Life As A Pupil at Atkin Chambers

Olivia Anderson

Olivia graduated from the University of Oxford with a First-Class degree in History. Prior to joining Atkin Chambers, Olivia worked as an Associate Solicitor in the Global Projects, Energy and Infrastructure team at a London-based US law firm.

Pupillage at Atkin is rigorous and thorough. Typically, pupils carry out “dead” work that their supervisor has completed previously but saved for their pupil to also carry out because the task was particularly interesting or relevant. This way, Atkin pupils immediately and consistently gain experience that is directly relevant to practice: the pupil tasks have been expressly chosen to best prepare them for life at the construction bar. As well as written work, supervisors will bring their pupils along to any hearings or client meetings they may have, and pupils will often listen in on conferences, too. Within the first three months of my pupillage I was lucky enough to go to Oman to shadow my supervisor who was acting in an arbitration seated there.

Partly because Atkin is a specialist set, over the course of the pupillage year pupils develop a coherent understanding of the legal issues that are particularly pertinent to construction disputes. Helpfully, each piece of work done assists when approaching the next task.

Supervisors at Atkin take their roles seriously and provide detailed feedback regularly to their pupils. Other members of Chambers are also always willing to answer any questions that a pupil might have, or to invite the pupils to any hearings that they might have on. The pupillage committee also keeps an eye on how the pupils are progressing.

Pupils meet most members of Chambers over the course of the year, whether that’s at Chambers’ tea (every day, but once a week with cake), Chambers’ monthly lunch, or Chambers’ drinks (weekly). These informal social occasions provide a helpful way to develop working relationships with other members besides your supervisor, and to soak up tips and advice on how to tackle certain particularly topical issues. Members are always keen to chat through what the pupils might be working on, and to provide guidance or a fresh perspective on the task. The learning curve is steep but everyone in Chambers wants the pupils to succeed and will go out of their way to help them do so.

William Haslam

William studied Geography at the University of Cambridge. He then spent a year as a Herchel Smith Scholar at Harvard University, where he studied at Harvard Law School before completing his GDL and Bar Course studies.

Applying for pupillage can be a daunting and relentless process. However, my experience of the pupillage application process at Atkin Chambers was that it is fair, clearly structured and authentic. I got the clear sense that the interview panel were genuinely interest to understand me as an applicant, rather than as just another application form. It was clear to me that chambers wanted to give me every opportunity to succeed by creating an environment throughout the application process (and pupillage) that is supportive and stimulating.

The pupillage year at Atkin Chambers is challenging and varied. Throughout the twelve months, I experienced everything from drafting submissions in a large international arbitration case to writing skeleton arguments for a civil fraud strike out application as well as the full range of domestic construction work from technical pleadings to tricky advices. The common thread is a healthy dose of the law of tort, contract and, increasingly, interpreting legislation given the significant developments in construction law in the last few years. The great thing about pupillage at Atkin is the quick realisation that many of those developments are in some way linked to members of chambers, providing excellent opportunities for pupils to be involved in cutting edge areas in the field.

I found that pupillage at Atkin struck a healthy balance between structure and flexibility. The experienced pupil supervisors make sure that you see the full range of work that might be encountered in practice, whilst also having the flexibility to be involved in live cases where pupils can assist with ongoing matters. The work was always challenging, but rarely strayed beyond normal working hours which is testament to the clear expectations during the pupillage process, which is that it is first and foremost a year of learning and developing. Each pupil supervisor provided clear feedback for each item of work along with periodic formal reviews with members of the pupillage committee.

The year culminates in an exam-style assessment period which, although initially intimidating, becomes manageable after a year of careful supervision and detailed feedback. Many members of chambers went through the same process and so are always on hand to share words of advice or simply to chat as a welcome distraction from the latest difficult piece of legal research.

Straight from the start of tenancy the members and staff at Atkin Chambers go out of their way to make you feel welcomed and to involve you in Chambers’ life. The clerks are excellent at managing the transition from pupillage and work hard to get you involved in a variety of cases and working with other members of Chambers. Chambers is always innovating to strengthen the community of members, whether through frequent socials with staff and clerks, Friday night drinks or the ever-popular monthly lunch in chambers.