Pupillage

12 King's Bench Walk is a leading civil set of barristers' chambers based at Temple in London. Chambers has an outstanding reputation in personal injury, clinical negligence, costs and litigation funding, employment, industrial disease and international and travel claims, together with a number of related specialist practice areas.

Members regularly appear in significant cases before the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. Chambers also has extensive experience in complex and high-value civil litigation.

12KBW has been ranked Band 1 for Personal Injury by Chambers and Partners for many years and has been recognised repeatedly as a leading personal injury set. Its wider practice includes specialist work in areas such as inquests and inquiries, insurance, product liability, professional negligence, fraud, public authority liability and sports-related claims.

The Pupillage

12KBW offers up to three 12-month pupillages each year. Pupils are normally assigned to three pupil supervisors and are exposed to the full range of Chambers' core practice areas during their pupillage.

The programme is divided into two six-month periods. The first six is a non-practising period focused primarily on training, observation, legal research and written work. The second six is a practising period in which pupils begin taking on their own cases and appearing in court while continuing to work with their supervisors and other members of Chambers.

The structure is intended to provide pupils with a broad understanding of civil practice while allowing them to develop the advocacy, drafting, analytical and client-handling skills required for practice at the Bar.

Work During the First Six

During the first six months, pupils undertake written work for their supervisors and other members of Chambers.

The work can include:

• Legal research.

• Preparing advices and opinions.

• Drafting pleadings and skeleton arguments.

• Preparing case summaries and other written documents.

• Attending conferences with solicitors, clients and experts.

• Attending court and tribunal hearings.

• Observing mediations and settlement meetings.

• Assisting with complex and high-value litigation.

Pupils are encouraged to attend court with junior members of Chambers from an early stage. This provides practical exposure to the type of hearings and advocacy they are likely to undertake during their second six. Pupils can also attend important or interesting cases with more senior members, allowing them to gain experience across different practice areas.

Work During the Second Six

The second six is a practising period. Pupils begin undertaking their own court work and representing their own clients while continuing to receive supervision and undertake work for their supervisors.

Pupils can expect to attend court regularly. Recent pupil experience indicates that pupils may be in court around three times a week, handling matters such as small claims trials, Stage 3 hearings, applications and, towards the end of the second six, more complex fast-track trials.

Pupils also continue to shadow junior and senior members and can assist with work outside their own caseload. This combination of independent advocacy, supervised work and exposure to more experienced barristers helps pupils develop their own interests before the tenancy decision.

Practice Areas

12KBW's principal areas of practice include:

Personal Injury: Chambers has extensive experience in high-value and complex personal injury claims, including catastrophic injury, serious brain injury, spinal injury, amputation, fatal accidents and claims arising from accidents at work and on the road.

Clinical Negligence: Members act in complex medical negligence cases involving issues such as birth injuries, delayed diagnosis, surgical negligence, serious brain injury and fatal claims.

Industrial Disease: Chambers has substantial expertise in asbestos-related disease, mesothelioma and other industrial disease claims.

International and Travel: Members act in claims arising from accidents and injuries overseas and other international disputes, including cases involving jurisdictional issues and foreign law.

Employment: The employment practice covers employment and discrimination disputes, including claims connected with personal injury and occupational stress.

Costs and Litigation Funding: Chambers has a specialist costs practice alongside its broader civil litigation work.

Inquests and Inquiries: Pupils may also gain exposure to inquests and related work involving serious injury and death.

Other areas include insurance, product liability, professional negligence, fraud, sports, credit hire and public authority liability.

Pupillage Award

For the 2027/2028 intake, 12KBW publishes a pupillage award of £85,000.

The award is structured as:

First six: £45,000 grant.

Second six: £40,000 guaranteed earnings.

Up to £12,500 of the first-six grant may be drawn down for the Bar Professional Training Course.

The published £85,000 figure therefore combines the first-six grant with guaranteed second-six earnings.

Training and Advocacy

12KBW's pupillage programme is designed around the competencies required by the Bar Standards Board's Professional Statement.

Pupils maintain a training plan recording the work they undertake and the learning and professional competencies developed during pupillage. The structure encourages pupils to reflect on their progress and identify areas requiring further development.

Advocacy training forms an important part of the programme. Chambers runs an annual in-house mock trial, designed to develop oral advocacy skills and give pupils experience of presenting a case in a realistic setting. Pupils also receive practical support from junior members as they prepare to begin their own court work.

