Bar Council seeks views on pupillage gateway date change

The Bar Council has published plans to move the pupillage gateway recruitment window to the January to April period.

The representative body for barristers has called on its members, chambers, students and other stakeholders involved in pupillage recruitment to respond to the proposals.

Chambers advertise and recruit pupils through the gateway which currently runs from the end of April, the closing date for pupillage applications, to August when acceptance of offers takes place.

Undergraduate law students can apply in April of their third years at university for a pupillage commencing September or October the following year. The proposal will see the window change to between January and April, however.

According to the Bar Council, pupillage applicants could benefit from the timetable being moved as they would know the outcome of their applications before committing to paying money for the Bar professional training course (BPTC).

The change would avoid clashes between academic exams and pupillage interviews, which discourage students from making applications before starting the BPTC.

Some pupillage providers have expressed concern over the impact to their recruitment processes if any change goes ahead.

Before making any decision on the proposals, the Bar Council wants interested parties to take part in a survey.

Matthew Rogers is an editorial assistant at Solicitors Journal matthew.rogers@solicitorsjournal.co.uk