Pupillage Application inspiration.

Following the Oxbridge Law 'scandal', I was thinking that desperate pupillage seekers may not just turn to such services because of laziness, but also because they may not have a clue what to put in the answers (losers! boo)! ;D

There's loads of material available everywhere, so I decided to compile some of the resources on my blog.

Internet:

• How to get through OLPAS (Prospects) - pretty self-explanatory.
• Help me through PACH! (Prospects) - Some advice on answering the OLPAS predecessor - PACH, most of which can be applied to the new forms.
• Researching chambers – what pupillage recruiters expect (Targetjobs)
• Pupillage applications FAQs (Targetjobs)
• Career Clinic: What do chambers want to hear from potential pupils? (Legal Week)
• Finding & Applying for Pupillage (York Uni/BPP)

The following articles are a bit 'old', but in my opinion still relevant:

• First Impression (Legal Week) - by Stephen Innes at 4 New Square Chambers
• Competitive Edge (Legal Week) - by Charlie Wright
• How to Shine (Legal Week) - by John Lockey QC, Essex Court Chambers
• Pupillage Selection (Legal Week) - by Laurence Rabinowitz QC, One Essex Court

Targetjobs also contains some information about different areas of practice, in case you need a few ideas to justify wanting to practise something. There's also a detailed list of areas in the Training Contract & Pupillage Handbook.

Books:

• The Path to Pupillage: A Guide for the Aspiring Barrister - by Alexander Robson and Georgina Wolfe

It's an amazing book! I was meant to write a review, but I kept putting it off, and I feel bad :( But honestly - I was very skeptical at first, because I though that there was nothing that I didn't know about pupillages. I was wrong! When I got this book last summer, I really wished that I had it when I was filling-in my OLPAS.

This relatively new book was was written by two pupils, so it's full of relevant, up-to-date stuff. It covers, amongst many other things, the most common pupillage application and interview questions, and what the pupillage committees are looking for. Plus it suggests ways to improve your CV. It's great, and it's only £12.70 from Amazon!

Blogs:

• Want a pupillage? Then read this... - by LegalBeagle
• How to get a pupillage - by Simon Myerson QC; in particular:
  • The Application
  • Why I Want to be a Barrister
  • What Type of Law Should I Do? (Part 1)
  • What Type of Law Should I Do? (Part 2)
  • What Type of Law Should I Do? (Part 3)
  • What Type of Law Should I Do? (Part 4)
  • What Type of Law Should I Do? (Part 5)

WARNING: do not read all at once to avoid information overload.