At New Park Court Chambers, we do things a little differently. With a total of 74 barristers, including 13 King’s Counsel, our reach and influence stretches far beyond the bounds of our Circuit.
As a Tier 1 Set based in Leeds and Newcastle we are home to a number of high profile and nationally and internationally reputable Counsel.
New Park Court awards pupillages to outstanding candidates who have a strong desire to succeed at the Bar. Successful candidates will have a proven academic record, attaining a minimum of a 2:1 or equivalent at degree level.
Only in exceptional circumstances will we consider applicants who have not reached this level and appropriate evidence of such circumstances should be included with your application.
Many of our successful pupils had their first taste of life at the Bar by applying for a mini pupillage while at University.
These tend to last two days and involve shadowing a member of Chambers and attending court, at the end of which the mini pupil is assessed on a variety of criteria.
While a mini pupillage with us is not essential, it is of assistance to the Pupillage Committee when considering application.
Here at New Park Court Chambers, we do things a little differently. Based in Leeds and Newcastle, our reach and influence stretches far beyond the bounds of our Circuit.
As a Tier 1 Set we are home to a number of high profile and nationally and internationally reputable Counsel, as well as the future of the Bar who are growing and developing their early career practice.
The 5th of May; the day all prospective barristers work towards with excitement and dread. The day which can hold highs for so many yet rejection for others. The 5th of May 2021 was the day I accepted pupillage at New Park Court Chambers, and I haven’t looked back since.
So, what made me choose New Park Court Chambers you may ask? It’s hard to pinpoint one specific reason, but I recall an immense sense of feeling instantly comfortable. Having gone through 3 rounds of pupillage applications and the many interviews that came with this, I was instantly put at ease from the moment I entered the door of New Park Court Chambers until the moment I left. The focus really is on you and what you can bring to an extremely diverse, experienced, and knowledgeable chambers.
As a Pupil I was lucky enough to be paired with two fantastic supervisors who specialised in a range of areas of law. This allowed me to experience many different types of hearings and a high calibre of cases, including a baby shaking murder in my very first week of my first six!
Once on my feet when I would tell my opponents what chambers I was undertaking pupillage at and who my supervisors were, I was always complimented on the experience and professionalism of Chambers. This is something which has helped me build connections with solicitors’ firms in itself. Additionally, the range of work I conducted in my second six was extremely varied. When I would speak to some of contemporaries and they would talk of having seven or more days of sessions in a row I would look at my diary with a sigh of relief, I had much more of a mix between prosecution and defence work and short hearings in the Crown Court.
Pupillage is hard; it’s tiring, and it involves a lot of hard work, but the support offered at New Park Court Chambers makes things easier. Things become manageable and the process becomes enjoyable. Throughout my pupillage at New Park Court Chambers, I grew in confidence, independence and became more determined to challenge myself. I credit this growth to the support provided by Chambers at every level, from the clerksroom to those who may go on to become your colleagues. At many points of the pupillage process you can tend to feel like you don’t know what you’re doing but rest assured, there is always someone on the other end of the phone willing to answer your 6am or 11 pm phone call should you need it. This is an invaluable asset when you are ‘learning on the job’.
I joined New Park Court Chambers in March 2020, and in the relatively short time since then I have supervised the pupillage of Chambers’ most recent tenant, Gabrielle Wilks.
In my opinion, New Park Court Chambers offers pupils an unrivalled opportunity to learn and develop at the very start of their professional journey. All pupils are supervised by the same supervisor(s) throughout the whole of their pupillage; the continuity this provides enables a close working relationship to develop between a pupil and supervisor(s) over the course of a year. Where there are two pupil supervisors, pupils are encouraged – so far as is possible – to spend an equal amount of time with both supervisors during their first six months, which means that they get to see different styles of advocacy and to discuss issues arising from cases with two different members of chambers. Where supervisors are being led, pupils benefit from the opportunity to witness some of the very best advocates performing at the top of their game.
Chambers also ensures that where other members of chambers are involved in a particularly interesting or unusual case, a pupil should have the chance to shadow those other members so as to benefit from the experience of participating in such a case. Equally, chambers appreciates the need for pupils to spend time in their first six months with those who have only recently become tenants, in order to experience the sort of work that they themselves will do when they are “on their feet” in their second six months of pupillage.
Throughout, pupil supervisors will make sure that a pupil’s wellbeing is properly considered. Pupils will be encouraged to discuss the amount of work that they are expected or required to do and the extent to which they feel comfortable with such levels; this is particularly important in a pupil’s second six months, when efforts will be made to ensure that a pupil does not become overwhelmed with the amount of work they have to do in preparation for their own court hearings. Pupils are also encouraged to discuss with their supervisors any issues of a personal or professional nature which might affect their ability properly to carry out the work expected of them as pupils, or which might affect their wellbeing more generally.
The relationship between a pupil and their supervisors is such that even after pupillage has ended (assuming a successful application for tenancy then follows), a pupil’s supervisors will remain available as the first port of call in the event that questions arise or assistance is needed.
In order to succeed in pupillage at New Park Court Chambers, a pupil needs to be diligent and to develop the ability to think quickly for themselves; they need to soak up information about legal and procedural issues and to develop the skill of acquiring and retaining key details in a short period of time; they also need to be enquiring, asking questions of their supervisors whenever the need arises. Ultimately, pupillage at New Park Court Chambers should be a rewarding and enriching, but also greatly enjoyable, experience for both pupil and supervisor.
I’ve been a tenant at New Park Court Chambers since 2018, having secured pupillage to commence in September 2017. I applied to New Park Court Chambers initially due to my previous experience gained at chambers while on a mini-pupillage. I found the mini to be great experience of life at the criminal Bar and was impressed by the welcoming nature of chambers and the way in which those I shadowed approached their cases.
When it came to the point of starting pupillage, I was incredibly nervous, particularly as I was stepping into a profession of which I had very little previous experience. However, I was quickly made to feel a real part of the chambers family and, looking back now, I feel like I was lucky enough to have a fantastic pupillage and one unlike very few others I have heard of, thanks in no small part to the kindness and commitment of my pupil supervisor.
When I initially joined chambers, my primary interest was in criminal law. However, soon after joining, I was given the opportunity, through chambers, to work with a national regulator, providing charging advices on potential criminal prosecutions. This work provided me with knowledge of regulatory prosecutions and formed the basis of what has become another of my key practice areas.
Since completing this work, I have been able to take on many regulatory cases, several of which involve fatalities and serious injuries – cases I never expected to be dealing with at such an early stage in my career at the Bar. Given chambers’ strong presence in the field of professional discipline, I have also been able to take on an increasing amount of work in this area, which I find particularly engaging and it fits well alongside regulatory work. My practice now involves a mix of criminal work in the Crown Court, regulatory prosecutions and professional discipline. Chambers has a constant supply of great work in these areas and I really enjoy this variation, as it keeps every day interesting.
Taking on new practice areas does, however, present the challenge of unfamiliarity and uncertainty. I therefore found the support available from senior members of chambers to be invaluable. There is always somebody available to speak about any cases you are dealing with and to give you advice, or just that reassurance that you are doing the right thing.
I look back on securing pupillage at New Park Court Chambers as one of the most fortunate elements of my career so far and I could not have imagined that my career at the Bar would develop as quickly as it has, which is thanks to the support of other barristers and the staff team in chambers.
