Selborne Chambers - True Picture

Firm profile

We are a leading set of barristers specialising in commercial and chancery work. We strive to achieve the best outcomes for our clients by offering high-quality advocacy and advice which gets straight to the point. We provide advocacy and advice for every level of civil court and tribunal in England and Wales, as well as in domestic and international arbitrations and mediations. Much of chambers’ work is done in London, though members frequently advise and appear for clients in foreign jurisdictions (including Bermuda, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands, Gibraltar, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Isle of Man, Bangladesh, Israel and the USA).

Our tenants regularly appear in the County Courts, First-tier tribunal (Property Chamber), the High Court, the Upper Tribunal, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. They commonly appear in or preside over mediations and arbitrations, including international arbitrations, often applying foreign law.

We have a strong focus on introducing student interns from schemes aimed at extending access to legal career experience. For example, we participate in the Bar Placement Scheme, operated by the Bar Council in partnership with other charities. As part of this scheme, we welcome students each year from non-traditional backgrounds for the Bar. We also support IntoUniversity, a charity focused on helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds attain tertiary education or achieve their chosen ambition. This year we were proud to take part in the 10,000 Black Interns Programme, which organises paid internships for Black students across a number of industries. We also had one student from the Access to the Bar Award, which funds two weeks of work for students from backgrounds which do not traditionally have history or opportunities within the Bar.

Main areas of work

Arbitration; civil fraud and asset recovery; commercial; commercial and partnership; insolvency; landlord and tenant; media and entertainment; mediation and ADR; professional negligence; real property; trusts, probate and estates.

Training opportunities

We offer pupils with exceptional intellectual ability and commercial awareness the opportunity to work across the commercial chancery spectrum. The interview process for pupillage will consist of two rounds. The first round may include questions on a legal problem in addition to general questions about the applicant.

A pupil in chambers will undertake a structured pupillage encompassing all principal practice areas. It is envisaged that pupils will spend time with three or four pupil supervisors, each with varying types of practice. Accordingly, a pupil will be exposed to a variety of work within the commercial chancery spectrum. Pupils will be asked to prepare fully for and attend conferences and hearings with their pupil supervisors, produce written pleadings and opinions and undertake legal research, often under considerable time pressure. In addition to working with and for a pupil supervisor, pupils can expect to spend time with other members of chambers before all levels of Courts and Tribunals. Unlike in many commercial and commercial chancery sets, our pupils can expect regular court appearances and instructions in their own right during the second six months of pupillage.

Typically, these include small claims and fast track trials, possession hearings, winding up petitions, case management conferences and interim applications, as well as advisory and drafting work. Pupil supervisors will ensure that all pupils are fully supervised and supported whilst undertaking their own work. Chambers also provides its own advocacy training in addition to that provided by the Inns of Court.

Pupillage at Selborne Chambers equips our pupils with the necessary skills and awareness to face with confidence the various challenges which arise in the second six months of pupillage and the early days of tenancy. It is the intention of chambers to recruit a junior tenant each year, ideally from its own pupils.

All applications for pupillage must be submitted through the Pupillage Gateway which opens in January 2024. We will be following the Pupillage Gateway timetable for applications.

Vacation scheme

We don’t offer a vacation scheme; however, we do mini-pupillages, 12-month pupillages and third six pupillages. This is because during the summer holiday it tends to be a little quieter in some practise areas, whereas the other times of year will allow pupils to get a more meaningful appreciation of how a barristers chambers works.

Other benefits

£75,000 (Pupillage Award)
£25,000 (Bar course drawdown)

University law careers fairs 2024
Cambridge Barristers Fair, Oxford Law Fair, Bar Council Pupillage Fair, King’s College London Chambers Showcase, Legal Cheek Online Pupillage Fair

Social media

Recruitment website: Pupillage Gateway
Twitter: @SelborneTweets
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/selborne-chambers-london