Pupillage

Why select KBG
Chambers for your pupillage?

At KBG we are able to offer either a pupillage in a particular area of law or a combination of Civil, Criminal & Family law that is bespoke to the applicants ability and requirements whilst factoring work levels in Chambers.
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‍KBG Chambers is a Barristers' Chambers offering quality legal advice and representation in all aspects of family, civil & criminal law, throughout the South West and beyond. KBG, and many of its members, are highly recommended in the Legal 500.

We offer an award of £25,000. This includes a £5,000 payment which is made one month before the start of pupillage and then 12 equal month payments of the remining £20,000. In the past 6 years, each pupil has received more than the award stated due to earnings received in the 2nd six.

Each pupil is given access to our extensive online library, IT software and facilities. Having Chambers in both Plymouth and Truro allows pupils to have access to Chambers in two locations.

Chambers ensures that the conduct of interviews accords with the Equality and Diversity rules for the Code of the Bar. It operates an equal opportunities policy and aims to recruit the best candidates regardless of sex, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, nationality, citizenship, gender re-assignment, sexual orientation, social background, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, religion or belief or pregnancy and maternity.

All pupil supervisors are on the register of approved pupil supervisors kept by the BSB, have a current practicing certificate, and have regularly practised as a barrister during the previous two years. All pupil supervisors have completed training.

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What we are
looking for?

Our process for selecting pupils aims to identify those who we anticipate will be outstanding candidates to join Chambers as tenants at the end of the pupillage year.

We are keen for candidates to not only complete a pupillage on the Western Circuit but build a career and life in the South West, integrating themselves in to the local community. We can provide support, and advice, to any pupil who is relocating and put candidates in touch with previous pupils who have been through the same process.

Successful candidates will typically be resilient and highly motivated and can demonstrate some of the 4 key competencies. Pupils are selected on the basis of their application on the Bar Council’s Pupillage Gateway and performance over two interview rounds. Chambers aims to achieve reliability, validity, objectivity and transparency in its recruitment processes as specified in the Bar Council’s Fair Recruitment Guide.

A picture of our 2 pupils who started on October 2024 is below -
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About pupillage
at KBG & Open Evening

KBG understands the need to support of pupils from the moment they have accepted our offer until the last day of their second six. We have mentoring and support programmes in place and regular reviews are held with the pupil supervisor, head of pupillage and the Senior Clerk. A WhatsApp group is created for every pupil which includes the most Junior members of KBG who have recently undertaken their pupillage at KBG. We feel they are then able to answer any questions and can quote from recent experience of completing the process themselves.

Chambers has specific checklists in place depending on the area of law you wish to undertake. This allows Chambers to make sure your pupillage will cover all the necessary aspects of your specialist areas, while giving you exposure to the broad range of knowledge, styles of advocacy and approaches to different cases.

We pride ourselves on the support we offer not only during pupillage but throughout your career. Out clerking team has over 150 years experience and can create a practice that factors in individual requirements and needs.
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Our process for selecting pupils aims to identify those who we anticipate will be outstanding candidates to join Chambers as tenants at the end of the pupillage year. We are looking to recruit 2/3 pupils to commence their pupillage in October 2025.

ALL applications have to be made through the Pupillage Gateway.

You can view our application from the  25th November 2024 and you can apply from the  2nd January 2025. The closing deadline is 6th February 2025 at 11am.

We can even confirm that our interview dates areas follows -
1st Round - Saturday 22nd March 2025 - Via TEAMS
2nd Round - Saturday 26th April 2025 - In Person, Plymouth

For attended interviews, travel costs will be reimbursed.

If you have any questions regarding the pupillage KBG offers please contact Jennifer Tear, Head of Pupillage, on jtear@kbgchambers.co.uk or Colin Palmer, Senior Clerk, colin@kbgchambers.co.uk

Our official Pupillage Gateway link is here -

Pupillage open evening
On Tuesday 14^th January 2025, KBG Chambers will be holding a virtual seminar for prospective pupils. This will be attended by Pupillage Coordinator, Practice Director and two of KBG’s recent pupils. It provides an opportunity to learn more about KBG Chambers and pupillage with us, to hear about our pupils’ experiences and to answer any questions. KBG Chambers invites anyone considering making an application, or wishing to find out more about our chambers and pupillage, to join. Please contact our Practice Director Colin Palmer (colin@kbgchambers.co.uk)for details and the link. 

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