Past application and interview questions from previous Pupillage Cycles.

Applying for pupillage is one of the most competitive stages in a barrister’s career path. With hundreds of applicants for a limited number of places, preparation is essential. One of the best ways to prepare is by looking at questions that have been asked in previous application cycles and interviews. Many of these questions are repeated across chambers and practice areas, so working through them in advance gives you a strong head start.

Use them to practise drafting your answers, refine your examples, and identify areas where you may need to gain further experience.

Past Application Questions

Motivation for the Bar and Chambers

• Why do you think you will make a good barrister?
• Why do you want to join our chambers? In your answer, please give reasons for your choice of chambers and explain why you are interested in our areas of practice.
• Why should we offer you a pupillage?
• Why do you want a career in the [area of law] sector?
• Why are you interested in [area of law]?
• Why have you chosen that specific practice area? In your answer, please identify any relevant experiences or skills that you believe may help you in your career.
• Which area or areas of law are you particularly interested in practising in, and why?

Skills, Qualities, and Personal Attributes

• Please identify any non-legal experiences or skills gained that you believe may help you in your career.
• What qualities do you feel are key to being a successful barrister?
• Which skills and characteristics are the hallmarks of a good advocate?
• How would your friends describe you?

Achievements and Experiences

• Tell us about something you have done or achieved which you are proud of and why.
• What is the greatest challenge you have faced so far?

Wider Profession and Policy Issues

• What are the most important challenges facing the Bar and how should we prepare to address them?
• Most important issue in [area of law] at the moment?
• How do you predict barristers will be working in 20 years’ time?
• How do you see the use of AI within law?

Life Outside of Law

• Tell us something interesting about yourself
• What are your main hobbies and why do you enjoy them?
• Do you have any ambitions that you would like to fulfil in your personal or professional life?

Past Interview Questions

Interviews test more than knowledge. Chambers want to see how you think, how you apply judgment under pressure, and how you communicate. Considering common questions in advance will help you structure clear and confident answers.

Work Experience

• What did you find most interesting about your mini-pupillages?
• Why didn’t you do more or did you do so many mini-pupillages?
• What was the most difficult or interesting thing you did or saw on a mini-pupillage?
• Tell me about a case you saw during your mini-pupillage
• Tell me about your last or best advocacy experience
• Have you ever had a difficult client?
• How will your previous career experience assist you at the Bar?

The Legal Profession

• What are the main challenges and opportunities facing the [practice area] Bar?
• Why is equality and diversity important at the Bar and in the judiciary?
• How will you ensure that you build a good practice?
• What do you want your career to look like in 5 years or 10 years?
• What are your views on:
  • Direct Access
  • Solicitor-advocates
  • Litigants in person
  • The public funding of legal services
  • The benefits of an adversarial legal system
  • Using AI in the courts
  • Reforming the prison system
  • Virtual hearings
  • The criminal courts backlog
  • Wigs

Ethics-Based Questions

• If your client told you that he was guilty but asked you to put forward a defence on his behalf, what would you do?
• You are representing a client at appeal. In his witness statement he said evidence existed at the time. Just before going into court he says he got confused and it is fresh evidence. What do you do?
• Your client has not disclosed a document which undermines his whole case. Can you negotiate a settlement?
• A clerk wants you to represent him and you have a close relationship with him. What do you do and what is your thinking process? Would you ever represent a friend?
• You discover a fellow member of Chambers has plagiarised an article they have recently had published online. What do you do?
• You have discovered that your pupil supervisor does not in fact have the master’s degree he claims to have on his online chambers biography. What do you do?

For ethics questions there is often a clear right answer. It is worth brushing up on ethics revision. The BSB Handbook and Code of Conduct should be your main reference point.

The application and interview process can feel overwhelming, but it is also your chance to showcase your motivation, skills, and readiness for the Bar. By working through past questions, you can prepare structured answers that highlight your strengths while remaining flexible enough to adapt in the moment. Ethics in particular is an area where preparation is vital, as chambers will expect you to know and apply the rules confidently.

Careful preparation will not only give you confidence but will also allow you to stand out as someone who has genuinely thought about the demands of practice and the future of the profession.