Two Advocate caseworkers secure pupillage

Advocate are delighted to congratulate two of our Caseworkers, Emma and Andrew, on their recent success securing pupillage. Emma, one of our General Caseworkers, has secured pupillage at One Pump Court and Andrew, our Triage Caseworker, has secured pupillage at Gatehouse Chambers. Below they share more about how their experience at Advocate helped them to secure pupillage, and the advice they would give for mastering pupillage applications and interviews.

Emma

I am so pleased to have secured pupillage this year! It was my third round of applications, and I came out of it with offers from two fantastic sets. I gladly accepted the offer from One Pump Court – a Chambers I have had my heart set on for a very long time - to start in October 2025.

Working as a caseworker for Advocate in the last year has been instrumental in my success with pupillage this time around. I have learnt so much about the practicalities of legal proceedings, frequently liaising with members of the Bar in my areas of interest and consistently working with vulnerable Applicants going through really difficult circumstances. I drew from the skills and knowledge I gained as a Caseworker in every pupillage application and interview. Not only this, but working for Advocate alongside my other pro bono experiences, including volunteering as a legal observer and for a charity fighting poverty, really helped me to work out what areas of law I want to practise in. I found it easy to speak honestly and genuinely about my desire to go to the Bar to uphold the rights of the most marginalised in society, because I had experience to back up my assertions. Big shout-out as well to my colleagues at Advocate who were nothing but supportive during pupillage season through what were a very intense few months. 

My number one tip would be “show, don’t tell”. The key difference with my applications this year was that I used evidence to back up every point I was making, so that the panel were well informed about my knowledge and experience. If you find you don’t have enough experience to draw from, that is your sign to get stuck in with the wealth of volunteering opportunities that are out there. For those who can’t fit in volunteering with a significant time commitment, we are always advertising low time commitment opportunities on our Bar in the Community page, so I would encourage you to take a look. 

Andrew 

I have been very fortunate to secure pupillage at Gatehouse Chambers starting in October 2025. I am incredibly grateful to them for the opportunity and excited to start. It was a very challenging process, but my time both working and volunteering at Advocate has been immensely helpful in this process.

I was fortunate to be a Gateway volunteer at Advocate helping on Commercial and Chancery cases. This experience gave me an excellent exposure to a wide array of legal problems and helped me to identify different legal issues. This was so useful in pupillage interviews, where understanding complicated case summaries was often a key element. Additionally, working at Advocate now as the Triage Caseworker has been immensely rewarding and expanded my legal horizons even further.

My main piece of advice when applying for pupillage, both in the written applications and interviews, is to really think carefully about the questions being asked. Taking a moment to step back and think about all of your experiences and how they can help you answer a question is enormously important and helps you to really demonstrate and understand what is required. Even the most seemingly irrelevant experiences might have really taught you a lot and provide a unique experience which can really help to show who you are to a Chambers.

Interested in applying for pupillage next year? Read a young barrister’s Top Ten Tips.

Find out more about volunteering opportunities at Advocate.