Life as a Pupil at Serle Court – Niamh Herrett (Pupil 2021-2022)

A Year Of Training

During pupillage I was constantly (and pleasantly) reminded that it was a year of training. I remember being quite surprised in my first few months by the number of barristers at Serle Court who would refer to ‘when’ I joined chambers, rather than ‘if’.

Pupillage is of course challenging, and many times I did not see attaining tenancy as a ‘when’, but definitely an ‘if’. However, the confidence members of chambers had in Serle Court’s training process, and the confidence they had in me, made a great difference.

I received feedback on every piece of work I submitted and undertook two oral advocacy training exercises, the first being a mock summary judgment application, and the second being a mock trial which involved witness handling. I received really helpful feedback in both exercises and also found them very fun!

Range Of Work

Over the year I had four supervisors – each for three months. This allowed me to see a range of work, as each supervisor had different specialisms – such as company law, probate or intellectual property. Seeing a range of work is really important. When you start pupillage you often don’t really know what you want to do (and even if you do that might dramatically change later). For me, it was great to get an opportunity to do intellectual property – an area of law which I had neither studied nor any prior interest in – but am now determined to practise in.

During the year you will also do lots of work for other members of Chambers. I found this a great way to get to know other barristers and see practice areas outside those which your supervisors specialise in. I was able to assist a number of more junior barristers which gave me an insight into the type of work I would be doing in the not too distant future. Work from other members of chambers comes via your supervisor and I always found that my supervisors were very protective and ensured that I never had too much on my plate.

Diversity & Inclusivity

During my first few months I noticed that my experience of pupillage was very male dominated. I mentioned that I would appreciate working with more women. My request was immediately acted upon. I was assigned a female mentor and also a female supervisor for the following seat. This response was uplifting. From that point onwards I met a lot more women in Chambers and now have an abundance of role models. I am very grateful to be at Serle Court, a set which, in my view, has a genuine commitment to issues of diversity and inclusivity.