Monckton Chambers

Percentage of female juniors: 38%

Percentage of female silks: 19%

Percentage of BAME juniors: 11%

Percentage of BAME silks: 3%

Universities attended and degrees/courses studied
Ancient and Modern History (undergraduate) – University of Oxford
Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (Masters) – University of Oxford
GDL and Bar Course – City, University of London

Tell us about your journey to pupillage and the bar
I wanted to pursue other interests at university before converting to law, but I was still interested in the legal profession. I tried to be fairly proactive as an undergraduate, so I joined the university bar society, attended panel events with barristers and went to law fairs. I then started to apply for mini-pupillages in order to get a flavour of working as a barrister.

What really attracted me to the bar was the intellectual rigour, the breadth of work that one gets to do, and the flexibility and autonomy of being self-employed. I also think there’s something very compelling about advocacy as an art form, and being able to develop and refine that over the course of your career.

Why did you choose Monckton Chambers?
First, the excellent work available and the exposure to that as a junior. Take competition law for example. The class action regime within competition law is fairly new and Monckton is at the forefront of this – we have been heavily involved in the first two class actions to have gone to trial in the UK (Le Patourel v BT and Gutmann v LSER and others), and my co-pupil and I were part of the counsel teams in these cases in our first year of tenancy.

Second, the breadth of work on offer. Monckton offers a wide range of practice areas, including commercial, competition, tax, public procurement, data protection, and human rights. I liked the idea of being able to combine those areas in my own practice. As a junior, it gives you the chance to explore different interests and, from a practical (and financial) perspective, it’s useful to be able to do a combination of various types of work.

Third, Monckton is such a welcoming and friendly place. It was important for me to choose a chambers which was unstuffy and down-to-earth, and the senior barristers lead by example; they are, of course, leaders in their profession but are nonetheless generous mentors.

Tell us about your pupillage experience
My pupillage consisted of three seats. Generally, you’ll work for your supervisor in your first seat, and then do a combination of work for your supervisor and other members of chambers as the year progresses. One of the seats will usually be focused on competition law and another on public law, though as I started to work for other members, I was exposed to other areas, including immigration, sports, tax, data protection and EU law.

The work that I did as a pupil was extremely varied. I drafted skeleton arguments and legal opinions, conducted legal research, assisted with preparation for client conferences and hearings, and generally assisted with the day-to-day work of my supervisor. All the work you do as a pupil at Monckton is ‘live’ work. I think this is invaluable; it means that you’re involved, in real-time, in your supervisor’s (or another barrister’s) practice which leads to a more fruitful and holistic learning experience.

In terms of the workload, my supervisors were effective at managing my diary and making sure I had enough time to complete and do my best on each piece of work I was given. My working hours were very regular – from 9am to 6pm each day – and there was absolutely no expectation to stay late (indeed, on occasion when I did find myself in chambers past 6pm, someone would tell me to go home!).

Naturally, pupillage is a stressful year, but I found Monckton to be an extremely supportive environment. The members are all friendly and approachable. You’re also not expected to dazzle on your first day of pupillage! What you are expected to do is learn from any mistakes, take feedback from your supervisors on board, and then reach, maintain, and maybe even exceed the standards expected of a successful pupil at the end of the process.

What is the tenancy selection process like at Monckton?
The process is as transparent as it can be. At the end of each seat your supervisor provides you with written feedback and grades you against a list of criteria which you’re given at the beginning of the year. You discuss your progress with your supervisor, provide written comments on the feedback (which is then submitted to the Tenancy Committee) and use this to address any constructive criticism in your next seat.

For individual pieces of work for other members of chambers, you receive oral feedback. They’ll also submit a written form of that feedback to the Tenancy Committee. If there are any particular concerns with your work, your supervisor will raise them with you early on – you’re not left in the dark and the process isn’t intended to catch you out! You should have a good idea of the level you’re performing at throughout the year, so you can track your progress. Monckton has a very good retention rate of pupils – 80 to 90% – and that’s because we invest time in training pupils and we want them to succeed.

How have you found the transition from pupil to tenant?
It may sound strange, but as a pupil, you are slightly spoilt – you have the luxury of working on one case at a time and your supervisor managing your diary. As a tenant, you manage your caseload yourself and work on multiple things in tandem. That’s probably been the biggest challenge. Of course, one major advantage is that as a tenant, you take greater responsibility for your own work, which is highly rewarding.

My practice comprises both led and unled work. For example, I’m generally in large teams of between 3 and 6 people for competition cases, but I have also had smaller cases where I am sole counsel. Owing to the nature of my practice, I spend a lot of my time doing written work, but I have been able to develop my advocacy by doing hearings on my own in the County Court and, more recently, in the Competition Appeal Tribunal. There is no shortage of high-quality work as a junior tenant and the clerks have been extremely helpful in helping me to develop my practice across areas of law I’m interested in. The support network in chambers – in particular, from other juniors, former supervisors, and your leaders on cases – is also invaluable for making the transition from pupil to tenant.

How would you describe the culture at Monckton?
It’s very friendly and inclusive. When I first arrived at chambers I was struck by how down to earth everyone is. It isn’t hierarchical and members at all levels of seniority are very supportive.

Do you have any tips for those wanting to apply to Monckton?
Try and get a better flavour of the type of work Monckton offers. The website is a great place to start, but we also attend various law fairs and put on an Open Evening every year for those interested in applying to us – try and speak to some of our barristers to get a better insight into the type of work they do and the day to day of their job.

It’s key to show an interest in the range of areas that Monckton offers. You could do that in any number of ways. For example, aside from work experience opportunities and mini pupillages in similar areas, have you attended any relevant seminars that you found particularly interesting? Have you participated in a moot which involved a question on, e.g., EU law? Are there any recent cases which our members have been involved in which have sparked an interest in, say, competition law or public law? Time-permitting, you may wish to consider going along to a hearing to get a better insight into a particular practice area – for example, the Competition Appeal Tribunal livestreams their cases.

And more generally for those looking to get to the bar?
Apply for mini pupillages and try to get experience in areas of law that you’re interested in.. Experience doesn’t have to come in the form of formal employment or work experience; attending a lecture which you found really interesting can be just as valuable. Be creative! It’s equally important to showcase skills which are relevant to a barrister’s practice when applying for pupillage – e.g. advocacy, client-handling, leadership – so think about how any legal or non-legal experience may be relevant.

Applicants should also pay close attention to what’s published on a chambers’ website and tailor their application as far as possible. Consider how your experience and skills would make you a good fit for the chambers you’re applying to. The last thing any chambers wants to see is an application that’s clearly been copied and pasted!

Otherwise, I would say that it’s important to keep calm and persevere. The pupillage process can be a long and stressful one, and inevitably there will be at least some rejection along the way. Be kind to yourself!