Cloisters Chambers - True Picture

Cloisters Chambers pupillage review 2024

The Chambers

What quickly becomes clear from speaking to insiders at Cloisters Chambers (usually referred to in the shorthand as ‘Cloisters’) is that this is a set with social justice at the heart of its mission statement. “You’re asking fundamental questions about discrimination and human rights,” one pupil stressed, highlighting the opportunity to work in “the type of law that involves people and real-life effects on them” as the primary draw to chambers.

This manifests primarily in Cloisters’ core practices of clinical negligence and employment – both of which are ranked highly in Chambers UK Bar, alongside personal injury.Human rights and sports law also make up some of the work, but according to senior clerk Glenn Hudson, most of the matters – roughly 60% – are in employment.

In one recent employment case, Paul Epstein KC defended Tesco in a high-profile multi-party equal pay claim (you’ve probably read about that one in the news). On the claimant side, he represented actor Antonia Kinlay in her pregnancy discrimination claim against Brontë Film & Television after she wasn’t cast in the fourth Strike series (the BBC crime drama based on JK Rowling’s Strike novels). Personal injury sees many cases arising from accidents at work, road traffic accidents, and complex brain injury cases. William Latimer-Sayer KC acted for a 13-year-old claimant who sustained a traumatic brain injury in a road traffic accident. And in clinical negligence,member Linda Jacobs acted in an inquest for the widow of a man who died after an operation to remove a benign brain tumour.

“From the beginning, you’re drafting and getting feedback on things like cross-examinations.”

As for what pupils can expect to get involved in, Chesca Lord, head of the pupillage committee, says public law judicial reviews are on the menu. Hudson tells us that public law is actually focus for growth. In fact, “30 years ago, Cloisters was a leading set in the area, so that’s one thing we’re doing more of.” It would be remiss of us to not also comment on the lasting effect that the pandemic is having on the scope of the set’s workload – Hudson highlights investigations as something that was a lot rarer pre-pandemic. “Before, people just went to tribunal and brought a claim, but now we’re seeing two or three investigations a day, as people try to resolve issues without the need for litigation.” Of course, “the nature of it is confidential,” but he hints that “we’ve done that for some very big companies, and a lot of stuff that’s been on the news…”

The Pupillage Experience

Pupillage encompasses four seats of three months each, two in personal injury/clinical negligence and two in employment, with one of each type in the first and second six. In the first six, cases are generally all live – “you learn so much more than from doing dead cases!” – and pupils go along with their supervisor to hearings and shadow everything they’re doing. “From the beginning, you’re drafting and getting feedback on things like cross-examinations,” a junior tenant told us.In employment particularly, pupils are often in court working on tribunal casework, as well as low-level personal injury and clinical negligence claims.

We heard that in the first six there is a 9am to 6pm restriction on pupils’ schedules, so “you don’t feel pressure to work outside those hours.” This is something that is helped by the set’s carefully monitored workflow, as Lord explains: “We have a policy that work for pupils has to go through supervisors, so they don’t get bombarded! They act as the gatekeepers.”

“… mostly fast-track trials in the County Court.”

The second six is “different” though – because pupils are practising. “The rationale is that you take your time to complete the work,” so pupils may need to work past their former 6pm cutoff. Our pupil interviewee (in their third six) was acting for “both claimants and respondents in the employment tribunal, and doing some personal injury and clinical negligence – mostly fast-track trials in the County Court.” We were told that pupils’ clients could include unions in transport and the education sector, industrial manufacturers, and anything from “major high-street names to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), where you get a huge variety.”

Although Cloisters has a structured assessment programme, pupils reassured us that the set makes efforts to ensure “you feel you can make mistakes; you don’t know how to do the job, that’s the whole point of pupillage!” It’s for this reason that only 10% of a pupil’s assessment for tenancy comes from supervisor feedback, which pupils appreciated: “It allows you to be more creative with how you do things and find out the way that works for you.” Supervisors sit down with pupils at the end of each seat to go through their feedback, considering everything from written work and preparation for court, to interaction with clients.

Outside of this, the other 90% of the tenancy decision is based on four assessments spread across the second six, which include two written assessments – drafting (20%) and legal research (20%) – and two in person – advocacy (20%) and an interview (30%). For the interview, pupils are given either an employment or personal injury topic to prepare for two weeks in advance. At the time of writing, Cloisters had not disclosed the number of pupils who gained tenancy in 2023.

“There’s a strong group of juniors.”

As for tenancy itself? “It’s more informal,” one junior tenant grinned, “and really friendly! There’s a strong group of juniors, with ‘senior juniors’ who are very supportive of ‘junior juniors’.” Such a set-up wouldn’t be complete without a very active Whatsapp group – “I asked if someone would help with a conditional fee arrangement and got a response within a minute!” We were told the social scene is a little slimmer post-Covid, but the set is making efforts to bring people in with anchor days in the office in Middle Temple on Thursdays, lunch every other Thursday, and even neck and shoulder massages for members. Now that’s what we’d call a perk!

The Application Process

Applications are made via the Pupillage Gateway, “and we publish our mark scheme for those applications on our website,” Lord explains, “which includes points for academic achievements, advocacy and alignment with Cloisters.” Typically, around 300 people apply for pupillage, kicking off with a remote written assessment with a non-legal problem question, “just to test how you analyse a set of rules” Lord tells us. A junior elaborated that “you have 40 minutes before it automatically self-destructs.” The assessment is also marked blind by two people to remove any subconscious bias from the process.

“You’re given a written problem based on our core areas.”

Then there are two interview rounds. Between 40 and 50 candidates are chosen for the first one. Here, a panel of four members tests applicants on an unseen non-legal problem. The ten to fourteen candidates that pass this stage are then invited to the final round interview, where Lord says, “you’re given a written problem based on our core areas.” She adds that this stage includes “an employment element and medical injury questions on a fictional set of facts.” After a 20-minute discussion on the exercise at hand, candidates answer and discuss an unseen topical question. Insiders stressed that, while the process is stressful, “they’re not looking for you to get things 100% right – they’re looking at potential.”

And Lord underscores a number of ways applicants can stand out. “Specific to the application form, be concise, especially about mini-pupillages. They’re going to be read by busy practitioners,” Lord chuckles, adding that demonstrating a real interest in employment, clinical negligence and personal injury through work experience, pro bono, or academic specialisms goes a long way. And on top of that? “Everyone at Bar school seemed super intelligent – don’t let yourself be phased by the competition!”