Life as a Pupil at Serle Court - Richard Hine (Pupil 2023-2024)

The Type Of Work

As a pupil I experienced a broad range of practice areas. During my first seat I assisted with a two-week trial in the Commercial Court, as well as a number of applications in the Insolvency and Company Courts. In my second seat, I assisted with proceedings involving allegations of civil fraud, professional negligence claims, and commercial contract disputes. My third seat involved a mixture of property and commercial work, including dilapidations claims, landlord and tenant disputes, and partnerships. My fourth seat involved private client, trusts and offshore work.

The work itself was also varied: I assisted in drafting statements of case, applications and skeleton arguments, opinions, research notes, speaking notes, cross-examination notes, letters before action and other correspondence, and much more besides.

Having such a variety of work gave me the opportunity to discover interests in areas which I might never have otherwise experienced, and it meant that my work always felt like a fresh and exciting challenge. It also helped me to identify my key strengths and development points.

Almost all my work during pupillage was live work on ongoing matters. This sometimes involved working under time pressure, but my supervisors always made it clear that they were there to provide support and guidance, and it was rewarding to see my work incorporated in what was sent out to the Court or client.

Richard Hine

The Structure Of Pupillage

My pupillage consisted of four three-month seats, each with a different member of chambers. Most of my work was for my supervisors, but occasionally I also did work for other members of chambers.

The assessment process was very transparent. At the end of each seat, I had a performance review meeting with my supervisor in which we discussed our work together, the feedback I had been given, and how I could make the most of my next seat. However, these were really just a summary of the more immediate feedback I had been given throughout my time with my supervisor, so there were never any unexpected surprises.

There were two formal advocacy assessments, both of which took the form of brief mock hearings, and both of which required us to prepare written skeleton arguments beforehand. After each assessment, we were given detailed, constructive feedback on our written and oral work, and there was clearly a focus on ensuring that the assessments were also opportunities for us to build our skills and experience

My usual working hours were from 9am to 6pm; there were some occasions where I worked longer than this, during trials or immediately before an important deadline, but generally the hours were very regular and my supervisors made it clear that I was not expected to work late.

The Atmosphere In Chambers

From the first day of pupillage I was made to feel like I was a part of Chambers. In my first week I went to lunch with a number of different tenants, who all seemed genuinely interested in getting to know me and making me feel at ease in chambers.

In particular, all of my supervisors were strongly committed to supporting my personal and professional development. For example, during my first seat I had spent quite a lot of time assisting my supervisor in Court. I discussed this with my second supervisor who then took care to make sure I had the opportunity to practice drafting a wide variety of written documents. Similarly, before my fourth seat I spoke to my supervisor about the fact that I wanted to do some more private client and trusts work, and my supervisor helped to organise a final seat with a member of chambers who does a lot of work in those areas.

There are Chambers drinks every Thursday evening, which is a great opportunity to chat in a more relaxed and informal environment, and to meet members of chambers who you might not have come across in your work with your supervisors.

In general, the atmosphere in Chambers is supportive and friendly. It is invaluable to have so many experienced and knowledgeable members of Chambers who are willing to talk things over and give support and guidance wherever they can.