Serle Court

Commercial chancery work inherently brings this variety, as one junior at the set summarised: “you genuinely get the best of both worlds: one day you may be against a Magic Circle commercial set; the next advising on a complex chancery matter”. Almost uniquely, too, Serle Court has a leading presence in IP — meaning juniors, between insolvencies and trusts disputes, could dip their toes into a practice area usually reserved only for specialist sets.

Whatever the tenants at Serle Court are working on, it’s rarely dull. The high calibre of its members — including head of chambers Elizabeth Jones KC — continues to attract top-tier work. One tenant puts it simply: “This is the kind of work that makes the job worthwhile.” From multi-billion-pound fraud disputes to cases involving government officials, there is hardly ever a quiet day. Over the past year alone, Serle Court has been involved in several headline-grabbing cases.

Constance McDonnell KC appeared in the landmark Hirachand case in the Supreme Court, which has reshaped the law on probate and conditional fee agreements. Michael Walsh KC intervened for the Secretary of State in the first Supreme Court case dealing with the new building safety legislation introduced in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Meanwhile, Richard Wilson KC and Jamie Randall acted in the Court of Appeal case Lorenz v Caruana, concerning claims that half of a residuary estate was held on secret trust for the claimant and his siblings.

Overseas, Rupert Reed KC and Gregor Hogan acted in a landmark Dubai international financial centre Court of Appeal judgment in Nael v Niamh, concerning enforcement of an arbitration award. A whole suite of interesting private international law, charities, IP, civil fraud and insolvency cases, ranging from the county to Supreme Courts, were also featuring Serle Court barristers this year — from the Tuna Bonds litigation to acting for Amazon. Daniel Lightman KC, for example, featured in a novel case deciding just what could be “wound up” for insolvency purposes. Headline stuff indeed!

With so much exciting work on offer, it can be hard to say no to cases, but we are told clerks are very supportive in meeting the wishes of individual members and that everyone’s choices are respected by all. One insider told us that “chambers is incredibly supportive of the choices that each member makes as to the balance they want to achieve between work and home life” whilst another silk with two young children tells us that “this is an absolute priority for me and one which the clerks are 100% supportive of. I don’t get it right all the time, but generally manage to preserve weekends, half terms and some of the school holidays as ‘sacrosanct’ family time. I have learnt to say no!”. Another tenant finds it a bit more turbulent, saying “[the work] goes from too much to too little” but adds “at least it is under my control and I am not at the beck and call of a partner with billing targets”.

There is no doubt that the quality of work at Serle Court “requires 100% effort, skill, expertise, energy, thought and action”, as one junior puts it. Fortunately, the Serle Court bunch are all very supportive of each other. One says the support of their colleagues is in their opinion “the best thing about chambers” whilst another gleans “I have made lifelong friends”. Preserving the “collegiate atmosphere” is apparently “at the heart of [the] management of chambers”. The open-door policy, which we hear is taken seriously, means that if you are stuck on a point of law, or just want to grab a coffee with somebody, there is always someone to rely on. As one junior says: “there is always someone available to give advice on a tricky legal or ethical problem, or just to chat about your day.”

Socially, there’s said to be “a real effort to put on a range of regular social events including chambers lunches, weekly drinks and other ad hoc gatherings” and no-one here skips the venerable tradition of chambers’ tea. The fact the chambers backs on to the Seven Stars pub according to one member “certainly means that there will be someone to have a drink with after a long day”. This is particularly true for juniors, who have a WhatsApp group “where invites go out for lunch and drinks a number of times a week.” While socialising with colleagues is not for everyone, one member highlights that although they tend to choose to not be involved, they are still invited to do so.

Serle Court finds itself in the heart of Lincoln’s Inn, split across two buildings. The main premises is a traditional 17th century double fronted building on New Square with conference rooms overlooking the garden and chapel. The building oozes charm thanks to the original wooden stairs and “wonky floors”, coupled with sleek modern touches such as mineral, sparkling, and boiling water on constant supply via a fancy kitchen tap.

The Chancery Lane annex is also said to be light, airy and air-conditioned with impressive 20ft ceilings! Many barristers seem to prefer this to the traditional premises given, whilst it has “charm and character”, it is “impractical”. Chambers has been modernised (as much as possible in the Inn) for today’s working practices including video hearings with technology being a major area of heavy investment in recent years.