What 12KBW Looks For

12KBW seeks intelligent and motivated candidates with strong academic records who can demonstrate the potential to develop a successful practice at the Bar.

The Chambers particularly looks for:

• Academic and intellectual ability.

• Strong communication and advocacy skills.

• Motivation and commitment to a career at the Bar.

• Specific commitment to pupillage at 12KBW.

• The ability to relate effectively to clients.

• Evidence of initiative and achievement.

• Work and life experience that demonstrates relevant qualities.

12KBW welcomes applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and recognises that a career at the Bar can follow different routes. The Chambers particularly encourages applications from groups that are under-represented at the Bar.

Academic Requirements

12KBW places significant emphasis on academic achievement.

The Chambers' published 2024 selection report records that applicants were normally expected to have achieved at least a 2:1 university degree and a Very Competent or higher result in the BTC, subject to extenuating circumstances. The 2024 process also placed substantial weight on academic achievement, written communication and the applicant's reasons and motivation for applying to 12KBW.

These historic selection criteria should be treated as an indication of the Chambers' approach rather than a substitute for the requirements published for the particular 2028 recruitment cycle.

Application Process

All applications for pupillage must be made through the Pupillage Gateway.

The current published timetable provides for the January 2027 application round to open on 4 January 2027 and close on 28 January 2027, with offers made from 7 May 2027.

The selection process begins with a written application. Applications are anonymised and considered by members of Chambers separately before the Pupillage Committee draws up the interview shortlist.

12KBW normally seeks to shortlist around 30 applicants for interview. The Chambers also uses the Rare Contextual Recruitment System, which enables candidates' achievements to be considered in the context in which they were obtained.

First-Round Interview

The Chambers normally conducts two rounds of interviews.

The first round is usually conducted by a panel of three members of Chambers. Recent selection processes have involved candidates being given a choice of a case in an area such as personal injury, clinical negligence or employment and being asked to make an application for permission to appeal.

The exercise assesses the candidate's structure, content and clarity and is designed to test advocacy and the ability to analyse and present a legal argument under pressure.

Second-Round Interview

Candidates who progress beyond the first round are invited to a second interview before a larger panel.

The second-round assessment is designed to give candidates an opportunity to demonstrate why they should be selected for pupillage. Recent selection criteria have included resilience, analytical thinking, integrity, interest in and commitment to 12KBW, and communication skills.

The precise format of the 2028 assessment should be confirmed from the recruitment information published for the relevant Gateway cycle.

Tenancy

12KBW aims to offer tenancy to all pupils who meet the required standard.

The Chambers normally expects to recruit tenants from pupils who successfully complete pupillage. New tenants can develop practices in the areas that suit their interests and are supported by more senior members of Chambers.

Junior members receive mentoring and practical guidance, while specialist practice groups assist with professional development and opportunities to build relationships with instructing solicitors.

Recent recruitment demonstrates the Chambers' continuing commitment to retaining successful pupils. In October 2026, Charlotte Buck, Daniel Millar and Miles McCollum joined Chambers as tenants following successful completion of their pupillages.

Mini-Pupillage

12KBW offers 12 mini-pupillages each year, with four candidates normally attending during each of three sessions.

Mini-pupillages last two days and provide an opportunity to attend court with a barrister, meet tenants and pupils and learn more about a career at the Bar.

Mini-pupillages are not formally assessed. Selection is based on criteria similar to those used for pupillage, including academic achievement, non-academic achievement, motivation and initiative. Both law and non-law students are encouraged to apply, although Chambers considers final-year law students and students undertaking a conversion course particularly likely to benefit.

Mini-pupillages are unpaid, but Chambers reimburses reasonable travel and accommodation expenses for attending a mini-pupillage in Chambers, up to £250 per session.

Equality and Diversity

12KBW is committed to diversity and equal opportunities in recruitment.

The Chambers particularly encourages applications from candidates from groups that are under-represented at the Bar and recognises the importance of considering applicants' achievements in their wider social and economic context through the Rare Contextual Recruitment System.

Reasonable adjustments are available for disabled candidates and applicants who require adjustments during the recruitment process.

Application Deadline

The application deadline for the 12KBW Pupillage 2028 is:

28 January 2027

Applications must be submitted through the Pupillage Gateway. The current published timetable gives a closing time of 11:59pm on Thursday 28 January 2027.

How to Apply

Candidates should submit their application through the Pupillage Gateway during the January 2027 application window.

Further information about pupillage, the selection process, the structure of pupillage and tenancy at 12KBW is available on the Chambers website.