Ten Old Square

Some of the most high-profile and interesting cases in the sphere of private client, Court of Protection (property and affairs), and partnership work feature members from Ten Old Square. Richard Dew and James Poole battled it out in Irwin Mitchell Trust Corporation v KS, which determined the Court of Protection’s jurisdiction over a 14 year old who lacked capacity, lived outside England, but had assets within the country. Georgia Bedworth appeared in W v P, seeking authorisation to create a statutory will and make lifetime dispositions for a former public figure with severe dementia and lacking mental capacity. At the junior end, James Kirby’s trips to the Supreme Court number not one but two limited liability partnership taxation appeals: one looks at the taxation of corporate members, while the other examines the taxation of individual members — both will give essential clarification, which could lead to a shake-up of the structures of thousands of businesses across the UK, including law firms!

On the trusts and probate side, the work is no less top-drawer. Adam Stewart Wallace fought off arguments in the High Court based on undue influence and fraud calumny to get the will of his client’s mother proved in solemn form in Dunstan v Ball. James Poole, also in the High Court, acted for a successful claimant in a dispute over the burial wishes of his late father in Patel v Patel. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Atkinson represented successful claimants who sought access to their late mother’s medical records from her GP Practice under the Access to Health Records Act 1990.

What many areas of chancery work have in common is that they “combine real human interest with legal and/or factual complexity” which is said to be a “great combination”. “I find it hard to imagine a more stimulating job if you are interested in other people and in the law,” said one insider. The complexity of the work taken on by tenants at Ten Old Square is particularly high-level given the reputation of the set. As one explains: “Ten Old Square is known for its expertise and so lots of the most difficult — and so most interesting — work comes here.” Cases are said to be “mind-stretching” and “often difficult”, but this only increases their appeal to the brainy tenants at this set. Whether it’s private client or commercial parties, contentious or non-contentious, members here have worked on some of the biggest cases in chancery law. Previous visits to the Supreme Court include Philip Jenkins in a landmark appeal concerning the proper approach a court should take when granting proprietary estoppel, and Simon Taube KC in a dispute concerning whether title to land gifted to the council for use as a school site reverted to the donor’s estate after the school ceased to operate from that gifted land. These precedent-setting cases doubtless created a buzz in chambers. Of course, there are also a lot of cases going on behind closed doors in arbitration or being dealt with by the Court of Protection.

Given the complexity of many of the cases taken on, it would be easy for juniors to find themselves stuck. Fortunately, one tells us: “There is not a single person in chambers (from Head of Chambers downwards) who I would not feel comfortable seeking help on cases from.” Indeed, one tenant tells us that the supportive culture within the set is “one of the stand-out features of working at Ten Old Square”. With so much going on in chambers, it is vital that there is a good supportive network. Fortunately, Ten Old Square provides this. We are told that “there is, genuinely, always an open door, phone line or WhatsApp group ready to support, whether it’s with work, practice management or wellbeing”, meaning the set is “a wonderful place to work”.

Training is said to be a “mixture of on the job training, learning from peers and mentors, as well as formal intense training” in a “challenging but forgiving environment”. “Pupillage here is very learning-oriented”, we’re told, “we only have one pupil so they are not in competition with anyone else: we just want to make sure they have maximum support to be the best they can be.” That does sound good. One source summarised their experience as so: “All of my pupil supervisors were extremely supportive and endlessly kind. I cannot thank them enough for investing so much time and energy into assisting me in developing as a barrister. Even following pupillage, colleagues remain accessible and proactively support the learning and training of our junior barristers.”

When it comes to work-life balance, it’s inevitable that it is always a struggle at the bar. As one tenant puts it: “Any barrister who tells you they have always achieved a perfectly balanced work/life is probably not telling the truth.” However, we hear that at Ten Old Square the clerks are very supportive in helping tenants to achieve the best balance they can: “I was under a lot of work pressure earlier this year”, a source said, yet “the clerks were very understanding and helpful in managing solicitors’ expectations. We generally work pretty hard, but that is a choice not the result of pressure from Chambers.” One junior tells us: “The clerks are very good at keeping you busy but not overloading you with work. I have never had any grumbles about taking time off or holidays.” We also hear that there is “no stigma” in turning down work if you don’t feel that you have capacity, as Ten Old Square barristers are “free to regulate their workload and to work flexibly in a way that accommodates their lifestyle and family life”. Inevitably, “from time to time everyone will have more on than they can easily deal with” but we’re told “there’s no clocking in here” and chambers offer “a good deal of freedom” in allowing members to work from home.