Serle Court offers up to four pupillages per year, with a £85,000 award. Pupils sit with four different supervisors throughout their training who are “knowledgeable and experienced” in their different areas of practice. Pupils shadow their supervisors for the whole 12 months, rather than taking on their own caseload, but advocacy is taught by practical exercises in front of senior members of chambers. One recent graduate of the Serle Court pupillage process tells us: “The focus is on learning rather than assessment, which means you are able to always ask what seem like ‘silly’ or ‘basic’ questions. You get to see work across chambers’ practices and usually sit with people of different levels of call”. Another praises the “super bespoke training programme aimed at juniors with seminars delivered by silks and leading juniors on diverse practice topics such as cross-examination technique or mediation.”

The set looks for those “committed to a career in commercial or chancery practice”, with “outstanding intellectual and analytical ability” with the “the potential to become excellent advocates” and a “capacity to establish and maintain good relationships with solicitors, clients and the judiciary”.

Those wishing to apply should make their application through the Pupillage Gateway. Applicants will be asked to sit a multiple-choice Situational Judgment Test, which is not compulsory, but affords applicants a further opportunity to be awarded an interview, because those scoring in the top 10% on the test are interviewed whether or not they make it through the application sift. Approximately 40 candidates are invited for first-round interviews, which take place in front of a panel of three and last around 35 minutes. Around 12 candidates are then invited to a more extensive second-round interview, which takes the form of a mock client conference. Prior to the interview, candidates will be given a short problem question to prepare and will then deliver advice in conference to members of chambers playing the role of clients and solicitors.

Serle Court is a member of various social mobility programmes, including the Pegasus Access and Support Scheme, the Middle Temple Access scheme, and the Bar Placement Scheme, through all of which mini-pupillages are offered. It is a proud participant in the 10,000 Black Interns Scheme. It also reserves three mini-pupillages a year for candidates from groups that are under-represented at the bar, and guarantees reserved mini-pupils a first-round interview for pupillage.

The pupillage experience

My experience on mini-pupillages and the GDL confirmed my attraction to the commercial side of legal practice. That said, I was very much an open book, coming from an entirely different industry with minimal legal knowledge. For this reason, I hoped to undertake pupillage somewhere which would expose me to a variety of work within that sphere. I applied to commercial chancery sets and others which specialised in commercial work in addition to one, perhaps two, other specialisms.

Another major factor in choosing where to apply was first-hand experience. One of my contract law professors at City had introduced me to Jennifer Haywood, a barrister at Serle Court. Jennifer was incredibly kind, down to earth and encouraging. I then undertook a one-day mini-pupillage in chambers and attended their pupillage evening. Each time, I was struck by how friendly, relaxed and supportive everyone was. I knew Serle Court had an enviable reputation as a top tier set but it was the atmosphere and friendly attitude of the people which proved the biggest draw. I would encourage any prospective applicants to try and get in the door of the chambers they hope to apply for, as it is so important to find somewhere where you feel welcome and can envisage yourself having a happy working life.

As with most commercial sets, pupillage at Serle Court is entirely non-practising. This allowed me to take full advantage of the twelve months of training, exploring several different practice areas in each of the four 3-month seats, from company law and insolvency to probate, professional negligence and fraud. Assessment was largely informal and always transparent. Some of the assignments I was given by my first supervisor were ‘dead’ pieces of work, in other words matters already completed which the supervisor considered appropriate for assessing my standard and introducing me to particular legal issues. As things progressed, I was asked to assist on live matters, producing first drafts of pleadings, discrete elements of advice, or doing research notes, for example. My supervisor would give detailed and very helpful feedback within a few days of receiving each piece of work. Some preferred to do so orally, others would produce red-line documents to go through together, so I could compare my work to their ultimate product. Wherever possible, I was given a further opportunity to try my hand at a similar piece of work so as to implement the feedback. Although this was not something I was asked to do, I kept a detailed note of everything I was doing throughout pupillage, dedicating a few hours to the task each weekend so I could look back on things I may have forgotten from months gone by.

In addition to the ongoing paper-based work for supervisors and others, pupils are given two or three advocacy assessments during the year. The first, midway through my second seat, was an application for summary judgment. My co-pupil and I were both tasked with preparing the same side, meaning we did not have to face off against each other. We had two days to prepare skeleton arguments and then made submissions independently in a mock hearing presided over by the Head of Chambers. Our supervisors sat in attendance, and we were given feedback immediately after the event. The second exercise, towards the end of my third seat, was a mock trial in which members of chambers played various witnesses. It was really enjoyable, with supervisors and others reviewing our performance after each ‘portion’ of the trial, offering tips we could then put into practice as the exercise continued. Right from the start of pupillage, it was made very clear to my co-pupil and me that we were not in competition with each other and that the expectation was we would both reach the desired standard. We were told that any concerns would be made expressly clear to us, so that we could take the feedback on board and have time to improve. This made an inherently stressful year far more manageable and humane.

