The Legal Cheek View
When it comes to restructuring and insolvency, South Square is at the top of the game. Working on both domestic and international cases, the set is the go-to when businesses fall apart. Brexit, Covid and a fluctuating economy have created an increasingly turbulent business market, and South Square’s 52 tenants are seeing their work pile up as a result. It’s no surprise then that aspiring barristers are drawn to this heavyweight commercial set, given the possibility of working on high-profile, high-value cases as well as opportunities to visit such locations as the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Dubai, the Eastern Caribbean, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Whilst restructuring and insolvency are the first areas that come to mind when you think of South Square, there is far more to the set than that. The 52 members, including an impressive 17 KCs, are also highly respected when it comes to commercial chancery, banking and finance, company law, and commercial dispute resolution. The work can be incredibly varied, with one insider telling us that “every piece of work is always different so it’s a constant learning curve”. Another tenant adds that this “wide variety of work” spans all of both commercial and chancery areas. That certainly seems to be the case, with clients ranging from high street banks to aviation companies. Football fans should note that the set has a history of advising Premier League clubs on takeovers, relocations, and restructuring, as well as appearing in disciplinary proceedings on behalf of footballers. It has also advised on motorsports issues, acting for Lewis Hamilton and other F1 drivers.
It is hard, however, to get away from the restructuring and insolvency core of this set — and why would you want to? It is a fascinating area, as one member says: “Insolvency lies at the intersection of many different areas of law. Tenants at South Square have worked on some of the biggest cases in recent years, including the Lehman Brothers Waterfall applications and the Debenhams insolvency. It is immensely interesting.” An insider explains, “because of our specialty in insolvency law, we do all of the important Supreme Court and Court of Appeal cases”. The set prides itself on being unparalleled in what they describe as “our area”, regularly dealing with “legally and factually complex” cases.
Apparently “there is lots of opportunity” to be led by the silks as a baby junior too. Commenting further on the type of work even newbies to the job can expect, one tenant tells us: “I’ve got two cases in the Supreme Court this year. I’ve also done a five-day international arbitration on my own (I’m a junior junior).” Certainly sounds exciting!
In order to get up to speed with this high calibre of work, it helps that the pupillage at South Square is “heavily focused on feedback”. Baby juniors talk about “rotating through supervisors more quickly than at other sets”, exposing them to “a wide variety” of approaches to the job. Pupils are given “excellent and transparent” feedback, with “all supervisors” offering regular feedback and assessments. One insider shares of “knowing where I stood and where I needed to improve at all times”. This “carefully structured and thought out” training doesn’t stop when rookies gain tenancy, however, but continues throughout the early years of tenancy and beyond.
With so much high-value work going on, getting a work/life balance is what one member says is the dream come true: “At South Square it can sometimes be hard to maintain this, as there are always crunch times before hearings and deadlines. However, you are in control and can take on as much work as you can manage. It’s a personal choice.” Whilst “work-life balance at a high flying set is always going to be a challenge”, “chambers do respect your availability as long as you are open about it. It is always a conversation with the clerks and other members of chambers.” The good thing about being in court less often — one insider tells us roughly once a month — means there is more time to work on cases at your own pace. When led, this is more difficult as you will be following your lead’s timeline. One junior tenant does tell us, however, “I go on holiday whenever I want for as long as I want”. Nice! Whilst rookies do have to be “prepared to give up evenings and weekends now and again”, a junior tells us: “I definitely don’t get beasted by my clerks/leaders the way some other baby juniors [at other commercial sets] do.”
Clerks are described as “fantastic” along with the hard-working support staff, including 24-hour third party IT support who are there to assist with anything. The tech is said to be “very impressive” as with all service related things. An insider boasts of their “on demand assistance for whatever you need!” Problems are “quickly resolved”, a tenant calling it “rare compared to my previous experience in a much larger company!”
“Everyone’s door is open!” We’re told. As a set on the smaller side, South Square benefits from a “real sense of camaraderie” and an “in it together” mentality. According to one former pupil, “everyone at South Square has an open-door policy from baby junior all the way through to leading silk, and anyone is happy to talk through any issue or question you have, whether legal or personal”. One member, who shares a corridor with the head of chambers, says they regularly go and chat to him about their cases. Being a “source of great support”, junior tenants share being able to ask questions and seek help from members of “all levels of seniority”.
On the social side, with everyone getting along so well and the barristers being “a fairly relaxed bunch”, chambers’ drinks or spontaneous coffees are a regular feature as well as lunches as a whole set and within smaller groups. There’s also a summer party, “fancy” Christmas do, and spring reception which clients are also invited to, as well as other celebrations in between — “so there is plenty of opportunity to eat and drink nice food!” We also hear that the baby juniors regularly go out together on a Friday night. As one spy puts it, “There is no forced fun, but people are genuinely friendly”.
In terms of location, South Square is housed in a “lovely Georgian style” building in Gray’s Inn, overlooking Gray’s Inn Hall and boasting plush facilities inside. One former pupil praises the reception and meeting rooms as “top notch, City law firm-standard”. The client-facing areas are “well-furnished”. Another rookie, obviously used to higher standards, says “it’s not quite the Ritz” and unfortunately for them, “there’s no chandeliers or gold gilding”. The private areas are a “bit shabby”– but we hear a big refurb is on its way! Nonetheless, members go on to concede that “we all get our own room which are spacious, light and airy” with members permitted to decorate them to their own tastes; “mine is like my own personal little oasis and I love it”. Some areas can be a bit “shabby-chic in places”, but the conference rooms are described as “swanky” and there are newly refurbished shower facilities for those who cycle or run to work. We also hear that the set has “the best stocked pantry of any chambers I’ve ever set foot in!” — that gets bonus points from us!
For those looking to apply for pupillage at South Square, they will need to make their application through Pupillage Gateway. Like most chambers, there are two rounds of interviews. Those invited to the first round, taking place in front of junior barristers, will face questions on their application form as well as debate-style quick fire questioning. For those who make it through to the second round, the interview is more extensive and takes place in front of a panel of more senior tenants including silks. The interview places more focus on a legal problem that you will be given before coming into the interview. Those lucky enough to get pupillage will receive a healthy award of £80,000.
Pupillage at South Square is all about learning. There is a non-practising second six because, as one former pupil explains, “much of the law we do is techy and complicated and you definitely need that year to get to grips with how it all works before being let loose as a tenant”. Fret not, however, while pupils are not on their feet in court at any point, they get loads of practice with drafting work and opinion writing as well as the opportunity to sharpen their verbal skills with some “really useful” in-house advocacy exercises. Pupils change supervisor every six to eight weeks so as to gain from a wide range of expertise. They also “sit with a mentor for the first few months which means you’re not just left on your own and there’s always someone to talk things through with”. All of this means come tenancy, “you’re fully prepared to hit the real world running”.
The set is looking for “high calibre” candidates with strong academic records and “the potential to become an outstanding commercial barrister”. To get a further insight into South Square, the set offers up to ten week-long funded mini-pupillages with an award of an almighty £1,000! Unfunded minis are also available. South Square works closely with organisations such as the Bar Council, 10,000 Black Interns, the Black Talent Charter, Women in Law Pledge, and Bringing [Dis]Ability to the Bar whilst utilising Rare’s Contextual Recruitment System to help to further diversity and inclusion. The set also participates in COMBAR’s mentoring scheme for candidates from under-represented groups at the Commercial Bar and also work with a number of charities and initiatives that are committed to providing access to justice for all. South Square are proud supporters of Advocate, a charity that provides legal assistance for people who cannot get public funding and are unable to pay for a barrister.