When tenants at Ten Old Square do wish to unwind, we hear it is very common for members to grab coffee or lunch together. “We are a small set with no internal politics”, one tenant says, “it is a very friendly atmosphere and we are constantly in and out of each other’s rooms to ask questions or just check in on each other.” There is also a regular chambers tea at 4pm on Thursdays, which is always popular. One junior tells us that there is “great mixing between the senior and junior end of chambers”. Whilst some tenants tell us they have made “life-long friends” within chambers, others note that “it is important to keep up social life with family and friends beyond the bar” — we suppose it depends on how much you want to mix business and pleasure! “We are all busy so it’s not as if we are having Chambers tea or going to the pub every day of the week” — which you might expect! — “but we regularly meet for lunch in Hall or in each other’s rooms. There is an annual Chambers party for tenants, pupils, staff and other halves, and we have Chambers drinks now and again to welcome new pupils and tenants”. There’s said to be “Christmas and summer parties” and you’ll always find wins, newcomers and birthdays celebrated here.

Situated in Lincoln’s Inn, Ten Old Square is “a beautiful Victorian building which is very impressive to visit”. One tenant describes it as “grand and Dickensian. Clients feel like they are travelling back in time (in a good way)”. Like many older buildings in the Inns, the outside of the building is somewhat grander than the inside and “could use some TLC”. One junior tells us that the “inside is a bit shabby here and there”, whilst another comments that it “could do with modernisation inside”. Still, working in “an unmodernised 19th century period design” does confer certain advantages — “it is quiet, away from the traffic, cool in the summer and surrounded by beautiful lawns and well maintained gardens.” If working with a view of Lincoln’s Inn sounds dreamy, Ten Old Square delivers. In a sentence, “The building is architecturally significant. The interior is very comfortable, if a bit faded.”

When it comes to IT, tenants “have access to all the digital work resources” and have recently enjoyed an upgraded phone system. One junior told us, “Our senior clerk prides himself on being at the cutting edge of chambers technology. It all seems to work pretty seamlessly and I have never had any issues”, which is pretty representative feedback.

Those wishing to apply for pupillage at Ten Old Square should apply through the Pupillage Gateway. Those scoring highest on the application will be invited to a first round interview in front of a panel of up to three members of chambers. The 20-minute interview will focus on questions based on the application as well as a short legal problem presented to the candidates 15 minutes before the interview. Those scoring highest in the first round interview will be invited to a more extensive second round interview. Prior to this, they will be sent a piece of written work to complete. At the final round interview, there will be a debate question as well as general questions on the application.
Ten Old Square generally only recruits one pupil per year, with this pupil being offered an award of £75,000. Their pupillage will consist of four periods of three months, allowing the pupil to sit with four different members and see different practice areas. During the second six, pupils will begin to undertake their own work, though this may be on a pro-bono basis. Ten Old Square state that the focus of their pupillage is on training. Training also continues into the early years of practice with a “huge amount of continuing education”. This is designed in collaboration with real candidates too – taking part in a reverse mentoring scheme last year, where diverse students from BPP mentored barristers and staff about EDI, leading to amendments to the pupillage process. It’s clear the set is plugged in to juniors’ needs.

Ten Old Square state that they are seeking to recruit pupils who have the requisite academic ability, have knowledge and understanding of the law, demonstrate analysis and reasoning, have oral and written communication skills, can relate to lay and professional clients, have a genuine interest in chambers’ fields of practice, and have the resilience, perseverance and drive to succeed at the Bar. Ten Old Square looks beyond the bar too, and runs a programme with inner city London schools to teach their students some of the skills needed to be a barrister. Candidates from all backgrounds are welcomed and the selection process is undertaken by individuals who have undergone equality and diversity training. Ten Old Square participates in programmes such as Bridging the Bar and Inner Temple’s Pegasus Access and Support Scheme, and also offers three access mini-pupillages per year to candidates from under-represented groups — giving candidates an automatic first round pupillage interview.

I applied to Ten Old Square because of its pre-eminence as a traditional chancery set. Ten Old Square’s interview process is thorough, but not daunting. In addition to the usual paper sift, first-round interview and second-round interview, I had to complete a written opinion on a problem question. I appreciated that the process was considerate of my time as an applicant, as the written opinion was only assigned once I got through to the second round. I was also grateful that shortlisted candidates had the chance to get a feel for chambers through a non-assessed open day.

The pupillage experience

Pupillage was a challenging and exciting year. Ten Old Square is an incredibly supportive environment and I felt as if I was a part of chambers from the start. I honestly do not recall ever feeling overwhelmed by the process, which is a credit to our pupillage committee, our pupil supervisors and the culture of chambers as a whole.

Pupillage at Ten Old Square is divided into four ‘seats’, each lasting three months and each with a different supervisor.

Ten Old Square’s pupils are spoilt; our pupil supervisors are top-ranked traditional chancery and partnership practitioners. It follows that the work you see as a pupil is of the highest quality. I saw a wide range of cases across chambers’ specialisms (contentious trusts and probate, non-contentious trusts and tax advice, Court of Protection and partnerships and LLPs). A notable highlight was the much-talked-about Court of Protection case of PW v IMTC. Other members of chambers will also offer to take the pupil to court with them if they have a particularly interesting or unusual case. This allowed me to go on a trip to the Court of Appeal in my first month of pupillage and later see committal proceedings and a heart-breaking application for relief from forfeiture following death by assisted suicide.

