Chambers pupillage awards: the new pay war?

Pay boosts reach 50%

The country’s leading chambers are fighting a new pay war to secure the top future barrister talent.

For the second year in a row chambers have brought in significant hikes in pay in order to attract top graduates with their eyes on the bar.

The highest mover this year has been 3PB, raising its pupillage award by a whopping 50% up from £40,000 to £60,000. This is the largest increase both in percentage and money terms.

Not far behind is Blackstone Chambers bumping pay up from £75,000 to £90,000, with Fountain Court Chambers jumping from £80,000 to £90,000. Other big movers include Gatehouse, Henderson, and Wilberforce Chambers all rising £10,000 from £75k to £85k, and Hailsham Chambers and Radcliffe Chambers increasing by the same amount from £70,000 to £80,000.

There have also been a spree of £5,000 boosts, with 4 Stone Buildings, 7KBW, Brick Court Chambers, Essex Court Chambers, and South Square all rising from £75,000 to the commercial bar’s new standard of £80,000.

Regional powerhouse Kings Chambers has increased pay by £5,000 from £70,000 to £75,000, with No5 Chambers taking its award from £55,000 to £60,000.

Whilst some pupillage awards comprise a fixed sum of money, others are split into an initial award and then guaranteed earnings during a pupil’s second, practicing, six months. It is therefore possible for some recruits to earn in excess of their pupillage award, depending on how much of their own work they undertake.

These figures can eclipse what is offered at top solicitors firms in the City, with the highest pay packet for a first year trainee solicitor sitting at £65,000 — barely making it into the top 50 highest paying sets. Whilst the highest newly qualified solicitor pay can reach up to £180,000, even this can be a long way off the bar’s top payers, offering as much as £360,000 in year one of practice.

Hefty pay packets and bumper raises aren’t reaching every area of the bar, however. Many sets, particularly those with a practice focussed on legal aid work (think criminal, immigration, and some areas of family law), are only able to offer the Bar Standards Board minimum award, which currently sits at £23,078 in London, and £21,060 in the regions for a 12-month pupillage.

Pupillage awards: Which chambers pay what? 💷

Chambers	Pupillage award
Gough Square Chambers	£100,000
Gray’s Inn Tax Chambers	£100,000
Blackstone Chambers	£90,000
Crown Office Chambers	£90,000
Fountain Court Chambers	£90,000
4 New Square Chambers	£85,000
Atkin Chambers	£85,000
Gatehouse Chambers	£85,000
Henderson Chambers	£85,000
Keating Chambers	£85,000
XXIV Old Buildings	£85,000
Wilberforce Chambers	£85,000
2TG	£82,500
3VB	£80,000
4 Pump Court	£80,000
4 Stone Buildings	£80,000
7KBW	£80,000
Brick Court Chambers	£80,000
Erskine Chambers	£80,000
Essex Court Chambers	£80,000
Hailsham Chambers	£80,000
New Square Chambers	£80,000
Outer Temple Chambers	£80,000
Radcliffe Chambers	£80,000
South Square	£80,000
Tanfield Chambers	£80,000
11KBW	£75,000
12 King’s Bench Walk	£75,000
5 Stone Buildings	£75,000
Devereux Chambers	£75,000
Falcon Chambers	£75,000
Francis Taylor Building	£75,000
Kings Chambers	£75,000
Landmark Chambers	£75,000
Monckton Chambers	£75,000
Pump Court Tax Chambers	£75,000
Quadrant Chambers	£75,000
Selborne Chambers	£75,000
Serle Court	£75,000
Ten Old Square	£75,000
Twenty Essex	£75,000
39 Essex Chambers	£70,000
Cornerstone Barristers	£70,000
Serjeants’ Inn Chambers	£70,000
5 Essex Chambers	£65,000
3PB	£60,000
7BR	£60,000
No5 Chambers	£60,000
42BR Barristers	£55,000
Exchange Chambers	£30,000
Express Solicitors	£27,000