Atkin Chambers - True Picture

Atkin Chambers pupillage review 2024

The Chambers

“Our USP is quality,” says senior clerk, Justin Wilson. His simple statement is punctuated by the sounds of construction in the background (thanks to the set’s summer party marquee being built outside), which is appropriate considering the topic of conversation: "Construction and engineering disputes are at the heart of what we are known for, and our members are instructed on major infrastructure projects worldwide, often related to construction, energy, shipbuilding, IT or professional negligence." Atkin receives top recognition from Chambers UK Bar in construction, construction/engineering-related international arbitration and construction/technology-specific professional negligence. Tips of the hat also go to its IT and energy and natural resources practices.

"The biggest trend will likely be the Building Safety Act and the Fire Safety Act post-Grenfell"

Global work is the name of the game at Atkin, and a pupil noted that “lots of members go to international arbitrations in all parts of the world.” Case in point: Stuart Catchpole KC represented Qatar Airways Group in a massive $1.8 billion dispute with European aircraft manufacturer – one example among a string of airport-related matters in the Middle East, according to Wilson. Another key case arose from the Panama Canal Expansion Project, where Atkin barristers Christopher Lewis KC, Manus McMullan KC and Peter Land acted on behalf of the Panama Canal Authority in multiple disputes and arbitrations. Wilson highlights that, on home turf, “the biggest trend will likely be the Building Safety Act and the Fire Safety Act post-Grenfell. That’s bringing in an enormous amount of domestic work relating to cladding and fire safety issues.” In fact, Atkin’s Stephanie Barwise KC has been leading a Grenfell Tower Public Enquiry, representing a group of survivors, former residents and bereaved relatives.

However, Wilson explains that “chambers does a huge amount of international work, but our domestic work is equally important. While the opportunity to travel the world is seen as a real attraction for many members, it is not for everyone. It's up to us to cater for all of that.” To support its 55 barristers in reaching their goals, cultivating relationships with smaller firms is key, as it allows more junior barristers to get the experience they need to grow. “Those smaller firms probably send us the largest number of instructions every year,” says Wilson. “The cases tend to be smaller, domestic matters, but are massively important for our junior barristers as we want them to undertake work in their own right, alongside the bigger matters in which they work as part of a larger team.”

The Pupillage Experience

Pupils undertake three seats with three different supervisors: two three-month rotations, followed by a final six-month stint. Pupils are given a mix of live and historic work and, according to a junior, “supervisors will target pieces of work they think will be particularly useful for your development.” What’s more, according to a pupil, “there’s a real emphasis for you to see and do work you haven’t done.” So, pupils work alongside barristers of varying seniority within different sub-specialisms. “I started to see a lot more arbitration with my second supervisor and was doing pieces of live work, while my first supervisor placed more emphasis on dead work,” a pupil noted. “You see a broad range of work throughout the year and get access to all of the practice areas that chambers does.”

Since construction, engineering and IT are niche sub-sections of the commercial Bar, Atkin pupils spend their time getting to grips with the specialisms rather than practising in their final six months. This means that pupils are typically paired with barristers who are in the preparation stage of a case, so will join calls and work through a “juicy set of papers.” Though the set avoids pairing pupils with supervisors in the middle of a trial, our pupil interviewees had the opportunity to witness “a really important, topical case for the industry, raising a lot of new points that a lot of people – lawyers and non-lawyers – are interested in.” Later in the pupillage, it’s likely for pupils to find themselves assisting their supervisors with day-to-day tasks to help prepare for final assessments. Supervisors also make a report on each pupil's performance which contributes to the final tenancy decision.

“All of the assignments are live work that the barristers were given in the last few months.”

Pupils are assigned one piece of assessed written work and three advocacy exercises, the last of which is assessed. However, the bulk of assessment starts at the nine-month mark, “by which time you will have had enough time to make lots of mistakes,” a junior assured. Panel work makes up a decent chunk of assessment, in which various pieces of work are sent by members of chambers over a four- to five-week period. Barrister and member of the pupillage and recruitment committee (PRC), Nicholas Maciolek, explains that this is “supposed to be a rough simulation of what life in chambers is like. You’re given a series of instructions over time and have to negotiate with your supervisor to fit in the work and get it done.” The assigning barristers send a report to the PRC on the quality of the work submitted. It’s challenging but interesting, according to pupils: “All of the assignments are live work that the barristers were given in the last few months. Two of the pieces were from silks, so we’re doing what KCs are doing!”

A test featuring “a knotty set of papers” is the final piece of work added to the assessment box before the PRC makes the final tenancy decision. This is then passed onto chambers for a vote of all members, although Maciolek reports that “the PRC’s report carries a great deal of weight in practice, so it’s fair to say they’re the leading voice of the decision.” In the final three months of training after hopefully securing a spot, future tenants can start to take on their own cases. However, according to a junior, “that’s up to your supervisor to decide whether they want to continue giving you work or whether they think you’d benefit from taking on work of your own.” The firm does not disclose its tenancy figures.

Interviewees emphasised the high level of support felt from the top down, with a junior boasting that “from the word go, you’re made to feel valued and that you have autonomy over your work.”Clerks and barristers are on a first-name basis, and there are plenty of opportunities to get to know them in a more laidback, social atmosphere. “They run a lot of networking events with clients where you can chat, relax and have drinks with them,” a junior explained. “You become close quite quickly as you spend a lot of time calling them up to see how things work. I often call them for a chat about non-work-related issues, too!” Wilson echoes this sentiment, adding that this support means “staff and barristers are happy and stay for long periods of time. You get the quality of work and earnings potential, but in a more personal atmosphere.”

“… there’s usually a curly wurly or a red velvet cake.”

On the social side, there’s chambers tea every day at 4pm, with cake on Tuesdays. “That’s normally well-attended, and there’s usually a curly wurly or a red velvet cake,” a pupil quipped. There are also weekly drinks, monthly lunches, Christmas and summer parties, the last of which is hosted in the (aforementioned) marquee outside the building. We heard that “the more senior people start chatting and telling stories at these events, so it’s really good fun.” More broadly, pupils felt comfortable approaching senior barristers in social and professional settings, with one grateful that “so many silks have told me to pop my head around the door if I have any questions, and it feels like a very genuine offer.”

The Application Process

Atkin processes its applications through the Pupillage Gateway, asking candidates to submit a CV and answer questions on why Atkin, and why you’d be a good match. “The questions made sense,” said a pupil, “and having 500 words per response meant I could actually say what I wanted to say.” The PRC is looking for people who meet seven main criteria, including strong oral and written skills, commitment to diversity, understanding of the law, integrity, teamwork, and commitment to practice at chambers.

About 30 applicants make it to the first interview, in which candidates are asked a question of public interest, where “we ask people to argue against the obvious. It’s not about the correctness of your opinion, but how you can present the full expanse of any argument in favour of the opposition.” Maciolek gives us an example of a question from the most recent round of interviews: “Should the role of a civil judge be limited to finding the facts, with AI then applying the law to those facts?” They are then asked about their CV to “genuinely get to know them, understand where they come from and why they’ve come to us,” says Maciolek.

“We give them an unseen topic which is designed to test how they really think when they haven’t had time to prepare.”

The ten to twelve applicants who make it through to the final interview are given a set of papers a week in advance and invited to prepare a piece of written work (usually a skeleton argument), which Maciolek explains is "a difficult question to which we don't know the answer." The first half of the interview tests the strength of the argument while the second half focuses on a strictly legal question. "It’s intended to be hard," says Maciolek. "We give them an unseen topic which is designed to test how they really think when they haven’t had time to prepare.”