The focus throughout the twelve months of pupillage is on learning. There are no standalone assessments. There are a few advocacy exercises, but their purpose is to give pupils more advocacy experience in a low-stress environment. You are given opportunities to take on some of your own work during your second six, but the clerks are careful to select cases that are appropriate. Overall, the second six is much like the first in that the emphasis is still on working with your supervisors. I appreciated this approach. Pupillage is short enough as it is, so I was keen to maximise the time spent working on the more complex matters on which my supervisors were instructed.

I spent the majority of my pupillage year working on ‘live’ matters (cases that my supervisors were dealing with at the time) rather than ‘dead’ papers (old cases). This gave me the best insight into the realities of practice and taught me important lessons about client management and juggling a full caseload. I only worked on ‘dead’ papers once near the end of pupillage, which my supervisor suggested because that case brought up a variety of technical points and so was a useful learning exercise.

Chambers takes on one pupil each year and the hope is that they will become a tenant. The pupil does not have to make a formal application for tenancy. Chambers decides whether to make an offer of tenancy, usually in June or July, based on a cumulative assessment of the pupil’s work over the preceding nine months.

The transition from pupil to tenant

My transition was different from most in that I spent the first seven months of tenancy as a consultant to the private client department of a top City firm. This is not the norm, but when the opportunity arose, I was very happy to take it. I was excited by the prospect of getting involved in more complex and high value matters at an earlier stage in my career. Having had the benefit of quite a lot of low-stakes advocacy before pupillage, I was less concerned about missing out on the court hearings for the first few months of tenancy. Others in my position might have felt differently and chambers certainly would have supported that.

The start of tenancy can be stressful, but thanks to chambers’ mentoring scheme (in which every new tenant is paired with a more senior member of chambers) and the open-door policy of all members, the transition has been a lot smoother than I had imagined. I also found my time as a consultant to be a nice ‘bridge’ between pupillage and the start of tenancy.

My time away meant that I only started independent practice proper a few months ago. I have received endless help and encouragement from chambers in this transition. Other members of chambers have always been happy to discuss knotty legal problems or give practical litigation advice. The clerks have also been brilliant. It is evident that they care about how the juniors in chambers are doing and whether there is any way that they can help (e.g. putting you forward for new cases in an area of personal interest or, conversely, not putting you forward if you are feeling under pressure!).

What is your practice like now?

As is typical for juniors, I have a fairly broad practice (that is to say, broad in the context of chambers as a specialist chancery set). My practice thus far has spread across contentious and non-contentious private client, tax, property, partnership and commercial disputes.

All my work to date has been ‘unled’, meaning that I work on all of my cases on my own rather than as part of a team of barristers. The big plus of unled work is that I get to make the final decisions about how the case will be run. Other juniors in chambers have had some led work in their first year of tenancy, but unled work still represented the majority of their caseload.

My schedule varies week-to-week. Some weeks I’ll be in court, others I’ll exclusively have written work to complete. Right now, I am firmly in the latter camp. Most of my time recently has been occupied with written opinions on the administration of estates and tax. When I am in court, it is usually for interlocutory hearings or final hearings in smaller-scale possession and insolvency matters.

The work-life balance is good overall. My working hours vary; some weeks are busier than others. There is no guaranteed 9am – 6pm schedule at the Bar, but chancery barristers generally work more respectable hours than their counterparts in other practice areas.

What is the culture of chambers?

The culture of chambers is truly special. The atmosphere is warm and relaxed. Barristers in chambers are of course all self-employed, but the culture is such that there is a strong feeling of being part of a team. Even during the pupillage interview process it was clear to me that the people in chambers (barristers, clerks and support staff) all had a real rapport with each other. It is a privilege to work in this kind of environment.

Top tips for those wanting to become a barrister/secure a pupillage at your chambers

The key to a strong application for pupillage is (i) having enough evidence to demonstrate your commitment and suitability for a career at the Bar and (ii) presenting that evidence well.

There are plenty of ways to build up supporting evidence for your application. Mooting, mini-pupillages, marshalling and pro bono are all great, but these are not your only options. Doing something as simple as watching cases in court can be a good way to evidence your interest. Make sure that you refer to all relevant experience in your application, not just legal work experience. Highlight those transferrable skills!

My tip for presenting your evidence well is to treat the application like a piece of written advocacy. Your application should be clear and concise. Try to show some personality in your application too. Make sure that your answers to common questions like ‘why do you want to become a barrister’ and ‘why this chambers/area of practice’ are genuinely your answers. If you try to write what you think chambers will want to hear, you will end up with something formulaic and lifeless.