Pupillage

Falcon Chambers is a specialist London set whose members practise in property-related litigation. The Chambers is widely recognised for its specialist property practice and handles disputes involving land and property across a broad range of legal issues.

The work extends beyond traditional land law. Cases can involve contractual and statutory interpretation, contract, tort, trusts, insolvency, professional negligence and public law. Members appear in courts and specialist property tribunals and act in private arbitrations. The Chambers' barristers have also appeared in significant property cases before the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

Falcon's specialist focus provides pupils with the opportunity to develop a detailed understanding of property law while working on a wide variety of disputes and legal problems.

The Pupillage

Falcon Chambers offers up to two 12-month pupillages each year.

The pupillage is designed both as an assessment for potential tenancy and as a period of intensive professional training. Pupils are expected to work hard, but Chambers places significant emphasis on education, development and constructive feedback throughout the year.

Pupils are allocated a different supervisor every three months. This enables them to work closely with several members of Chambers and experience different approaches to property litigation and advocacy.

Pupils also undertake work for other members of Chambers, giving them exposure to a broad range of matters rather than limiting their experience to the practice of a single supervisor.

Work During Pupillage

Pupils follow their supervisors' practices closely and are involved in both the legal and practical aspects of life at the Bar.

Work can include reading papers before conferences and court hearings, conducting legal research, drafting opinions and preparing statements of case. Pupils attend court with members of Chambers and observe how barristers prepare and present cases.

Pupils also gain an understanding of matters beyond the substantive law, including diary and practice management, client-facing work and the practical demands of running a specialist practice.

During the second six months, once Chambers is satisfied that a pupil has sufficient experience, the clerks allocate work to the pupil. There is normally a reasonable amount of court work available, although the precise level of work varies from year to year.

Pupils can also undertake work on their own account during the practising period of pupillage. Fees earned from that work are received in addition to the pupillage award.

Property Law and Related Practice

Falcon Chambers specialises in disputes concerning land and property. Its work can involve a wide range of legal disciplines, including:

Landlord and Tenant: Disputes concerning leases, occupation, possession and the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants.

Property Litigation: Disputes concerning ownership, use and development of land and other property rights.

Contract: Contractual disputes and questions of contractual interpretation arising in property and commercial contexts.

Trusts: Property disputes involving trusts and equitable rights.

Insolvency: Property issues arising in insolvency and restructuring matters.

Professional Negligence: Claims involving professional advisers in connection with property transactions and disputes.

Public Law: Public law issues arising in connection with land and property.

The subject matter of cases can be highly varied. Falcon gives examples ranging from office blocks in the City of London and wind farms to canal towpaths, residential property and mining-related property.

Specialist Property Training

Candidates are not expected to have studied landlord and tenant law in depth before beginning pupillage.

Falcon Chambers provides an intensive property law course for incoming pupils, currently delivered by Professor Martin Dixon of Queens' College, Cambridge. The course is normally held during the last week of September.

This training is designed to give pupils a strong grounding in the specialist law they will encounter during pupillage. Chambers also provides structured advocacy training in addition to the advocacy training provided through the Inns of Court.

Advocacy Training and Assessment

Advocacy forms an important part of the pupillage programme.

Pupils receive structured advocacy training during the year and participate in advocacy sessions with members of Chambers. These exercises provide opportunities to practise oral advocacy and receive feedback.

Pupils also receive regular feedback from their supervisors. At the end of each three-month supervision period, there is an informal performance review involving the Head of the Recruitment Committee and the Chambers Director.

The objective is not simply to assess whether a pupil is performing well but to identify areas for development and help the pupil progress towards independent practice.

What Falcon Chambers Looks For

Falcon Chambers assesses candidates against a range of qualities relevant to successful practice at the specialist Bar.

These include:

Academic ability: Candidates should demonstrate an excellent academic track record.

Analytical ability: Candidates must be able to process complex information quickly, identify the important issues and develop practical and pragmatic solutions.

Written and oral communication: Candidates should be able to communicate clearly, concisely and persuasively.

Interpersonal skills: Barristers need to work effectively with people from different backgrounds and build professional relationships with clients, colleagues and other professionals.

Resilience and confidence: Candidates should be able to remain calm, objective and confident when dealing with complex material and demanding deadlines.

Integrity: Honesty, reliability and professional integrity are important qualities.

Judgment: Candidates should demonstrate sound judgment and the ability to make sensible decisions when faced with competing considerations.

Falcon aims to offer pupillage to applicants who demonstrate the greatest potential to meet these standards and ultimately obtain tenancy.

Academic Background and Experience

Falcon welcomes applications from candidates from a wide range of educational backgrounds.

