Pupillage

XXIV Old Buildings is a specialist Chancery and commercial set based at Lincoln's Inn in London. Chambers has a broad practice covering traditional and commercial Chancery work, with particular strength in trusts, probate and estates, commercial litigation, civil fraud and asset recovery, insolvency, property, aviation and travel, and international and offshore disputes.

Members act in complex domestic and international disputes, with work regularly taking them to the Supreme Court, Privy Council and courts in offshore jurisdictions. Chambers also has an office in Geneva and a significant international practice.

XXIV Old Buildings places considerable emphasis on recruiting and developing pupils who have the potential to become tenants. The Chambers describes its approach as focused on training rather than competition, with the aim of recruiting pupils as tenants where they reach the required standard.

The Pupillage

XXIV Old Buildings normally offers up to three funded 12-month pupillages each year.

Pupils normally spend approximately three months with each of four different pupil supervisors. This structure gives pupils exposure to a wide range of Chambers' work and allows them to experience different styles of practice.

Pupils generally sit in their supervisor's room and learn by working closely with experienced barristers. They also have opportunities to spend time with junior members of Chambers and observe the type of work typically undertaken by junior tenants.

The purpose of the year is to develop the legal knowledge, practical skills and professional attributes required for practice at the Chancery Bar.

Work During Pupillage

Pupils work on genuine legal matters and are expected to engage closely with their supervisors' cases.

Work can include:

• Legal research and analysis.

• Drafting opinions and written advice.

• Preparing statements of case.

• Drafting skeleton arguments and other court documents.

• Preparing case summaries and other written materials.

• Attending conferences with solicitors and clients.

• Attending court and observing advocacy.

• Assisting with preparation for hearings and trials.

• Researching issues arising in complex Chancery and commercial disputes.

Pupils are expected to read their supervisors' papers and undertake work as though they were preparing the material themselves. When supervisors attend court, pupils will normally attend where appropriate to observe advocacy, court procedure, negotiation and dealings with clients, solicitors and opponents.

The Chambers also encourages pupils to see the work of junior members so that they develop a realistic understanding of the type of practice they may undertake after pupillage.

Practice Areas

XXIV Old Buildings has a broad Chancery and commercial practice.

Commercial Litigation: Complex commercial disputes, contractual disputes and litigation in the Business and Property Courts.

Trusts, Probate and Estates: Trust disputes, wills, estates, probate and related private client litigation.

Civil Fraud and Asset Recovery: Fraud claims, tracing, asset recovery and disputes involving allegations of dishonest conduct.

Insolvency: Corporate and personal insolvency, restructuring and asset recovery disputes.

Property: Real estate disputes and other property-related Chancery work.

Aviation and Travel: Commercial disputes arising from aviation, travel and related industries.

International and Offshore: Cross-border disputes and litigation involving offshore jurisdictions.

Alternative Dispute Resolution: Mediation and other forms of dispute resolution.

The breadth of the practice means that pupils can encounter cases involving several areas of law at the same time. This provides exposure to both traditional Chancery work and modern commercial disputes.

Training and Supervision

Training is central to the XXIV Old Buildings pupillage programme.

Supervisors provide day-to-day feedback on pupils' work and discuss how each piece of work could be improved. The Chambers also conducts formal progress reviews approximately every six weeks.

These reviews are designed to identify strengths, address areas requiring improvement and ensure that pupils are gaining appropriate experience across the range of work expected during pupillage.

The Chambers does not use a small number of standalone formal assessments to determine whether a pupil will obtain tenancy. Instead, pupils are assessed holistically throughout the year, taking account of the work they have undertaken and the context in which it was completed.

Advocacy

Pupils develop advocacy skills through observation, practical experience and the recruitment assessment process.

During pupillage, pupils accompany supervisors to court and observe how experienced barristers conduct advocacy, deal with judges, negotiate with opponents and interact with clients and solicitors.

The Chambers' recruitment process also contains a dedicated oral advocacy or persuasion exercise, together with a group discussion exercise. This allows candidates to demonstrate the communication, persuasion and interpersonal skills expected of a practising barrister.

What XXIV Old Buildings Looks For

XXIV Old Buildings applies objective selection criteria throughout its recruitment process.

Academic Ability

Academic achievement is an important part of the selection process. Chambers indicates that candidates with a First or Upper Second-Class degree, or equivalent, are most likely to progress unless significant and exceptional mitigating circumstances are explained.

Relevant postgraduate legal qualifications can also be taken into account. The Chambers does not require applicants to have attended a particular university and states that the university attended does not itself increase an applicant's score.

Commitment to the Law and the Bar

Candidates should demonstrate a genuine commitment to a career as a barrister and an interest in the areas of law in which XXIV Old Buildings specialises.

Advocacy and Persuasion

Applicants should be able to construct and communicate persuasive arguments. Experience in public speaking, advocacy, debating, mooting or other activities can provide evidence of this ability.

Analytical Ability

Candidates should be able to absorb, assimilate and analyse information effectively. The recruitment exercises are designed to assess how applicants approach unfamiliar information and develop reasoned conclusions.

Communication

Clear and persuasive communication is assessed both orally and in writing.

Interpersonal Skills

The Chambers places importance on the ability to deal with different people tactfully, proportionately, flexibly and appropriately, including when working under pressure.

Character, Motivation and Drive

Candidates should demonstrate the self-motivation, resilience and drive required for a career at the self-employed Bar.

Application Process

XXIV Old Buildings does not use the Pupillage Gateway application platform. Instead, applications are made directly through the Chambers' own online application system.

