3 Verulam Buildings - Pupillage - October 2027

Pupillage Vacancy Information

About Authorised Education and Training Organisation

3VB is a leading barristers’ chambers providing specialist advocacy and advisory services worldwide in all areas of commercial, financial, and public international dispute resolution. Chambers’ excellence and the quality of service provided to our clients are recognised and praised in the leading legal directories.

Structure of Pupillage

Pupils sit with four pupil supervisors for three months at a time and are exposed to a broad range of Chambers’ work during these seats. Pupils sit in the rooms of their supervisor and share their daily professional life: from drafting statements of case, researching legal points, writing and giving advice, to attending conferences and trials or other hearings.

In addition to working with their pupil supervisors, pupils are expected to work with other members of chambers of all levels, to help maximise a pupil’s exposure to the wide breadth of our work and help ensure uniformity in what all pupils see and learn. We also arrange advocacy exercises throughout the course of pupillage across a range of areas, to provide an opportunity for pupils to practice and develop their advocacy skills.

From the second six, we provide pupils with the opportunity to work and appear alone on small (usually County Court-level) matters, to provide them with real, unled opportunities as sole counsel. We view this as a key differentiator between us and others at the Commercial Bar, where advocacy opportunities seem to be increasingly less valued and rare. We are committed to ensuring that every pupil can operate as a confident advocate from the first day of their tenancy, which is, after all, the start of their journey to potentially being a leading commercial silk fronting major litigation or arbitration.

Whilst pupils have to work hard, sometimes very hard, it is not expected that pupils will work into the evenings or at weekends. We think that pupils learn best when they are able to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

All pupils have a shadow pupil supervisor throughout pupillage, who is a more junior member of chambers charged with offering support and being a first port of call for any concerns or queries that a pupil may not want to raise directly with their supervisor. We also arrange regular, more informal training sessions to ensure all pupils gain the knowledge and soft skills they need to thrive in a commercial work environment. We view our commitment to providing structured support as another differentiator between us and other sets: we do not want to leave our pupils to ‘sink or swim’.

Pupils are given regular feedback from their pupil supervisors and have formal reviews at the end of each seat with the Head of Pupillage and the Pupillage Secretary.

The tenancy decision is transparent and meritorious, based entirely on the strength of a pupil’s feedback over the pupillage year. Our pupils do not compete with one another, and we have no quota or limit on the number of tenancies as a proportion of pupillages offered. We select our pupils carefully in the hope of recruiting them all to tenancy, and the substantial majority of pupils do meet the standard and join us at the conclusion of their pupillage.

Financial and Other Support Available

The pupillage award is £90,000 from 2024, up to £22,500 of which can be drawn down during the year prior to pupillage. Following the tenancy decision, we offer interest-free loans and a rent-free period to help with the adjustment from pupillage to early practice.

The self-employed nature of the Bar means that earnings thereafter cannot be predicted precisely, but we believe that new tenants at 3VB are well rewarded compared with their peers at commercial solicitors’ firms and at the Bar, enjoying strong earnings from a very early stage.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

3VB is committed to equality of opportunity and diversity in the workplace. We strive to ensure that the principle of fair and equal treatment is upheld in all areas of our business, including recruitment of pupils, members and staff.

We recognise the importance of having a workplace that is free from discrimination. We do not tolerate inequitable treatment of clients, members of Chambers, pupils or staff on grounds of gender, race, ethnic or national origin, nationality, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, religion or belief. In particular, we believe that this will help us to recruit and retain members of Chambers and staff of the highest quality from the widest pool of talent. We have one of the highest proportions of BME Juniors amongst commercial sets, as well as a significant number who have worked in other careers before coming to the Bar.

We are committed to assisting all members and staff, male and female, to manage their family responsibilities and to enjoy a rewarding career in Chambers. We have comprehensive parental policies which reflect our philosophy in this regard.

Our commitment to having a diverse and collegiate workplace means it is common for barristers to visit colleagues in each other’s rooms to chew over a difficult point of law, to go for drinks on an evening after work, or simply to catch-up. Pupils are invited to many Chambers events; they are regarded as a member of our community from the start of pupillage and welcome to socialise with all members and staff.

AI policy

“At Chambers, we recognise that tools powered by artificial intelligence can assist in generating ideas, clarifying thoughts, or improving the presentation of written material. However, your application should ultimately reflect your own ability, motivation and writing style. We therefore prohibit the use of generative AI in any step of the application process (including in drafting written answers to questions on the application form or problem questions set as part of the application process). If a candidate is discovered to have used AI, then that may lead to that candidate being disqualified from consideration, including in future years.”

How to Apply

Aspiring barristers are invited to apply to chambers between 5th and 22nd January 2026 using the Pupillage Gateway application system to search for the relevant Pupillage Vacancy and selecting ‘Apply for this pupillage’.

In addition to the standardised Bar Council questionnaire, candidates will be asked to respond to the following questions from Chambers:

1. Why do you believe you will make a good barrister? In your answer, please identify any relevant experiences or skills that you believe may help you in your career. (Max 1,200 characters)

2. Why do you want to join 3VB? In your answer, please explain why you are interested in our areas of practice. (Max 1,200 characters)

3. Please describe a situation when you were confronted with an ethical dilemma and explain how you resolved it. (Max 1,200 characters)

4. Please identify a decided case within 3VB's field of work from the last twelve months (and the more recent, the better) that you disagree with, and explain why. (Max 1,200 characters)

5. Which skills and characteristics do you regard as the hallmarks of a good advocate? (Max 1,200 characters)

6. Please give an example of how you overcame a challenge in your academic or professional life. (Max 1,200 characters)