Recruitment

Tenancy

Walnut House is always interested in hearing from high calibre practitioners with established practices in any of our core areas. All applications for tenancy are considered on their individual merits and will always be dealt with in the strictest confidence. In the first instance enquiries should be directed to our Head of Chambers, Lee Bremridge, lee.bremridge@walnuthouse.co.uk, or our Practice Director Bernard Hayward who will be happy to discuss your application on an informal basis and advise further on the application process.

Pupillage

Pupillage vacancies will be advertised on the Pupillage Gateway. We are currently seeking to recruit 2 pupils, across all three practice areas in Chambers, to commence in October 2025.

Our pupillage interview dates will be confirmed in due course.

Please note we will reimburse reasonable travel expenses for applicants invited to second round interview.

If you have any questions please email Helen Bray (helen.bray@walnuthouse.co.uk).

Chambers has been based in the thriving West Country city of Exeter since 1971 and has been known as Walnut House since 1992. Members of chambers practice in Crime, Family and Civil and pupils will have the option of spending time in all three practice areas, with a view to specializing in one area in due course. If applicants have a particular interest in one or more of our practice areas we will endeavour to accommodate this during their pupillage.

Funding

We offer a pupillage award of £25,000 made up of a £12,500 grant for the first six and £12,500 guaranteed earnings for the second six, payable in monthly instalments. Pupils are not expected to pay any chambers contributions on their second six earnings.

Chambers will also pay for all compulsory training courses. We will also pay all travel expenses during the first six months.

We are delighted to say that the usual experience of pupils has been that they earn in excess of the guaranteed minimum earnings in the practicing period of pupillage.

How to Apply

Applications for pupillage should be made by completing the application form on the Pupillage Gateway. The questions that you are asked to answer are:

Tell us about a time when you have persuaded someoneto your point of view. (Max 250 words)
2. What piece of legislation would you change and why? (Max 250 words)
3. What is the greatest challenge you have faced so far? (Max 250 words)
4. Why would you like to come to Walnut House for your pupillage? (Max 250 words)
5. Who has been the biggest influence on your career choices so far? (Max 250 words)

There will be two rounds of interviews with at least one of those involving an advocacy exercise, such as a plea in mitigation, which will be given to candidates on the day.

Chambers will then review the performance of all candidates at interview and, if appropriate, make an offer of pupillage.

Selection process

Our selection process aims to identify pupils who have the potential to be members of chambers in due course by reference to the following criteria:

Academic Achievements. A good record of achievement in formally assessed qualifications with a weight towards legal academic achievements at tertiary level and above. We expect candidates to have achieved or be predicted to achieve a Very Competent on the Bar course, although we will take into account exceptional circumstances. Offers of pupillage made before completion of the BPTC will be conditional upon achieving an overall final grade of Very Competent, although again we will take into account exceptional circumstances.
Influencing/Advocacy Skills. We will take into account all evidence which demonstrates the candidates’ capacity to persuade including, but not limited to, their experience of mooting, any legal work experience, public speaking and other any evidence demonstrating ability in this area.
Effective written communication skills. This should be evidenced by a well-structured application which demonstrates evidence of analytical thinking.
Motivation and determination. In assessing this criterion we will look at the candidates’ extra-curricular activities, work experience, the reasons they have for seeking to become a barrister, and why they have a particular interest in pupillage at Walnut House.

Pupillage structure

The successful applicants will spend six months shadowing members of the crime, family and civil teams at different levels of seniority. The second six will involve the successful applicant undertaking their own court work in courts throughout the Western Circuit. As we are a small set we are able to tailor our pupillages to the successful applicants.

The successful applicants will each have a pupil supervisor who has overall responsibility for ensuring that their training needs are met and each pupil will be assigned a mentor who will take responsibility for their welfare during pupillage. Regular meetings will be arranged so that pupils will have an opportunity to discuss their progress and raise any concerns that they may have.

At the outset pupils will be provided with a training plan which will set out what is expected of them during pupillage and how the pupils will be assessed. This plan will also set out the support that will be offered and we will tailor the training to each pupil’s level of experience and skillset.

During the course of the year pupils will be supported to carry out advocacy exercises and will submit written work on which feedback will be given. Our aim is to support each and every pupil to reach their full potential.

Chambers does not require its pupils to make a separate application for tenancy. Decisions on tenancy will be made towards the end of pupillage based on assessed advocacy exercises and the written work undertaken.

Equality and Diversity Monitoring

Walnut House is committed to equal opportunities and diversity. We aim to select candidates for pupillage solely on merit irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

As part of chambers’ commitment to equality & diversity, it collects and analyses statistical information on all pupil applicants to monitor the effectiveness of its policies.

As such all applicants are encouraged to fill in the equal opportunities monitoring form provided on the gateway and submit it with their application. All information gathered will be used for monitoring purposes only and will not form part of the selection process.

Mini-Pupillage

Chambers can offer mini-pupillages of three days to exceptional candidates who have reached at least the second year of their undergraduate studies. Mini-pupillages are intended to give an introduction to the life and work of a barrister and how chambers operates. You will shadow members of our chambers at court and may also have an opportunity to see some of the work done in chambers.

Applications should be made on our application form which can be found here. You are also encouraged to fill in our E&D monitoring form and submit it with your application.

Your application form, together with the E&D monitoring form (if you choose to submit one), should be sent by email for the attention of the Mini-Pupillage Co-ordinator to the following address: applications@walnuthouse.co.uk. All applications should be submitted between 10.00 am on 14^th November and 4.00 pm on 30^th December each year with a view to mini-pupillages taking place between March and September of the following year. Any applications received outside this window will not be considered.

Chambers is delighted to announce that we are now able to offer a financially assisted mini-pupillage to up to two candidates each year who meet certain criteria. More details about the scheme and how to apply can be found here. In addition, the Lincoln’s Inn Mini-Pupillage Grant Scheme offers funding for mini-pupils for travel and accommodation. You can find more information on the Lincoln’s Inn website (https://www.lincolnsinn.org.uk/becoming-a-barrister/funding/).