Congratulations to Louis, our Western Circuit caseworker, who has recently secured pupillage

Our Western Circuit caseworker Louis reflects on how his work at Advocate has helped prepare him for his recently secured pupillage at 7BR Chambers.

I will be starting pupillage at 7BR Chambers in 2027, where I will practise in a broad range of areas across crime, civil and family. 7BR stood out for me when I applied for pupillage because of the multi-disciplinary training the Chambers offers, so I am really excited to start next year. In my view, my work as the Western Circuit caseworker at Advocate has greatly helped to achieve this career milestone.

In my role, I oversee most of the applications that the charity receives from the South West, in all areas of law from Portsmouth to Land’s End. I also engage with the pro bono community across the circuit to encourage volunteering. I’ve helped with a very wide range of cases, including emotionally fraught Family and Court of Protection proceedings, complex and long-running Employment disputes, strike out hearings in multi-million-pound commercial cases, and niche summary Criminal offences. The intellectual agility required to summarise the facts and procedural history in one area, and then swiftly move on to something completely different, has been excellent preparation for the range of questions and tests posed in the pupillage application cycle. It will also be an invaluable experience upon which to draw for pupillage itself.

Working at Advocate has been a continual reminder of my answer to the TED-talk question ‘what is your why?’ It has shown me that the Bar is a profession that people not only admire and respect, but also one that can provide meaningful help to those who need it. It has been a real privilege to help prepare cases for our fantastic volunteer barristers and reviewers, and a real learning opportunity to see how the job of being an advocate is done well.

The only real downside of working at Advocate has been the recurrent stifled wish to roll up my sleeves and provide the representation at a hearing myself! Fortunately, I will not have too much longer to wait until that is reality. I am excited to join the many previous caseworkers who continue to give their time to Advocate as volunteer barristers and make my contribution towards achieving the ideal of access to justice for all.