The Pupillage Secretary was very open to our suggesting areas of practice we would like to experience. I had always been curious about intellectual property law, particularly as it pertains to the arts, but had always assumed it was restricted to those with advanced scientific qualifications in specialist IP sets. Instead, almost immediately upon arrival I was approached by Stephanie Wickenden, who suggested I could assist her on some IP cases alongside the work I would be doing for my supervisors. I had not expected this to be an option when applying, but gratefully took her up on the offer and gained experienced in IP matters alongside my training in other core areas. She and other IP practitioners in chambers were very generous with their time, carving out hours of their day to explain the basics of copyright and trade mark law. During my fourth seat I sat with Constance McDonnell KC, who specialises in private client work. I was also given the opportunity to assist Stephanie and Michael Edenborough KC in preparations for a High Court trial concerning claims for trade mark infringement and passing off. I experienced first-hand how varied the work opportunities can be at Serle Court, not least because chambers boasts leading practitioners in such a wide variety of disciplines within the commercial and chancery spheres.

The transition from pupil to tenant

My final weeks of pupillage were spent helping to prepare for a High Court trial which took place in my first two weeks of tenancy. It was a busy time and steep learning curve, but a fantastic opportunity which in many ways made the transition to tenant quite seamless. That said, finding time to complete the various regulatory requirements was a little trickier than usual.

In many cases pupils will want to take a holiday at the end of pupillage, to wind down and recharge after a demanding year. I instead took a break after the end of the trial, recognising it would be helpful to take a step back before throwing myself into practice. On my return, I had a conversation with the clerks to say I was interested in getting as much advocacy experience as possible, taking on matters in the County Court and elsewhere wherever possible. The life of a pupil is in essence that of a junior to your supervisor, so I was keen to learn how to work unled, how to navigate working with instructing solicitors and build up confidence. Others might instead want to jump head-first into a complex, high-value matter as part of a team of barristers and, in truth, a lot will depend on what opportunities are available. But the fact that the clerking team are enthusiastic about encouraging new tenants to forge their own path is yet another great advantage of working somewhere like Serle Court.

What is your practice like now?

I am coming towards the end of my second year in practice, in which I worked on various matters involving hearings of various types, paper-based work and also my first unled trial. I also undertook the Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice at Oxford University alongside my work. This started with a fulltime 2-week residential programme followed by workshops held at London law firms every few weeks, in between which we were required to complete coursework and prepare for seminars focusing on different topics. It meant ensuring that the professional matters I took on would be manageable around my academic commitments, and again the clerks were incredibly helpful in making things work. I completed my final exams this summer so have greater flexibility in terms of the work I take on moving forward.

What is the culture of chambers?

Serle Court prides itself on its friendly atmosphere and the collegiate, supportive spirit between members, practice managers and staff. Great care is taken to maintain this rather unique working environment. Not only is it something that benefits everyone in chambers, including juniors who receive constant encouragement by those more senior, but it is often noticed and appreciated by clients. I recognised it as soon as I first came to Serle Court as a student, and this ethos is something I have been so grateful for every step of the way. Throughout pupillage my questions were welcomed and answered with patience and clarity. As a tenant, I continue to seek advice where necessary, and am constantly reminded of how approachable every member of chambers is, no matter their level of seniority. People in chambers recognise and respect that individuals have different working patterns, priorities and interests outside of work. This is something to be celebrated and is another reason why Serle Court stands out amongst competitors.

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

I feel very fortunate to have made it here and am aware that luck plays a big part. If pressed, I have three pieces of advice which apply to anyone considering a career at the Bar, whether they have been studying law for many years or (like me) are coming to it as a novice, perhaps after a first career. First, don’t be afraid to ask for help. My experience has been that members of the Bar and judiciary are extremely willing to offer their time wherever possible and actively want to support those starting their careers. No-one expects you to know everything; pretending you do means you don’t ask questions, don’t get answers and don’t improve. Second, be yourself; never assume there is one type of candidate chambers are looking for because the thing most likely to make you stand out is what makes you different. Finally, be kind and respectful to everyone you come across. Not only because this is a good way to behave, but also because you are more likely to be offered opportunities if people actually want to work with you.

Please detail anything else you would like to add.

People often speak about “imposter syndrome”, the feeling that you do not fit in or do not know enough to do the job properly. It is something I have felt and can be difficult to shake off. But the truth is every barrister, however academically accomplished, starts out by knowing very little and has to learn on the job. Everyone knows this and it is nothing to be ashamed of. That is why it is so important to seek the guidance of those more senior, to learn from their experiences and take every opportunity you can.