1KBW - True Picture

The Chambers 

They say the first impression is the best impression, and that was certainly the case for Chris Gittins, 1KBW’s senior clerk, who upon entering the set, found the atmosphere to be “a great mix actually - really impressive and polished but also very welcoming! It was a place I wanted to be a part of.” Pupillage committee member Katherine Kelsey KC was equally philosophical in her assessment of the set’s collegiality: “Everyone’s always supportive of each other.” Addressing the difficulty in overcoming the legal industry’s reputational hurdle, Kelsey explained: “everyone will tell you not to do this job and give you 20 reasons why you should do something else.” But you shouldn’t worry just yet. “If you can get through that, it’s a brilliant job!” Kelsey added, hinting at the rewards of sticking things out.  

Family law forms the bread and butter of the chambers' work, but despite the family focus, 1KBW prides itself on not specialising too much. Kelsey explained, “working across different areas gives you the opportunity to grow and develop, so you can realise what you want to do over time, and then specialise if you want to.”  

James Roberts KC, head of chambers, couldn’t agree more, “we have an organic model. Many people may come here with very set ideas of what they want to do, but then they try something else, get a taste of it, and opt for that instead!” To illustrate the scope the set provides, Chris Gittins provided a breakdown of the work the set undertakes: “I think you’re probably looking at 50% finance, 50% children, with a little variation year to year.” With the set seeing an upward trend in alternative dispute resolution work too, Gittins revealed the set aims to remain “ahead of the curve.” Strategically speaking though, Gittins told us that ultimately “we want to be perceived as the number one family set out there! And the way we do that is by showcasing our different areas of work.” Case in point, Richard Harrison KC acted on behalf of a father seeking to return their child to Ukraine. On the matrimonial finance side, Max Turnell and Charles Howard KC represented Sir Frederick Barclay, the surviving ‘Barclay Brother’ in a case concerning the enforcement of his former wife’s £100 million award. Such work has seen 1KBW rewarded with a robust set of rankings as per the Chambers UK Barguide in family: children and family: matrimonial finance. 

The Pupillage Experience 

Pupillage consists of different seats with different supervisors. One junior explained that “the set tends to make sure that you see chambers’ main areas of practice.” For instance, “I did both financial remedies and private law (children) just in my first six months.” Kelsey clarified that during the first six, “the emphasis is on teaching” as “we need to train people properly to be a barrister, and to give them the best opportunity to succeed and showcase their skills." This is because “we’re making a big investment in them financially, so we want to try and help them extract as much they can so they’re able to hit the ground running and be an asset to chambers if taken on!” 

“Pupils will be taught by a silk, but that they also have input from other people, which creates a safe space where questions can be asked.”  

Pupils will split their time between a range of supervisors throughout the year in order to provide “the best cross section of people in chambers insofar as practice profiles and level of call” are concerned. Pupils can thus gain exposure to different supervisors, particularly “if we identify a particular area of strength or weakness in a pupil.” This can then either be worked on or developed by the relevant member of chambers to best calibrate pupils and create more well-rounded barristers, which Kelsey describes as a “very structured approach” to training and progress monitoring. Unique to 1KBW, the set also hosts masterclasses, of which pupils will complete two in finance, two in private children, two in public law, and two in child abduction. “It’s a senior member – normally a silk – conducting a seminar,” Kelsey explains, with “the four most junior members of chambers” also present too.The idea is that “pupils will be taught by a silk about the procedure in a private law case, but that they also have input from other people in the session, which creates a safe space where questions can be asked.”  

Pupils can expect to be in court “several days a week” noted one pupil, engaging in children and finance work “of the best kind of quality.” Typical tasks include “attending live cases and conferences, private FDR work, drafting court orders, and undertaking research for other members of chambers.” Once into the second six, “we will take on our own work” characterised by an array of opportunities to get on one’s feet, with supervisors remaining present “as a point of contact for questions and advice.”  

There are a mixture of formal assessments throughout pupillage – “we have advocacy exercises that start after Christmas, which are based on live cases we would normally be doing in our second six.” Seconded by a junior, “we had quite a structured advocacy programme. We had about five or six exercises, effectively getting you used to being in front of judges.” This helps pupils going into the second six “as you won’t be going in completely blind!” Kelsey explains that the advocacy exercises are about “teaching and constructive assessment” whilst pupils are also assessed against supervisor reports, submitted after each seat. These note what pupils did well and what can be improved upon, giving them the space to take on board feedback. 

A decision on tenancy will then be made at the AGM in the summer (either at the end of June or early July), with a filtering committee making a recommendation based upon the supervisor reports. Written information gathered from those who’ve had contact with the pupil – including from clients and the clerking room – also factor in. The committee is traditionally made up of a silk and four or five other members of chambers, who will make a subsequent recommendation put before a vote. Although by no means a guarantee, the set retains a strong pupil to tenant conversion record. “Our recruitment process is very rigorous” explains Roberts, with a junior agreeing that “much of the leg work” in discovering potential tenants is conducted at this stage. 

The Application Process 

“Of course we’re looking for stellar candidates in terms of good academics, but we also want personality!”  

1KBW notably does not operate within the Pupillage Gateway portal, instead providing their own application form which can be accessed on the set’s website or by contacting the chambers. It “asks for the standard information like academic qualifications and work experience” but one pupil remembered the “nice mix between legal and personality questions, as they really want to understand who you are and give you the opportunity to bring your personality across.” Kelsey confirmed this: “of course we’re looking for stellar candidates in terms of good academics, commitment to the bar, and a real understanding of who we are as a set – but we also want personality!”  

The committee will then sift through candidates’ initial online applications in addition to a paper exercise undertaken at the same stage, before 20 or so candidates will be invited into Chambers for the first round of interviews. This stage will consist of an advocacy exercise on top of general interview questions which will take about 30 minutes. The second round of interviews, of which roughly 10 of the original 20 will make it, follows a very similar process, but the interview will instead take 45 minutes.  

There’s also an additional advocacy exercise, though a pupil reassured us that this does not have to be done on the spot, with the set instead giving applicants about a week to prepare. Regarding the criteria, Kelsey explains, “we put ourselves on the position of our clients. Does this person inspire confidence? Or do they come across as a rabbit in the headlights?” The committee will then decipher who the two available pupillage offers will be sent out to. “It’s important to remain resilient and positive!” advised one pupil, before noting that the set is there to help and reassure you throughout the application process, “chambers keeps you updated regularly.”  

“People really care about how comfortable I am.”  

It’s fair to say the sources we spoke to couldn’t speak more highly of the set’s culture. “I’m sure a lot of places will say that the culture’s the attractive bit, but the culture was noticeably different here!” noted one junior, whilst a pupil mentioned the friendly and approachable nature about the place. “I wouldn’t have any nerves walking in to a senior member of chambers’ room, people are so approachable and welcoming here even if you feel like you don’t fit in. Nobody’s ever made me feel otherwise and I can say that very genuinely!” expressed one pupil. They added, “I think it’s a very open-door kind of culture. It’s truly friendly and I liked the progressive nature of the set. People really care about how comfortable I am.”  

1KBW was one of the founding partners of the Bridging the Bar programme – an academy scheme designed to give students from under-represented groups access to internships, mini-pupillages, and mentoring, described by one pupil as “a scheme close to the values I hold for myself in that they’re trying to improve and progress diversity and inclusion at the bar.”