5 Essex Chambers - True Picture

5 Essex Chambers pupillage review 2026

The Chambers

5 Essex is best known for its police law work. But what does that really mean? “The police world incorporates public law, inquests, inquiries, employment, civil claims, magistrates’ court work, and commercial work,” explains senior clerk Mark Waller. “We represent every police force in the country, so that's all 43 of them from Northumbria to Cumbria to Exeter to Suffolk,” Waller adds.

This of course has implications for pupils: “The idea for our pupils is to try and get as much exposure to as many police forces as possible.” It’s something that was part of the draw to the set for prospective pupils too: “I was really intrigued by the opportunity to do public sector work for public authorities in areas surrounding public law,” one junior told us.

“The idea for our pupils is to try and get as much exposure to as many police forces as possible.”

The balance of work coming into chambers, Waller tells us, is about 65% police, 30% government and 5% “other, which will include information law and other public law cases.” In recent years, there’s been an increase in the latter. Major clients are the police forces, their in-house departments and the law firms to which they outsource, “firms like Weightmans, DWF, Clyde & Co. and TLT,” says Waller.

The set’s work on the Horizon Inquiry in particular has led to significant growth: “We've probably increased turnover by 30% in the last five years,” Waller informs us. While a fair bit of the demand is driven by inquiries, “police work really is the heartbeat of these chambers and the future for many years to come,” he stresses. The set sits firmly in the top band of Chambers UK Bar rankings for police law: mainly defendant and inquests and public inquiries, while its barristers are ranked in areas such as administrative and public law, data protection, immigration and professional discipline.

One recent police law case saw Jason Beer KC act for the Metropolitan Police Service in a case concerning the use of force by police officers that results in death. Following a public inquiry, the issue made its way to the Supreme Court. Elsewhere, Aaron Moss represented the Secretary of State for the Home Department in legal action taken by Prince Harry over the decision not to provide police protection when in the UK.

Our interviewees were also keen to emphasise that many of the set’s female silks have children, as do many of the other barristers. This contributed to the sense one pupil had that 5 Essex is an “inclusive, warm, welcoming and professional” set. As Pupillage Committee member Beatrice Collier adds: “In a profession that can be at times incredibly stressful and is also broadly about individual responsibility and your individual practice and your own decisions, it makes a massive difference that you can feel that you're in a friendly and supportive place.”

The Pupillage Experience

Over the course of pupillage, pupils will have three supervisors. Pupillage starts slightly earlier than most sets, with the first seat running from September to Christmas. This means that pupils at 5 Essex receive their tenancy decision relatively early.

“…we as supervisors are trying to help that pupil become accustomed to life in chambers, become accustomed to being a pupil, learn about our practice areas more generally and get used to doing a range of practical legal tasks that they will eventually, hopefully end up doing as a tenant.”

In their first six, pupils will work for their supervisor. As Collier explains, “we as supervisors are trying to help that pupil become accustomed to life in chambers, become accustomed to being a practitioner rather than a student, learn about our practice areas and clients more generally and get used to doing a range of practical legal tasks that they will eventually, hopefully end up doing as a tenant.” This work includes skeleton arguments and doing the first draft of defence. Some tasks revolve around dead work where closed cases are used as training material.

Pupils receive written feedback on each piece of work they complete for their supervisors or other tenants. Indeed, pupils will also shadow other members of chambers in court and write opening notes to ensure that they’re prepared for the kind of cases they’ll have during their practising second six: “That's really important because with pupillage at 5 Essex, you're in court very frequently compared to other civil sets,” a pupil told us; “I would say you'll be in court about three to four times a week once you're on your feet.”

A month or two before the second six, the clerks and pupils have a chat about the cases the pupils have seen so far, any gaps they need to fill before the end of first six and what kind of cases they would prefer to take on during their second six. “What's certain is that you will definitely have exposure to a lot of work for public authorities and definitely a lot of work for police forces,” said a pupil. They might also see “more niche” areas like Court of Protection, human rights, data protection or charity. During third seat, we heard that pupils might get some work from their supervisor, but the vast majority will be their own caseload.

Additional training opportunities include a programme where members give a talk to introduce specific areas of practice like a beginner’s guide to an inquest or search warrant. There are also in-house advocacy days and subject matter sessions such as “a crash course on the types of applications that our pupils will be doing in their second six in the magistrates’ courts, which is a major part of the work they do,” a junior tenant informed us. Other areas covered include legal professional privilege, actions against the police and sifting.

Pupils make an application for tenancy by filling out a form, answering an ethical question, providing two examples of advocacy they’ve undertaken during pupillage and explaining what they’ve learned from them. This form is accompanied by a report that’s drafted by the pupillage committee based on feedback from throughout the applicant’s pupillage, both reports from the supervisors and formal feedback from every member of chambers who has received a piece of work from the pupil. A clerk’s report is also a factor. The final decision comes down to a vote by all members of chambers based on this report. There are no formal written assessments as part of the process.

Pupils are generally required to be in chambers 9am to 6pm. While Chambers tries to give pupils cases in London and the surrounding counties, sometimes they might be sent further afield. “We do try and keep them as local as possible, but the reality is when you work for organisations that are country-wide, get used to hotels!” says Waller. Of course, pupils always have a say in these decisions and get advance notice.

Once a month, a couple of members organise a social where tenants get together to do an activity of some kind: “We do an activity such as a guided walk, bowling, mini-golf, or a theatre trip. It gives people a space in which they can be sociable that isn't drinking-focused and tends to be early evening,” explains Collier, “and people are then of course at liberty to get something to eat or drink afterwards or whatever it might be.” Other social events include a Christmas party and client conferences.

The Application Process

Prospective candidates apply via the Pupillage Gateway. A paper sift narrows down applications to about 30 for the first-round interview, then 10-15 are chosen to continue to the second-round interview. Collier emphasises that during interviews, the panel is “looking at the motivation and commitment to the bar generally, to chambers’ area of practice specifically, and representing public authorities in particular.”

They’re also looking for strong analytical reasoning skills “and an ability to argue, really.” During the first interview, candidates are often asked to argue for a particular point of view, then argue the opposite, “because that way, we're trying to isolate the core ability to present an argument one way or another and, to some extent, to see how people react under pressure.”

“…we're trying to isolate the core ability to present an argument one way or another and, to some extent, to see how people react under pressure.”

The second-round interview involves a more formal advocacy exercise: “We will take into account the fact that not everyone who is being interviewed will have completed bar school,” says Collier, “it's more the key aptitudes that we're looking for: fluency, structure, communication skills, and so on.” There will also be some questions on topics like what candidates will bring to chambers, why they wish to join, and their personal interests or hobbies outside of the law.

Those who make it to the second stage are invited to a social: “That was a really nice experience to get to know people, to learn more about the practice areas, and to also find out if chambers is the right fit for you,” said a pupil; “they made it very clear that it's not part of the assessment.”