Candidates are not expected to have studied landlord and tenant law or property law in significant depth before applying. The Chambers recognises that relatively few prospective pupils will have had extensive exposure to its specialist field.

The emphasis is therefore on intellectual ability, analytical skills, communication, judgment, motivation and the personal qualities required to become an effective specialist property barrister.

Recruitment Process

Applications for pupillage are made through the Pupillage Gateway, the Bar Council's online pupillage application portal.

For the October 2028 recruitment cycle, the national Pupillage Gateway timetable provides for applications to open on 4 January 2027 at 11:00am and close on 28 January 2027 at 11:59pm.

Falcon's previous recruitment process has involved an initial application sift followed by two interview stages.

Application and Written Questions

In the latest published Gateway advertisement, candidates were required to answer four Chambers-specific questions covering:

Why the candidate wants to become a barrister specialising in property disputes.

The candidate's strongest skills for a career at the Bar, supported by examples.

An interesting or important property-related case decided by the UK courts during the preceding 12 months.

An argument for or against the proposition that advances in artificial intelligence risk making the legal profession redundant.

The published word limits were 400 words for each of the first three questions and 500 words for the AI question. These questions relate to the previous recruitment round and should not be treated as confirmed questions for the 2028 application.

First-Round Interview

Candidates selected following the application sift are invited to a long-list interview of approximately 20 minutes.

The previous process used a panel of three members of Chambers. The interview was designed to assess the skills required for pupillage rather than specialist legal knowledge.

Second-Round Interview

Candidates selected following the first interview are invited to a short-list interview of approximately 40 minutes with at least five members of Chambers.

The assessment can include questions and role-play exercises designed to test commitment, advocacy, analytical ability and judgment.

The precise interview dates and exercises for the 2028 recruitment round should be checked once Falcon publishes its final Gateway advertisement.

Pupillage Award

The latest published pupillage award for pupils commencing in October 2027 is £85,000, plus any additional earnings from second-six work.

Up to £30,000 of the award can be drawn down during the year preceding pupillage. Incoming pupils can contact Chambers during that period to arrange the drawdown.

Falcon also covers the costs of compulsory courses required during pupillage and travel expenses when pupils attend court outside London with their supervisors or other members of Chambers.

The £85,000 figure is the latest published award, rather than a confirmed 2028 amount. The final 2028 Gateway advertisement should be checked for any updated financial package.

Tenancy

Falcon's pupillage programme is designed to identify and develop future tenants.

The Chambers considers whether a pupil has demonstrated a high standard in the relevant areas, including academic ability, analytical thinking, communication, interpersonal skills, resilience, integrity and judgment.

Falcon aims to equip pupils to begin a specialist property practice after 12 months. Where Chambers is unable to recruit one of its pupils, it works with the pupil to help them obtain tenancy or a further period of pupillage at another set.

For pupils who become tenants at Falcon, the first three months of tenancy are rent-free. Chambers also guarantees the first-year earnings of new tenants by making up, as a loan, any shortfall between their receipts and the level of the pupillage award, calculated monthly.

Mini-Pupillage

Falcon Chambers also offers mini-pupillage opportunities for candidates interested in experiencing its specialist property practice.

Mini-pupillage provides prospective applicants with an opportunity to observe members of Chambers, attend court and gain a better understanding of the work undertaken by a specialist property set.

Candidates interested in applying should check Falcon's current mini-pupillage information for eligibility requirements and application dates.

Equality and Diversity

Falcon Chambers assesses candidates on merit and welcomes applications regardless of background.

The Chambers has measures in place to support fair recruitment. Members of the Recruitment Committee receive fair recruitment training, and Chambers participates in initiatives intended to improve access to careers at the Bar.

Reasonable adjustments can be made to the application process for disabled applicants and, where appropriate, to facilitate pupillage and practice as a tenant. Candidates can contact Chambers to discuss reasonable adjustments before or during the application process.

Life at Falcon Chambers

Falcon describes itself as a friendly and closely integrated group of colleagues.

Pupils are encouraged to participate in Chambers life and integrate with members throughout their pupillage. The Chambers has informal social traditions, including tea and Friday lunches in the library.

Future pupils are also welcome to work in the Chambers library during their BPC year.

Application Deadline

Applications for the Falcon Chambers Pupillage 2028 are expected to be submitted through the Pupillage Gateway.

Applications open: 4 January 2027 at 11:00am
Application deadline: 28 January 2027 at 11:59pm
Pupillage start: October 2028
Pupillages available: Up to two
Latest published award: £85,000

The £85,000 award and the detailed application questions above are based on Falcon's latest published recruitment information and should be checked against the final 2028 Gateway advertisement before publication.