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I can’t speak from a personal perspective about my pupillage on the Western Circuit sadly because I qualified as a solicitor in London before moving West and transferring to the Bar.
But, in the 19 years I have been at the Bar and on the Western Circuit, I have met a lot of pupils and had the absolute pleasure of being a pupil supervisor twice and, as Circuit Leader the privilege of ‘calling’ the new members to the Western Circuit at Grand Night.
In order though to get a real-life perspective I asked a few pupils and new out of pupillage barristers on Circuit to tell me – warts and all – what it was like.
Well… it would seem there are no warts.
Words like camaraderie, approachable, fantastic training, supportive just kept appearing in the words from the current and recent pupils. But why?
The Western Circuit is geographically large, but as far as the Bar is concerned, relatively compact and bijou. There are about 20 chambers whose physical offices are based within the Circuit boundaries. Those, therefore, who choose to live and work on Circuit get to know each other well because they routinely appear in the same local court centres.
It is into this world therefore that the pupils first land. Then from across Circuit – from Portsmouth in the east to Plymouth in West and Bristol in the north – the pupils get thrown together at an early stage; for two and a half weekends of pupillage training courses. They are held usually in Winchester and Bristol and Circuit pays for the pupils to go out for dinner to encourage friendships and a support network. The trainers are all senior practitioners or judges on Circuit, and in among the very busy/tough training sessions there is downtime to chat. Connections are made early and because pupils on Circuit will continue to meet the people who trained them in the local courts, those connections remain.
All those I have asked talk about the fact that senior barristers, regardless of which chambers they are in, are really happy to chat/advise/share experiences. They all talk about how amazing it is to get to know the local judges and how happy they too are to chat and encourage them. The pupils on Circuit just get the sense that everyone is rooting for them to succeed.
Perhaps one of the big joys of living and working on Circuit (and I would say this, but most especially on the Western Circuit) is the ability for pupils to know and feel that there is a world outside court and work. As one of my ‘phone a friend’ ex-pupils said:
‘Pupillage is tough. However, going through it on the Western Circuit meant I was within arms reach of the best possible ways to relax and unwind. Having nature on the doorstep was fantastic for my mental health during pupillage.’
That is, of course, because we have sea, sand, moor, amazing countryside and even a court on an island, on our Circuit.
One of my favourite experiences as a pupil supervisor was taking my new pupil, a Brummy through and through, from chambers in Plymouth down to court in Truro. I told her we were going the long way there. That involved going on the ferry over the River Tamar that divides Devon from Cornwall. We both loved it. To have time to chat on the drive and to have time to enjoy the journeying was really special. That girl from Brummy is still in Devon, and still loving what the Western Circuit has to offer and I couldn’t be prouder.
I can’t speak from a personal perspective about my pupillage on the Western Circuit sadly because I qualified as a solicitor in London before moving West and transferring to the Bar.
But, in the 19 years I have been at the Bar and on the Western Circuit, I have met a lot of pupils and had the absolute pleasure of being a pupil supervisor twice and, as Circuit Leader the privilege of ‘calling’ the new members to the Western Circuit at Grand Night.
In order though to get a real-life perspective I asked a few pupils and new out of pupillage barristers on Circuit to tell me – warts and all – what it was like.
Well… it would seem there are no warts.
Words like camaraderie, approachable, fantastic training, supportive just kept appearing in the words from the current and recent pupils. But why?
The Western Circuit is geographically large, but as far as the Bar is concerned, relatively compact and bijou. There are about 20 chambers whose physical offices are based within the Circuit boundaries. Those, therefore, who choose to live and work on Circuit get to know each other well because they routinely appear in the same local court centres.
It is into this world therefore that the pupils first land. Then from across Circuit – from Portsmouth in the east to Plymouth in West and Bristol in the north – the pupils get thrown together at an early stage; for two and a half weekends of pupillage training courses. They are held usually in Winchester and Bristol and Circuit pays for the pupils to go out for dinner to encourage friendships and a support network. The trainers are all senior practitioners or judges on Circuit, and in among the very busy/tough training sessions there is downtime to chat. Connections are made early and because pupils on Circuit will continue to meet the people who trained them in the local courts, those connections remain.
All those I have asked talk about the fact that senior barristers, regardless of which chambers they are in, are really happy to chat/advise/share experiences. They all talk about how amazing it is to get to know the local judges and how happy they too are to chat and encourage them. The pupils on Circuit just get the sense that everyone is rooting for them to succeed.
Perhaps one of the big joys of living and working on Circuit (and I would say this, but most especially on the Western Circuit) is the ability for pupils to know and feel that there is a world outside court and work. As one of my ‘phone a friend’ ex-pupils said:
‘Pupillage is tough. However, going through it on the Western Circuit meant I was within arms reach of the best possible ways to relax and unwind. Having nature on the doorstep was fantastic for my mental health during pupillage.’
That is, of course, because we have sea, sand, moor, amazing countryside and even a court on an island, on our Circuit.
One of my favourite experiences as a pupil supervisor was taking my new pupil, a Brummy through and through, from chambers in Plymouth down to court in Truro. I told her we were going the long way there. That involved going on the ferry over the River Tamar that divides Devon from Cornwall. We both loved it. To have time to chat on the drive and to have time to enjoy the journeying was really special. That girl from Brummy is still in Devon, and still loving what the Western Circuit has to offer and I couldn’t be prouder.
The Chair of the Bar reports back
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, explains how global events can influence the performance of pensions and ISAs, and why taking a long-term approach to investing is often the most effective strategy
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By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Developing a tech start-up demands a different definition of excellence to the Bar, says Saara Idelbi. The co-creator of Advocatr on entrepreneurship, AI advocacy training, and matching the thrill of a killer cross-examination
At the start of her term, Chair of the Bar 2026 Kirsty Brimelow KC set out a series of priorities for the year ahead. One of those priorities was children in the justice system
As the world becomes more digital, Barbara Vinagre Mota examines international research into the mental health consequences of judges’ exposure to graphic and immersive evidence, highlighting the importance of support systems
Reviewed by Daniel Barnett
James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain until 27 September Rothko in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi until 23 August Reviewed by Stephen Cragg KC
