4 New Square Chambers |

4 New Square is a leading commercial set of barristers comprising 98 members of whom 34 are King’s Counsel. Its members are recognised as leading practitioners in a wide range of fields including commercial law, professional liability, international arbitration, insurance and reinsurance, commercial chancery, construction and engineering, public law, financial services, costs, public international law and sports law. Chambers attracts a large amount of junior advocacy work in a wide range of fields and junior tenants are regularly involved in high profile cases which reflect chambers’ emphasis on developing pupils and junior tenants into experienced advocates. Where there are enough candidates of a suitable standard, chambers will select an average of four 12 month pupils each year. 

We believe that great barristers, great clerks and great staff members can come from all walks of life. We also believe that people perform at their best when they get the support they need.

We seek to implement those values in our working lives in chambers. We respect one another. We strive, wherever we can, to make chambers a positive, inclusive and friendly place. We aim to provide mutual support to help each other whatever our backgrounds, age, gender, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, physical abilities or gender identity.

We know that the Commercial Bar has a great deal of ground to cover in relation to equality and diversity. We seek to make up that ground wherever we can. We do so by recognising that as different individuals in chambers we need different types of support. Our goal is always to adapt and to find new ways to provide that support; and to take responsibility for promoting diversity and inclusion.

We have a comprehensive Equality and Diversity Policy which applies to clients, members of Chambers and members of staff, pupils, mini-pupils, pupillage and tenancy applicants, job applicants, contract workers, agency workers, trainee workers and students on work experience or placements, volunteer workers, former members of Chambers and former members of staff. It sets out the policies which we have adopted in order to comply with the obligations imposed upon us by law, the Bar Code of Conduct and the Attorney General’s Equality and Diversity Expectations Statement.

All members of Chambers and members of staff receive regular equality and diversity training and, additional relevant training is provided to members of Chambers and staff who are involved in recruitment.

We are involved in a number of programmes which seek to widen the pool of applicants at the commercial bar, including Briding the Bar, Sutton Trust Pathways to Law, 10,000 Black Interns, Combar Student Menotring Scheme and the Pegasus Access and Support Scheme.

What we are looking for 

The aim of our selection process is to allow candidates to show they meet a standard of excellence judged by our selection criteria. Our criteria are objective and we welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds and from all universities. The process focuses on your ability and aptitude, and our experience is that this is not pre-determined by the place that you studied, or the background that you come from.

In assessing candidates against our criteria we recognise that pupillage is itself a training process and that people follow different routes to pupillage and are often at different stages of their legal education. It is the potential of candidates we are concerned with. The aim of pupillage is to develop talent so that pupils go on to succeed as tenants in our chambers.

Selection criteria

In considering prospective candidates for pupillage we concentrate on four criteria:

• Evidence of the requisite intellectual ability, as distinct from pure legal knowledge. At this stage intellectual ability is usually measured by performance in university and school examinations and at interview and other experience. We may also require applicants to complete a piece of written work during the course of the selection process
• Potential as an advocate both in oral and written advocacy.
• Personal qualities such as self-reliance, independence, integrity, reliability and the capacity to work effectively with clients, colleagues and Chambers’ staff.
• Motivation to succeed in a career at the Bar, including the steps taken to acquire the personal qualities required of a barrister.

Tenancy offers

We cannot guarantee that any pupil will be offered a tenancy, but we recruit by objective standards, and any pupil reaching those standards will be taken on, regardless of issues such as accommodation or work available. We give every assistance to pupils who have not been offered a tenancy when seeking places in other chambers. We also find that our former pupils are sought-after by good firms of solicitors. 

Funding

The total annual award is £85,000, of which £7,500 is paid immediately upon acceptance of the offer and a further £17,500 can be drawn down during the BPTC year. Pupils are allowed to keep any earnings from their second 6 months. 

Pupillage Applications

Applications for pupillage should be made through the Pupillage Gateway, which usually opens in early January each year. 

Further details on pupillage can be found on our website. 

Mini-pupillages are available to those who have completed at least two years of a university degree. 

We offer four mini-pupillage days per year. Two dates in Summer, usually in July & September and two dates in Winter, usually in December & January. On each mini-pupillage day we will welcome up to 20 mini-pupils. 

The mini-pupillage day will comprise of: 

• Q&A sessions with both senior and junior members of chambers about the work which 4 New Square does, the pupillage application process and life as a pupil and junior tenant.
• A lunch at Lincoln's Inn with members of the chambers
• The opportunity to engage one-to-one with a member of chambers about their work, life at 4 New Square and who will also supervise a written exercise. 

Funding

For mini-pupils based outside London we reimburse reasonable domestic travel and accomodation expenses up to £350 on production of receipts. 

Assessment

Mini-pupils are assessed during their time in chambers, and this assessment is considered in respect of any pupillage application that may be submitted in the future. 

Mini-pupillages are not a pre-requisite for a pupillage application, but we encourage potential applicants to do a mini-pupillage in chambers. We believe it is a valuable opportunity to get an understanding of the work we do here, to meet members of chambers and to get a feel for the working environment. 

Application details and deadlines can be found on our website.