Henderson Chambers - Pupillage - October 2027

Pupillage Vacancy Information

About Authorised Education and Training Organisation

Please visit our pupillage website www.hendersonpupillage.co.uk

Highly recommended Henderson Chambers in London offers a commercially minded common law Pupillage that presses the fast forward button on court experience and turns out down-to-earth advocates with broad experience.

Henderson Chambers is a long-established, leading commercial chambers with acknowledged expertise in all of its principal areas of practice. Members and pupils are frequently involved in high-profile cases.

Henderson Chambers has unrivalled expertise in commercial claims, group and class actions, public inquiries, health & safety and product liability and is consistently rated as the leading set of chambers in these areas.

Teams within Chambers act for both sides in the Diesel Emissions litigation. This has led to Chambers being Legal 500 Group Litigation and Consumer Chambers of the Year. This is all part of a growing ESG practice, with members representing both claimants and defendants in relation to human rights abuse, climate change, supply chain, modern slavery and UNGPs related international mass tort group actions. Members are also involved in public law actions relating to the meaning and implementation of the Paris Agreement in the UK.

A team within Chambers successfully represented the Claimants in the Post Office Group Action, which alongside other leading commercial work led to the award of Barrister of the Year to Patrick Green KC in 2020.
Many of the parties before the Grenfell Tower Public and Covid-19 Inquiries are represented by members of Chambers.

Recent high-profile commercial cases have included widely reported proceedings concerning the enforceability of ICSID arbitration awards against EU Member States, proceedings offshore relating to an alleged US$18 billion fraud against an Oil and Gas major, and actions in this jurisdiction and elsewhere concerning the recovery of losses sustained by a CISX-listed property investment fund.

We cover all aspects of health and safety litigation and advice, including prosecutions for corporate manslaughter and infringements of health and safety legislation, as well as health and safety policy, management and training.

Members are noted for their expertise in numerous other areas, including:, personal injury, property law (covering a range of property law from commercial and residential landlord and tenant to real property and property human rights claims), employment law (including wrongful dismissal and unfair dismissal claims; sex, race and disability discrimination claims; redundancy and transfer of undertakings), regulatory and disciplinary proceedings, public law and judicial review, as well as technology and construction. Several members of Chambers are Junior Counsel to the Crown on the Attorney General's Civil and Criminal Panels.

Structure of Pupillage

We are looking for individuals who can demonstrate all of the qualities necessary for success at the Bar. Not just intellect (whether through the traditional route of an outstanding higher education record or via proof of success in other professions, in business or in employment) but also the ability to communicate, to relate to others and to work as part of a team. We are fully committed to diversity and inclusion and to equality of opportunity for all. We aim to encourage individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds to embark on a career at the Bar and to secure pupillage. We actively support a number of schemes to promote these principles. We have successfully implemented a range of reasonable adjustments to pupillage and will consider all reasonable requests. Chambers assesses applications blind to biographical details and educational institutions at the initial sift and first round of interview stage. It also uses the RARE Contextual Recruitment System (CRS) (https://contextualrecruitment.co.uk/) as an integral part of its recruitment processes.

In the past we have advertised for two pupillages, but from 2025 we are advertising for 3 pupillages with a view to increasing the number of junior tenants in Chambers gradually over the next few years.

Pupillage programme

Pupillages are for 12 months, usually with four different pupil supervisors for three months each. Pupils should expect to attend court regularly in their second sixes. A period of external training with a leading law firm in the Turks and Caicos Islands is also offered during the Second Six (all expenses paid).

Mini-pupillages

We offer unassessed mini-pupillages. Applications can be made online via our Pupillage Website www.hendersonpupillage.co.uk

Financial and other support available

We offer up to three funded pupillages with minimum remuneration of £85,000. This consists of a guaranteed award of £85,000, plus any additional earnings during the second six. We are very happy for pupils to draw upon their pupillage award during the BPTC year. As such, up to £40,000 of the award may be drawn down at any time after the offer of pupillage is accepted.

We welcome applications for probationary tenancy (third six pupillage), funded on pro rata terms.

How to apply

Aspiring barristers are invited to apply to chambers between 5 - 22 January 2026 using the Pupillage Gateway application system to search for the relevant Pupillage Vacancy and selecting ‘Apply for this pupillage’. Queries about pupillage should be addressed to pupillages@hendersonchambers.co.uk

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. Word limit: 240

2. Why do you want to join our chambers? In your answer, please give reasons for your choice of chambers and explain why you are interested in our areas of practice. Word limit: 240

3. Please give an example of achievement outside of an academic or work environment which you consider is relevant to success at the Bar. Word limit: 240

4. Please choose a case arising in one or more of our leading practice areas: group actions, product liability and/or health and safety, reported in the last year. Please set out why you disagree with the final determination of the case (i.e. final judgment on appeal). Word limit: 400