Pupils and new tenants

In relation to pupillage (and, indeed, probationary tenants), the Bar Council and BSB recommend that selection criteria be based on ‘potential to meet the competences in the Professional Statement’, which includes:

  • Legal knowledge, skills and attributes;
  • Practical knowledge, skills and attributes;
  • Advocacy;
  • Professional standards; and
  • Values, characteristics and behaviours.

We further recommend that the Professional Statement can also provide a useful and more objective starting point for assessing applications in the context of lateral recruitment, with appropriate modifications to reflect the fact that chambers will be taking on an experienced practitioner, presumably to enhance a particular aspect of its offering (for example, experience in a certain practice area or level of seniority).

Using the Professional Statement as a starting point, chambers should think about tailoring them to the specific position in question, as identified in the review above.[2] At the end of this process, chambers should have compiled a complete list of the selection criteria, identifying which criteria are ‘essential’ or merely ‘desirable’ (discussed further in the section ‘Weighting’).