Pupillage

Life in Chambers

Our first podcast focusses on what life at Keating is like during all stages of your career at the Bar, from pupillage through to silk. Lucy Garrett KC (Head of the Pupillage Committee) chats to Simon Hargreaves KC, Charlie Thompson, Elizabeth Donnelly and Marie Sparkes about what attracted them to Keating; from the type of work we do, to the social side of Chambers. They share their experiences of cases they have been involved with, the support of their colleagues and how Chambers has adapted in the time of COVID-19. This podcast will be of particular interest to students looking to develop a career as a commercial barrister.

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Tips and Tricks for Pupillage Applications and Interviews

This podcast provides pupillage candidates with tips on how to approach their application forms and any subsequent interviews, with perspectives from recent pupils and members of our Pupillage Committee. Lucy Garrett KC (Head of the Pupillage Committee) is joined by junior tenants, Charlie Thompson and Ben Graff, and two of our current pupils, Wen-Jin Teh and Lena-Marie von Eynern. Whilst providing their top tips, they each share their personal experiences of applying for pupillage, discuss pupillage and mini-pupillage during a pandemic, and explain what they enjoy most about our areas of work. The podcast will be of particular interest to those students looking to apply for pupillage during the current application window.

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Routes to the Bar

In this podcast, Lucy Garrett KC speaks to Paul Buckingham, Tom Lazur and Ben Sareen about their different career routes to the Bar. With varied backgrounds in strategy consultancy, chemical engineering and advertising, they discuss why they moved to the Bar, how they approached the application and interview processes, and why it was the right decision for them. The panel focus on the accessibility of construction law to those with non-technical backgrounds and the transferrable skills they brought from their previous careers. The podcast will be of interest to all pupillage candidates and particularly those whose first degree was not in law and mature students looking to change their career.

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Demystifying the Bar

In this podcast, Keating barristers Lucy Garrett KC, James Thompson, Charlie Thompson, Jennie Wild and clerk Jade Clark discuss and myth-bust some of the common misconceptions about life at the Commercial Bar. With varied backgrounds, routes to the bar and experiences to date, they discuss the perception that the Bar can be an isolated place to practice law, finances, clerking and professional support in chambers, diversity, and family life, as well as some of the more specific aspects of construction law and building a practice at Keating Chambers. We hope this podcast will give prospective pupils a unique and honest insight into the world of commercial barristers, and lift the veil on some of the areas not often addressed elsewhere.