Pupillage

1 Hare Court is the market leader for matrimonial advice and representation at the Bar.

We are widely regarded as the premier set for complex financial remedy cases, with strength and depth at every level, from seasoned silks and top-ranked juniors to the next generation of talent. With a long history, we have been centrally involved in almost all of the leading cases of the past two decades, including several groundbreaking House of Lords and Supreme Court cases, and we continue be at the very forefront of matrimonial finance law.

In short, 1 Hare Court is a byword for excellence, and there is no better launchpad for a career as a specialist financial remedies barrister than to undertake pupillage with us.

What we offer

We are proud of our past successes and are always striving to achieve more. To undertake pupillage at 1 Hare Court means the opportunity to:

Learn from both top-ranked juniors and the greatest concentration of specialist matrimonial finance KCs in the country.
Gain exposure to and form relationships with solicitors at the leading family law firms.
Train at a Chambers which has produced two former Presidents of the Family Division, three former members of the Court of Appeal and several former and current High Court Judges.
Be at the cutting edge of matrimonial finance law, with members appearing in the most high-profile and significant cases, including representing royalty, politicians and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Develop a practice with an international element – members are regularly instructed in, and in cases concerning, jurisdictions including Hong Kong, Cayman Islands, BVI and Gibraltar.

If you have the talent and ambition to work at the highest level of financial remedies work and continue our tradition of excellence, we can offer you the training and support to make it happen.

What we are looking for

Chambers is looking to recruit pupils with the potential to become leading barristers and experts in our specialism of financial remedies.

All applications for pupillage are assessed against the following selection criteria, which we believe are essential for success in pupillage and beyond:

Strong intellectual ability – Demonstrated by academic achievement (usually a 2.1 honours degree as a minimum, barring extenuating circumstances) and the ability to reason and solve problems.
Effective communication – Conveying your arguments clearly and with impact, both orally and in writing. Presenting complex ideas in a simple, accurate and well-structured way.
Excellent advocacy skills – Delivering arguments, whether in writing or orally, with confidence and impact, making use of persuasive techniques to put your points across as strongly as possible.
Well-developed interpersonal skills – Demonstrating an ability to build positive, productive relationships with clients. Empathy and a genuine interest in other people are key.
Analytical thinking – Absorbing and processing information quickly and accurately. Unpicking complex ideas, and getting to the heart of an issue.
Motivation for financial remedies work – Committed to a career not only as a family law barrister, but as one who seeks to specialise in financial remedies work. Demonstrating a genuine interest in and understanding of our specialism, including efforts to obtain relevant experience.

Your experience as a pupil at 1 Hare Court

Pupillage at 1 Hare Court is arranged into three periods of four months, each spent with a different supervisor.

Our aim is that you will see a broad range of our work throughout pupillage and, in addition to working with your pupil supervisor, you will have the opportunity to observe other members of chambers providing representation at all levels of Court and Tribunal.

The work you see will include high profile, high value matrimonial cases, often with an international element. You will also receive an introduction to private law children work and a good insight into the varied work arising out of the breakdown of the relationships of unmarried couples: in particular claims under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act and Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989.

You will be expected to undertake written work for your pupil supervisor and, from time to time, for other members of chambers. Examples of such work include written opinions, skeleton arguments, draft orders, asset schedules and detailed chronologies. Your work will not be assessed formally, but regular feedback will be given so that you can identify and focus on areas for improvement.

During your pupillage year you will undertake advocacy exercises in front of the pupillage committee and, on occasion, other members of chambers. These take the form of mock hearings. You will be provided with papers and asked to prepare a position statement and a draft order. During the ‘hearing’, you will make oral submissions. The aim of these exercises is to enable you to gain advocacy experience before your own court appearances in your second six. Again, these will not be assessed but it is hoped that the experience and the feedback you receive will be crucial in helping you develop your advocacy skills.

There will be regular opportunities for you to discuss your progress with your pupil supervisor. A Pupil Liaison will also meet with you regularly –not to provide feedback or training, but to listen, to support and encourage you during the year. The Pupil Liaison will not take any part in deciding whether an offer of tenancy is to be made at the conclusion of your pupillage.

In your second six months, you will undertake your own work which will include appearances in court.

Applications

We offer two twelve-month pupillages each year.

Each pupil will receive funding of £50,000 from Chambers, in addition to their earnings during the second six months of pupillage. Second six earnings are typically between £10,000 and £20,000. Up to £10,000 of the award may be drawn down in advance during the Bar Course year.

Chambers is not a member of the Pupillage Gateway. Applications for pupillage will open and close in accordance with the Pupillage Gateway timetable, and the 2025 application form (for pupillages commencing in October 2026) will be made available here soon.

We recruit solely on the basis of merit. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, irrespective of race, religion, sex, disability, sexual orientation, age or social/economic disadvantage. We encourage applications from groups who are currently under-represented at the Bar.

Chambers operates an Equal Opportunities policy, and accords by the Bar Council’s Fair Recruitment Policy, in respect of all aspects of recruitment.

Tenancy

There are no limits to the number of tenancies offered each year and pupils are not in competition with each other.

Tenancy decisions are made in July. In the last three years we have offered tenancy to five of our six pupils.

The tenancy application consists of an application letter and references from pupil supervisors and may involve additional references from other members of chambers and/or solicitors (at the pupil’s election). There is an interview and an assessed advocacy exercise. Having considered the application, the Pupillage and Tenancy Committee makes a recommendation to Chambers.

All offers of tenancy are subject to a six-month probationary period (in which no Chambers rent is paid). Chambers has a perfect record of probationary tenants becoming full tenants in the past twenty years.

In the event that a pupil is not offered tenancy, they can be reassured that we have an excellent record of working with them to assist in obtaining ‘third sixes’ or offers of probationary tenancy at other well-regarded sets.