Pupillage

Maitland Chambers is a leading set specialising in commercial and Chancery litigation. Its barristers act in a wide range of complex business disputes and are regularly instructed in significant cases across its core areas of expertise.

The Chambers' practice includes commercial litigation and arbitration, civil fraud, company and partnership disputes, insolvency and asset recovery, and offshore and trusts work. Pupils therefore gain exposure to a broad range of commercial and commercial Chancery disputes during their training.

Maitland places considerable emphasis on training and sees every pupil as a prospective tenant. The Chambers aims to provide pupils with the technical, analytical and advocacy skills required to establish a successful practice at the Commercial and Chancery Bar.

The Pupillage

Maitland offers a 12-month pupillage designed around the skills required of a commercial and commercial Chancery barrister.

Pupils are assessed over a 40-week period and normally work with four different pupil supervisors, spending approximately 10 weeks with each supervisor. Supervisors are generally mid to senior-level junior barristers and have only one pupil at a time.

Pupils usually sit in the same room as their supervisor and accompany them to court and arbitration hearings, mediations and other settlement meetings. They also attend conferences and telephone and video conferences, giving them regular exposure to the day-to-day work of a practising barrister.

The rotation system exposes pupils to different areas of Maitland's practice and to different approaches to legal analysis, advocacy, drafting and case management.

Real Legal Work

Pupils are involved in a wide range of work during their rotations.

The experience can include:

• Drafting pleadings and other litigation documents.

• Preparing written opinions and legal advice.

• Conducting legal research.

• Preparing notes on evidence.

• Assisting with trial preparation.

• Developing witness-handling skills.

• Attending court and arbitration hearings.

• Attending mediations and settlement meetings.

• Developing negotiation skills.

• Observing and assisting with written and oral advocacy.

The objective is to give pupils a practical understanding of the work undertaken by a commercial and commercial Chancery barrister rather than limiting their training to academic or simulated exercises.

Practice Areas

Maitland's principal areas of expertise include:

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration: Complex commercial disputes and international and domestic arbitration.

Civil Fraud: Fraud claims, asset tracing, recovery proceedings and related commercial disputes.

Company and Partnership: Company law, shareholder disputes, partnership disputes and related commercial litigation.

Insolvency and Asset Recovery: Corporate and personal insolvency, restructuring-related disputes and asset recovery.

Offshore and Trusts: Trust disputes, offshore litigation and related private wealth and commercial matters.

Pupils are encouraged to develop an understanding of all of Maitland's principal areas of work. As junior tenants, barristers can continue to work broadly across these areas or develop a particular specialism.

Advocacy Training and Assessment

Advocacy is a central part of the Maitland pupillage.

Throughout the assessment period, pupils participate in an in-house advocacy training and assessment programme. The exercises take the form of mock hearings based on papers provided to pupils in advance.

Senior members of Chambers act as the tribunal and deal with the applications as they would in a genuine court hearing. The exercises are both developmental and assess pupils against the standards expected of a future tenant.

Maitland regards advocacy training as a fundamental part of pupillage because successful commercial barristers need to be able to analyse complex disputes, formulate persuasive arguments and present those arguments effectively before a tribunal.

Professional Ethics

Professional ethics form another important part of the training programme.

Maitland runs a dedicated workshop on the professional obligations of barristers. Pupils are presented with difficult professional scenarios and asked to consider how they would respond.

The workshop is led by senior members of Chambers who provide detailed feedback and draw on their experience of practice at the Bar.

What Maitland Looks For

Maitland does not seek a single predetermined candidate profile. Instead, it identifies four qualities that it considers particularly important for success at the Commercial and Chancery Bar:

Reasoning and analytical ability

Aptitude for written and oral advocacy

Judgment

Interpersonal skills and temperament

Academic achievement is important, particularly when assessing reasoning and analytical ability, but Maitland also considers evidence from employment, professional experience and other activities.

Candidates are encouraged to provide concrete examples demonstrating their abilities rather than relying on general statements about their strengths. The Chambers recognises that relevant evidence may come from a wide range of personal, professional and academic experiences.

Academic Requirements

Maitland welcomes applications from both law and non-law graduates.

Candidates must have obtained, or be predicted to obtain, at least a 2:1 undergraduate degree or equivalent. Candidates must also be on track to complete the vocational component of Bar training before starting pupillage.

The Chambers has recruited both law graduates and candidates who converted to law after studying another undergraduate subject.

Maitland also accepts applications from candidates who are already qualified legal practitioners in England and Wales or other jurisdictions, although the appropriate route will depend on the individual circumstances of the candidate.

Application Process

Maitland is a member of the Pupillage Gateway, with applications made using the standard Gateway application form together with additional Maitland questions.

The entire application is assessed against the four qualities for which Maitland recruits. Academic history is considered in detail, but the Chambers also recognises that academic achievement should be assessed in context.

Maitland uses the Rare Contextual Recruitment System and also considers relevant personal circumstances disclosed through the application process.

Legal work experience can be relevant, but mini-pupillage is not a requirement for applying to Maitland. Candidates are not expected to have completed a particular type of work experience or extracurricular activity.