The Chambers follows the national pupillage recruitment timetable for the application window, while administering its own application and selection process.

Stage 1: Online Application

Candidates complete XXIV Old Buildings' own application form.

The initial application is considered alongside an online aptitude test. The aptitude test focuses principally on verbal reasoning.

Candidates are expected to complete the aptitude test within a few days of the application deadline. Candidates who perform significantly below average on the test are eliminated at this stage.

Stage 2: Application Sift

Applicants who perform sufficiently well in the aptitude test have their applications considered by at least two members of the Pupillage Committee.

A maximum of approximately 40 candidates are selected for the first-round interview.

The sift considers:

• Academic achievement.

• Commitment to the law and the Bar.

• Commitment to the areas in which Chambers specialises.

• Ability to advocate or argue persuasively.

• Performance in the aptitude test.

The initial sift is based on the application and aptitude-test result rather than previous personal knowledge of the candidate or performance during a mini-pupillage.

Stage 3: First-Round Interview

Candidates selected for interview are asked to provide a covering letter and full CV shortly before the interview.

The first-round interview normally lasts approximately 20 minutes and is conducted by at least two members of the Pupillage Committee.

The interview assesses academic achievement, oral communication, commitment to the Bar and Chambers' practice, public speaking and advocacy experience, character, motivation and drive.

Stage 4: Second-Stage Assessment Day

The strongest candidates progress to a full-day assessment at Chambers. The current recruitment policy provides for approximately 12 candidates to reach this stage.

The assessment includes three principal exercises:

Oral advocacy or persuasion: Candidates complete an exercise designed to assess their ability to construct and communicate an argument.

Group discussion: Candidates participate in a group exercise designed to assess communication and interpersonal skills.

Unseen written exercise: Candidates complete a written exercise without prior knowledge of the subject matter.

Candidates may also be required to undertake a further aptitude test to verify the results of the first test.

The final selection considers academic achievement, analytical ability, written and oral communication, commitment to the Bar and Chambers' practice, advocacy skills, interpersonal skills, character, motivation and drive.

Pupillage Award

The current pupillage award at XXIV Old Buildings is £90,000.

The award is structured as follows:

£58,000 is paid as a scholarship during the non-practising period.

Up to £29,000 of the scholarship may be drawn down in advance.

The remaining £32,000 is paid during the practising period and is supplemented by earnings from work undertaken by the pupil in their own right.

The current £90,000 award should be checked against the final 2028 recruitment information if Chambers subsequently publishes revised financial terms.

Tenancy

XXIV Old Buildings aims to recruit its pupils as junior tenants.

The Chambers does not operate a fixed annual tenancy quota in the same way as a recruitment process in which pupils compete for a predetermined number of places. Instead, the stated objective is to recruit all pupils who demonstrate sufficient ability to practise as junior tenants.

Chambers can terminate a pupillage after six months if a pupil has not reached, and is considered unlikely to reach, the standard expected of a junior tenant. Serious misconduct can also result in termination.

Life at XXIV Old Buildings

XXIV Old Buildings describes itself as a friendly and supportive commercial Chancery set.

The Chambers has an open-door culture in which junior barristers can approach more senior members for assistance with cases and professional issues. The clerking team also plays an important role in managing workloads and supporting members in developing their practices.

The Chambers is based in Lincoln's Inn and has invested in its IT infrastructure, enabling members to work flexibly from Chambers and remotely where appropriate.

Mini-Pupillage

Mini-pupillage at XXIV Old Buildings is not a prerequisite for applying for pupillage and mini-pupillages are not assessed.

The Chambers nevertheless encourages prospective pupillage applicants to consider undertaking a mini-pupillage because it provides an opportunity to experience commercial Chancery practice and understand the work undertaken by junior tenants.

Mini-pupillages normally last two days, running from Monday to Tuesday.

Applications are accepted during specific windows:

1 to 15 October for mini-pupillages taking place between January and April.

1 to 15 February for mini-pupillages taking place between May and July and in September.

1 to 15 June for mini-pupillages taking place during October and November.

Competition for places is substantial, and applications outside the relevant application windows are rejected.

XXIV Old Buildings can provide up to £300 towards travel and, where necessary, accommodation expenses for selected mini-pupils, subject to suitable receipts.

Equality and Diversity

XXIV Old Buildings is committed to equality of opportunity throughout its recruitment process.

The Chambers collects diversity monitoring information separately from the Pupillage Committee. Equality monitoring information is not used by the committee during the selection process, and the relevant data is anonymised before being used for monitoring and review.

The Chambers also participates in initiatives designed to widen access to the Commercial and Chancery Bar, including mentoring and diversity-focused outreach programmes.

Application Deadline

The application deadline for XXIV Old Buildings Pupillage 2028 is:

28 January 2027

The national 2028 pupillage recruitment timetable provides for applications to open on 4 January 2027 and close on 28 January 2027. XXIV Old Buildings uses its own application system rather than the Pupillage Gateway platform. Its previous recruitment process has followed the national Gateway application window while administering applications independently.

How to Apply

Candidates should apply directly through the XXIV Old Buildings online application system during the relevant application window.

Applicants should pay particular attention to the Chambers' objective selection criteria, particularly academic achievement, analytical ability, persuasive communication, advocacy, commitment to the Chancery and commercial Bar, interpersonal skills, character and motivation.

A mini-pupillage is encouraged but not required, and applicants should not assume that completing one is necessary to be considered for pupillage.