil are roughly 9am-6pm, “and everyone is very good at saying ‘it’s six o’clock, please go home.’” The culture at the set was praised as “super welcoming” throughout our interviews. One former pupil even told us that they had been invited to the chambers barbecue ahead of starting their pupillage. “I am a huge fan of running,” they told us, “and I was in the process of training for a marathon when I was interviewing. When I was at the barbecue, they were all super interested in how I was doing.” There is also a chambers-wide dinner every year, as well a drinks every Wednesday. As Stannard quipped: “I worked at a couple of other chambers before, but once I got here, I stayed 20 years, so that gives you an idea!”

The Application Process

Prospective pupils apply via the Pupillage Gateway. There is then a paper sift which narrows down the applications to somewhere between 15 and 20 people, who are then invited to interview. The first-round interview lasts approximately 20 minutes, in which candidates are given time to consider a judgement which the panel then questions them on. But, as Rosenthal assures, these questions target “their comprehension of the text, based solely on what is in front of them rather than any existing legal knowledge.” The idea is to whittle the candidates down to a group of six or seven. If you make it pass this interview, there is a final round interview lasting around 30 to 40 minutes. This interview is more in-depth, with a greater emphasis on analytical questions.

At this second-round interview, candidates can expect to receive something like “a badly worded clause in an agreement, before being asked to give one argument about what it might mean.” We heard the main qualities that the set looks for in a potential pupils is a free-thinking individual, with the ability to digest and analyse material quickly, succinctly and accurately. According to Rosenthal, both interviews are tailored to assessing analytical ability as opposed to the law: “We are aware that candidates have different levels of legal knowledge, some have just finished the GDL, and some have years of legal study.”