Application Sift

Applications are anonymised before being assessed.

Each application is independently scored by at least two members of Chambers against the four recruitment criteria. The scores are then moderated.

Maitland normally selects approximately 40 candidates for first-round interviews. Because the number of strong applications can exceed the number of available interview places, the highest-scoring candidates following moderation are selected for interview.

First-Round Interview

The first-round interview lasts approximately 25 minutes and is conducted by a panel of two or three members of Chambers.

The interview includes general questions and a detailed discussion of a hypothetical case.

The hypothetical case is designed primarily to test reasoning and analytical ability rather than specialist legal knowledge. Candidates receive a short period of preparation before discussing the problem with the panel.

The assessment is intended to identify how candidates analyse unfamiliar information, identify the important issues, reach conclusions and explain their reasoning.

Second-Round Interview

Approximately 10 candidates progress to the second-round interview.

The second interview lasts approximately 30 minutes and involves a more detailed hypothetical case. Candidates are given 60 minutes of preparation before discussing the case with a panel of up to five barristers, including one or more KCs.

Candidates are assessed on their ability to identify issues, evaluate competing arguments, reach commercially realistic conclusions, respond to challenges and adapt their reasoning when new information is introduced.

The process is deliberately designed to test how candidates think and respond under pressure rather than simply whether they can produce a predetermined answer.

Pupillage Award

For pupils starting in September 2028, Maitland offers a pupillage award of £85,000.

Up to £30,000 of the award may be drawn down in advance during the vocational component of Bar training or to pay associated fees.

The remaining award is paid in monthly instalments in advance throughout the 12 months of pupillage.

Maitland also funds the compulsory courses required of pupils by the Bar Standards Board.

Unlike some commercial Chambers, pupils are not expected to practise during their second six before the tenancy decision. This allows the pupillage to maintain its strong emphasis on structured training and advocacy assessment.

Assessment and Feedback

Assessment continues throughout the entire 40-week pupillage.

Pupil supervisors provide detailed feedback on individual pieces of work and formally review progress at the end of each 10-week rotation.

Maitland uses an objective grading system based on the standard expected of a junior tenant. This gives pupils a clear indication of their progress, including their strengths and the areas that require further development.

The advocacy assessors use the same grading system and provide feedback following individual advocacy exercises.

Tenancy

Maitland does not operate a fixed quota for tenancy and pupils are not in competition with each other.

The Chambers' policy is to offer tenancy to pupils who meet the required standard based on their own performance. Maitland has historically recruited most or all of its pupils as tenants in many years.

The tenancy decision is made after approximately 40 weeks of assessment.

Where a pupil is not offered tenancy, Maitland is committed to helping that pupil find an alternative position. The Chambers reports that the overwhelming majority of unsuccessful pupils find tenancies at other good Chambers.

Life as a Pupil

Maitland recognises that pupillage is demanding but aims to provide a supportive and collegiate working environment.

Pupils are not generally expected to work late in the evenings or at weekends, although longer hours may occasionally be required because of the demands of particular cases.

Each year, two pupil mentors provide additional support. The mentors have previous experience of pupillage and are separate from the formal assessment process, allowing pupils to discuss personal or professional issues confidentially where appropriate.

Pupils are also encouraged to participate in Chambers' social life and events.

Life as a Junior Tenant

Junior tenants at Maitland generally undertake a combination of independent and team-based work.

Smaller cases may include contractual disputes, insolvency, company litigation and property litigation. Junior tenants may also be led by KCs or senior juniors on substantial disputes involving commercial litigation, arbitration, civil fraud, complex insolvency, asset recovery, offshore disputes and trusts.

This combination allows junior members to develop both independent advocacy skills and the ability to work as part of larger litigation teams.

Maitland encourages junior tenants to develop expertise across its main practice areas while allowing them to specialise if they wish. Junior tenants also receive substantial administrative and professional support, including access to a Cash Flow Assistance Scheme during the first two years of practice. Junior tenants do not pay Chambers expenses during their first year of practice.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Maitland is committed to increasing diversity within Chambers and at the Commercial and Chancery Bar.

Applications are welcomed from candidates regardless of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief or age. The Chambers particularly encourages applications from groups that are currently under-represented at the Commercial and Chancery Bar.

Maitland also makes reasonable adjustments for disabled candidates and invites prospective applicants to discuss adjustment requirements before applying where appropriate.

Mini-Pupillage

A mini-pupillage is not required to apply for Maitland pupillage.

The Chambers expressly recognises that candidates will have different circumstances and does not require applicants to have completed mini-pupillage or another particular form of legal work experience.

Candidates can therefore apply for pupillage without having undertaken a mini-pupillage, provided they can demonstrate the qualities Maitland seeks through other academic, professional or personal experience.

Application Deadline

Applications for Maitland Chambers Pupillage 2028 should be submitted through the Pupillage Gateway during the 2028 national recruitment cycle.

The application window opens on 4 January 2027 at 11:00am and closes on 28 January 2027 at 11:59pm.

Candidates should ensure that the complete application is submitted before the deadline. The final Gateway advertisement should also be checked for the precise Maitland-specific questions and any updated recruitment information.