We are keen to extend mini-pupillage opportunities to the widest range of applicants who may be considering a career at the bar, and we are committed as a Chambers to reducing perceived barriers to a career at the bar. Mini-pupillage offers experience of working life at the bar, but is also an important opportunity to make connections and get to know different sets of Chambers. Our mini-pupillages are not assessed and are not a requirement of applications for pupillage at The 36 Group.
Please see our separate Pupillage page for information about Pupillage at The 36 Group.
Mini-pupillage Oral Advocacy Competition
In 2020, during the pandemic, we launched our inaugural mini-pupillage Oral Advocacy Competition, which was conducted entirely virtually. The four successful finalists took part in a moot, judged by Mr Justice Baker (liaison judge for social mobility), Will Tyler KC and Kate Tompkins. All were offered a mini-pupillage during 2021.
The winner of the competition was Afiya Ameusu. Second place went to Emily Millard. Our two other successful finalists were Henrietta Blohm and Phylida Spackman.
Following the success of the 2020 Oral Advocacy Competition, we were pleased to be able to expand the scheme in 2021 to offer 20 mini pupillage places during 2022 for successful applicants.
Annual Advocacy Competition
In Autumn 2022 we again held, what has become, our annual Advocacy Competition for 2023 places. We also widened the competition to include a Written Advocacy Competition. The competition was launched to coincide with the Bar Council Pupillage Fair on 15 October 2022.
In our first year we had 287 applicants from 57 different educational institutions across England and Wales, and we are delighted to have reached so many parts of the country. Year on year we hope our reach will extend even further.
As part of our drive to encourage a broad range of applicants and reduce barriers to gaining mini-pupillage experience, the applications are judged on the merit of the oral advocacy submission or written advocacy submission alone. Judges will have no other background information on the candidate.
The competition is only open to applicants who meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Doing a degree in law
- Doing a conversion course, GDL
- Completing your BVC
- Waiting to commence the GDL or BVC
- You must not already have a pupillage
- Applicants must be available to take up mini-pupillage in person based in London in 2024.
Applications are welcome from all highly talented candidates regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, sexuality, health, disability, neurodiversity or family / other circumstances.
Only candidates who have been successful in our oral advocacy competition or written advocacy competition will be offered a 36 Group mini-pupillage, save for where we partner with specific organisations whose objectives are also to improve access to the bar.
We offered work experience to 4 applicants in 2023 through the 10,000 Black Interns initiative.
We pride ourselves on being a welcoming, sociable and supportive team of barristers and staff members and want all of our mini-pupils to feel welcome in Chambers, and to have the opportunity to discuss life at the bar freely with those who supervise them during the week. We will work with any successful applicants for mini-pupillage requiring additional support to ensure they can fully access the opportunities that mini-pupillage offers.
When attending mini-pupillage, on each day of the course, mini–pupils are offered the opportunity to attend court hearings, arbitration appointments and client conferences, or to work on legal research in Chambers. It is expected that mini–pupils will attend for the whole week and will spend time with a number of different counsel.
Mini-pupils are expected to enter into a confidentiality agreement.