Pupillages Commencing October 2021 and October 2022

Chambers’ reputation as the leading set in the North East across its core practice areas is consistently recognised by the legal press including Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500:

“Parklane Plowden Chambers is regarded amongst lawyers and legal commentators as the pre-eminent set on the North Eastern Circuit”

“They are a very forward thinking set…evidenced by its unique structure that embraces modern business practices”

“…a regional heavyweight set which has a growing national reputation. It has ‘exceptional litigators' and ‘genuine strength in depth'. As one of the largest civil law sets in the region, it is strong across a range of practice areas…”.

"All of the barristers have been nothing but professional, warm and friendly," comments one satisfied client.”

“…the clerking is excellent”

“Outstanding and by the far best in the North of England”

One of the reasons for our exceptional reputation and strength in depth is investment in our pupils and junior tenants. We firmly believe that by recruiting high quality pupils and providing high quality pupillages, Chambers will continue to thrive. We have a very strong tradition of offering tenancies to pupils who demonstrate the requisite level of ability and dedication and many of our senior practitioners were themselves pupils in Chambers.

Within Chambers, we have the following core teams:

• Civil
• Employment
• Family
• Commercial and Chancery

We offer specialist pupillages based within either our Civil & Employment teams, our Family team or our Commercial & Chancery teams. Our pupillages we are designed to equip pupils with the necessary skills to immediately start practice within one of our highly rated, expert teams.

We have pupils based at our Leeds and Newcastle premises.

Equality and Diversity

Chambers is committed to equal opportunities for all no matter what their background, and to promoting and improving diversity at the Bar. We particularly encourage applications from those in underrepresented groups and those with disabilities.

Chambers is a supporter and partner of Bridging the Bar: https://bridgingthebar.org/

Pupillage applications are anonymised to reduce the possibility of any unconscious bias at the sifting stage.

We monitor diversity by way of our Equal Opportunities Monitoring Forms which candidates are invited to also complete with their applications. These forms are used only for monitoring purposes, they are kept separate from the application forms and are not used as part of the selection process.

Pupillage Commencing October 2023

Chambers has already recruited pupils to start in October 2022.

During the next Pupillage Gateway process, Chambers will be seeking to recruit 3-4 pupils to commence pupillage in October 2023.

How to Apply

It is mandatory for all chambers to follow the Pupillage Gateway timetable. The closing date for applications will therefore be the last day permitted under the Gateway timetable.

Applications will need to be made on Chambers’ Application Form which will be available on our website prior to the applications window opening.

The Application Form and Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form should be sent as separate attachments to pupillagecivil@parklaneplowden.co.uk with “Civil Pupillage Application” in the subject line.

Interview dates will be published in due course.

Pupillage Awards

The pupillage award for pupillages commencing October 2023 will be confirmed prior to the application window opening.

Selection Criteria

We will be looking to recruit exceptional candidates who are able to demonstrate high level competencies and attributes in a number of different areas, including:

• Academic Background: we generally expect candidates to have, or be predicted, at least a 2:1 university degree, although we will consider all applications on their merits, particularly if there are exceptional circumstances;
• Oral advocacy/communication skills;
• Written communication skills;
• Interpersonal skills;
• Analytical thinking;
• Drive and determination;
• Sound judgment;
• Resilience and the ability to work under pressure;
• Dedication to our core practice areas and commitment to being based in the North East.

Candidates should bear in mind these criteria when completing their Application Forms.