Bar Council Pupillage Fair

The Bar Council is to host its first ever pupillage fair to help widen the “talent pool” and promote the message that “the Bar is open to all”.

The event will take place on 21 November at Lincoln’s Inn and will run alongside the annual Chancery Bar Association’s careers fair.

Organisers say the fair is open to all chambers that are looking to recruit, irrespective of specialism, and hope it will be a “hub” of information for all students considering a career at the Bar.

Rates for chambers that want to take part range from £800 for the standard exhibition price up to £3,000 for the gold rate. Student attendance is free, but they are required to book online.

In response to the suggestion that the cost may exclude publicly funded sets, a Bar Council spokesperson said: “We have made the cost of standard exhibition space cheaper than it has been in previous years, for this reason,” which “will make it easier for chambers, especially those specialising in publicly funded areas of law, to get involved. We are also making available a number of pro bono spaces.”

Director of Policy at the Bar Council, Philip Roberston, said: “If chambers are serious about opening up pupillages to tap into a larger talent pool, the Bar Council Pupillage Fair is an ideal opportunity for them to do that. The fair also sends a clear signal to students that the Bar is open to all as a career.”

He said it is an “excellent platform” for students to meet chambers and course providers face to face and for chambers to “widen their net in the search for potential talent”.