How to prepare for your pupillage interviews

Preparation is key to success at pupillage interviews. If you’ve made it to this stage, your application must have come across as well researched. Before your interview, review the work you did for your application and think about how you might answer some of the questions you are likely to be asked. Make sure you’ve researched the chambers thoroughly.

How much legal knowledge do you need? 

Brush up your knowledge of the areas of law that the set practises in (see 'What are the main areas of practice at the Bar?') and rehearse your case for how its work ties in with your own interests. You’ll need to be able to back up what you say about yourself with evidence from your work experience, academic achievements or extracurricular activities.

You’ll need a firm grasp of basic legal principles and the ability to reflect on and discuss how they might operate in practice. However, given that some interviewees will still be doing their conversion courses you’re unlikely to be expected to have encylopedic knowledge. You don’t need to memorise the fine details of case law or statutes. However, you do need to be able to talk knowledgeably about areas that you claim to know about, for example your dissertation topic. Keep yourself up to date with developments in the legal world, and current affairs.

Think about interview questions in advance

Think through your answers to basic questions you may encounter, such as ‘Why do you want to be a barrister?’ and ‘What will you do if you don’t get a pupillage?’. A surprising number of applicants are stumped by these questions.

It’s likely that at some point you’ll be invited to ask your interviewers any questions you may have, and it’s worth giving this some thought in advance. It’s a good opportunity to find out anything you haven’t been able to uncover via your research, but most sets provide a great deal of information on their websites so asking for details you could have found online risks giving the impression that you are under-prepared. Topics you could usefully find out more about include the structure of pupillage and the work covered on it.

Consider how to phrase any questions you want to ask your interviewers. ‘Why should I work for you?’ comes across as arrogant and aggressive, while ‘What do you like about working here?’ is more likely to elicit the information you want and create a good impression. If your research and the recruitment process have told you all you need to know, don’t feel obliged to make up queries just for the sake of it.