From pupil to professional: is pupillage fit for purpose?

In this discussion session at Learning in Law Annual Conference 2009 a panel made up of Derek Wood QC, John Carrier (Chair of the BSB’s Education & Training Committee), Andrea Clerk (BSB Pupillage Officer) and Valerie Shrimplin (Head of Education Standards at the BSB) introduced the Bar Standards Board’s review of the pupillage stage of training for the Bar.

Following the 2008 Review of the Bar Vocational Course (known as the Wood Report) the Bar Standards Board (the BSB) has launched a review of the pupillage stage of training, aimed at ensuring that pupils acquire the skills, knowledge and competence needed to practise at the Bar of England and Wales.

The Pupillage Working Group, also chaired by Derek Wood, is considering whether current methods of delivering the one year pupillage are the most appropriate. Taking into account the work already done on this subject, it will consider and make recommendations on the following key areas:

• the standards required for training by chambers and pupillage training organisations (including the employed Bar)
• the standards to be attained by pupils and how these should be assessed
• recruitment processes and whether current selection procedures are fair and effective in selecting the best candidates for the Bar
• the funding of pupillage and the need for exemptions or waivers to the funding and advertising rules
• whether pupillage should be made more widely available on a flexible or part time basis to ensure opportunity for all
• the selection, training and guidance of pupillage supervisors
• the regulation and monitoring of arrangements for pupillage by the BSB

The working group is carrying out extensive consultation with the Inns, Circuits, Bar Council Committees, Specialist Bar Associations, supervisors, pupils and other bodies. This session provided an opportunity for participants to indicate their views and concerns about pupillage and the way it relates to other phases of legal education delivered by higher education institutions.

The panel provided an update on the implementation of the recommendations of the Bar Vocational Course review, in particular the introduction and accreditation of the new Bar Professional Training Course and the implementation of an entry to the Bar aptitude test, followed by an overview of the key areas being considered in the pupillage review.

Discussion and debate focused on the implications of the review for law teachers, with the emphasis on the needs of the profession and the role played by legal academics in training students for future legal careers.

Facts and figures

The pupillage review will be evidence based, with any recommendations derived from the information examined by the working group. A body of statistical information has already been identified, however some data is difficult to obtain because information, for example on the ethnicity and socio-economic background of pupils, was simply not collected in the past. Extensive analysis will be required to assess such matters as the relation between performance on the Bar Vocational Course and the likelihood of obtaining pupillage, the likelihood of obtaining pupillage with a 2:2 or whether equality and diversity issues affect the ability to gain pupillage.

Some basic information is summarised below, with further statistics available from the Bar Standards Board’s statistics section.

Numbers of pupillages and Bar Vocational Course students

Over the past three years the number of pupillages offered has risen very slightly, but still remains significantly lower than previous years (with peak years in 1990 and 1995):

It is not always easy to obtain clear figures at a particular point in time because of the system of registering separately for ‘first six’ and ‘second six’ pupillages:

325 chambers and 30 employed Bar organisations together provide these pupillages. All chambers and other pupillage training organisations (PTOs) have to meet certain standards before a placement may be approved.

The ratio of applicants to places should be considered in relation to the numbers graduating from the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) each year:

After an increase in 2007 (which might have been caused by concern that deferral of call would be implemented) BVC numbers are now falling. This could be attributed to the financial climate, specifically at the beginning of term in autumn 2008.

A mapping exercise of BVC graduates against pupillages gives the following pattern:

It would however be misleading to think that the success rate is therefore approximately 1 in 4. Although some BVC graduates do return overseas and have no intention of seeking pupillage or indeed remaining in this country, they are permitted to continue to seek pupillage for up to five years after completing the course. This means that the ratio of applicants to places is far higher, and indeed in some of the better known chambers can be as much as 400:1 (although these are of course multiple applications – many apply to several chambers).

The situation is complicated by the fact that not all chambers and PTOs make use of the Bar Council’s Online Pupillage Application System (OLPAS), making it difficult to obtain comprehensive statistics.

Recruitment and selection

With regard to the question of how many of those who complete the BVC actually plan to proceed to undertake pupillage, in 2007 there were 3,768 unique candidate applications for 126 pupillages offered through OLPAS (294 counting each six month period separately).

Some analysis has been carried out into the educational background, academic and other attainments, socio-economic background, gender and ethnicity of successful applicants, relating to the need for fairness in the manner in which pupils are selected in terms of equality of opportunity, and the need to ensure there is no discrimination (conscious or unconscious, direct or indirect). Chambers must comply with the BSB’s Code of conduct policies regarding the recruitment of pupils, however it is often difficult to establish whether or exactly how fairness has been applied during the recruitment process.

Further analysis is taking place concerning the type of candidates who achieve success. The majority hold first class or 2:1 honours degrees and do well at the BVC. Some candidates with a 2:2 do obtain pupillage, but the number is falling:

Analysis by gender, ethnicity and special needs/disability is also significant – see the tables below for 2006-07, the last year for which full information is available:

Funding

BSB regulations state that pupils must receive a minimum of £10,000 per annum (£833.33 per month), to ensure that pupillages are accessible to those without the means to fund themselves, and several chambers pay their pupils significantly more. Funding arrangements for the first and second six also depend on individual chambers. Other financial support is available in the form of fees or additional work, however no scholarships are available. Pupils are entitled to keep fees earned during their second six, however chambers are entitled to charge clerks’ fees on amounts in excess of the prescribed minimum.

The findings of the 2008 review of the compulsory funding of pupillage is also being taken into account, due to the notion that this may have had an effect on the number of pupillages available.

Another area being considered is whether the present system of pupil selection and funding deters some potential applicants from training as barristers. This is very difficult to determine, and accurate statistical information is unlikely to be obtainable. Anecdotal evidence from university lecturers and careers officers may well be informative in this area.

Training and supervision

Training during pupillage is based on an apprenticeship model, undertaken in chambers or at work. Compulsory training focused on advocacy and practice management courses is run by the Inns and Circuits, while individual chambers and Specialist Bar Associations run sessions on other topics. Clearly this training should be designed to fit in with education and training in the earlier academic and vocational stages.

Pupil supervisors are accredited by the Inns once certain criteria have been met, and there are currently 2,460 supervisors eligible to have a pupil.

Last Modified: 9 July 2010