The Legal Cheek View
Meet 2TG at Legal Cheek’s upcoming Virtual Pupillage Fair!
2TG is a truly mixed set, with practice areas spanning civil and commercial work. Founded more than 70 years ago and now home to over 60 barristers, the set has a leading reputation in many areas.
The breadth of work available at 2TG is something that is praised by the tenants. One junior tells us, “we get a good variety of work at the junior end, including some interesting and complex cases. There are also more routine cases — such as road traffic accidents and credit hire — but these are also quite stimulating if you enjoy advocacy because there is a lot of witness handling”. Another adds: “one day I might be researching a niche aviation insurance point, the next day drafting a defence in a claim brought for alleged failure to treat sepsis, and the day after that cross examining a witness at trial”. One junior is also said to be “doing work at the forefront of sports law.” Others claim that there’s “huge freedom to build a practice” at 2 Temple Gardens, “from huge group claims to commercial disputes, it’s different every day and all interesting.”
On the civil side, 2TG are well-regarded in personal injury, clinical negligence, product liability, professional negligence, and travel law — so there is certainly plenty of high-quality work to get stuck into. Whether it be acting for Network Rail on an appeal concerning the encroachment of Japanese Knotweed or defending the NHS on an array of technical matters, something of importance is always happening. As a pupil or baby junior, however, you may have to expect to spend a fair amount of time working on some simpler whiplash claims in county courts!
On the commercial side of the set’s work, we are told there is a “great mix of ultra-high profile international work, combined with smaller commercial disputes run with smaller teams, which allow more advocacy and ‘driving-seat’ opportunities”. 2TG is one of the top sets for commercial dispute resolution, with members appearing in courts and arbitral tribunals of all levels, both in the UK and abroad. There is a great deal of insurance work, with members often working on issues such as jurisdiction and choice of law when it comes to international cases. Again, during your second six, you might be working on something a bit more basic, but this all allows you to develop the advocacy skills that you will rely on when later taking on the world in the Supreme Court.
With so much going on, how do you decide what sort of work to do? In terms of carving out a practice, one junior tenant tells us they “have a great opportunity to push my practice into areas I enjoy”. The range in size of cases that come through the clerks’ room means juniors can handle their own cases in the county courts, but also be led by a silk in the higher courts. One junior tells us they are “regularly working on leading cases in developing areas of law”. There is certainly plenty of cutting-edge work taking place. “From working on large group actions to appeals on technical points of law, it’s why I came to the Bar and I get to be doing it the way I want to”, one junior at the set informs us.
As an example of some of the work taking place, tenants Charles Dougherty KC and Timothy Killen successfully acted for the policyholders in the first Covid-19 business interruption coverage dispute to make it to the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts. Dougherty was also involved on a similar first-in-kind recently with Lucas Fear-Segal, when the pair successfully acted for the owners of an aircraft damaged by a hailstorm in a claim worth a whopping $60m in the Abu Dhabi Global Markets Court of Appeal. Elsewhere, William Clerk acted for the successful former co-founder of an innovative prosthetics start-up in an unfair prejudice petition.
With so much going on at 2TG, it is especially important that there is a supportive culture within the set. Fortunately, we are told that this is the case. One baby junior tells us: “I frequently pop into people’s rooms and/or give them a call when I have a question or just need to talk things through. In almost all cases the person in question has made the time to help and that includes our silks — I’ve never felt uncomfortable asking them questions despite being very junior.” Many tenants cite the open door policy within chambers as a highlight of the set with another junior telling us chambers is “hugely supportive at all levels (clerks, leaders, other juniors). There’s always huge willingness to help each other out, to talk through issues.”
In terms of work/life balance, tenants are generally fairly positive. Workloads are helped by the fact that “you can do what you like here, which is a freedom I don’t think other places have”, explains one member who booked out the entire month of August “without any issue being raised by the clerks”. Another tenant, who explains that they turn away a fair bit of work due to their strict personal rules on work/life balance, said: “The clerks have always been supportive of my approach — I rarely feel pressured to take on work that I don’t want to do.” Female tenants are also very supported by the set. Women make up over a third of its juniors and KCs with an insider telling us that it has never “lost” a woman after maternity leave. That’s backed by chambers’ mothers, one of whom says: “I have three young children and 2TG has been very supportive whilst I was off on maternity leave and when I returned each time.” A pro-flexible working mindset, and reasonable hours (for the bar!), helps in this respect. As expected however, life at the bar will, of course, feature “some late nights and weekends at times”.
With all this great work going on, is there any time for some socialising? We hear there is a chambers tea every Wednesday (we’re told “a home-baked cake (or a thoughtfully chosen one from a bakery) will garner much admiration from colleagues!”) and chambers drinks every Friday, as well as a book club. We also hear there is a chambers-wide party roughly every quarter. “It means you can socialise with work colleagues regularly (but not too regularly!)”, one 2TG rookie tells us. Even if something formal isn’t organised, we hear that members will often pop out for lunch or coffee together during the working day.
Members certainly have an ideal location if they wish to grab a coffee and sit in Inner Temple Gardens, which are right beside them. Located on the riverbank, 2TG has an “absolutely beautiful” Grade 2 listed building. One tenant tells us: “In my room, I can see the sun rise over the Thames and set over the House of Commons!” The slight downside of being in such an old building is that it has “a knack of being cold in winter and hot in summer”. One tenant also warns: “beware the visiting mice!” Another simply comments that the building “could do with a bit of updating on the inside…” — apparently, many of the rooms are in the process of being “smartened up”. Views on technology provision, meanwhile, are somewhat mixed: “the support provided by external contractors can be hit or miss”, one junior tells us.
When it comes to pupillage, 2TG offer an impressive £82,500 pupillage award. It is not just the money that is a key advantage of pupillage at 2TG: the training that pupils receive is also highly praised. One tenant told us that in the first week of their pupillage they received a series of masterclasses on professional skills and areas of law. Throughout the pupillage, they received regular feedback and were always told whether or not they were on track for tenancy. Another former pupil, now tenant, concurred that they felt “immensely supported” during pupillage. One, who has recently gone through the process, told us that there was plenty of feedback “with clear indication of “on track” or “off track”. Pupils’ preferences are also taken into account during pupillage so ‘mini seats’ are available to help shape practices.
2TG offers two to three pupillages a year. After applications through the Pupillage Gateway are marked, the 40 best applicants will be invited to a first-round interview which will include an advocacy exercise. The 12 highest-scoring interviewees will then be invited to complete a written exercise and attend a final round interview, which will include structured questions and a legal problem. 2TG lists its selection criteria as being: high intellectual ability, an ability to think on your feet, motivation, impact, temperament, and a commitment to 2TG. In brief, it is looking for people “who will build on our tradition of excellence”.
2TG particularly welcomes applications from candidates from groups which have been historically underrepresented at the bar. They have a strong commitment to social responsibility, being a partner of the Inner Temple Pegasus Access Scheme, Bridging the Bar, and the Bar Placement Scheme. 2TG also runs the prestigious The Times 2TG Moot which is open to all students in tertiary education, whether law or non-law undergraduates, GDL students, or Bar Course students. The top prize is an impressive £1,500 for the winning pair and the opportunity to undertake a mini pupillage! 2TG states that its competition, in its eighth year, is part of its commitment to social mobility and removing barriers to access to the bar.
