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Mini-Pupillage

5PB places a high value on mini-pupillage as a means of educating students on the realities of life in a busy criminal chambers. It can also be rewarding to meet at an early stage individuals who have the potential to play a significant role in the development of chambers in years to come. Mini-pupils will have the opportunity to meet junior tenants in chambers and see a range of work in the courtroom, mainly in the Crown Court. Depending on the time of year there may be an opportunity to attend hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice, either in the High Court or in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

Selection Criteria

We welcome applications from anyone aged 18 or over who has an interest in practising at the Criminal Bar. We are unfortunately unable to offer mini-pupillage, or work experience, to younger students.

Due to demand, we are unable to offer mini-pupillages to those who have not yet begun their legal studies. Therefore, applicants will need to either be doing or have completed a Law degree or equivalent, or have begun the GDL.

When selecting mini-pupils, we are looking for people whose academic profiles and life experiences so far suggest that they have the potential to be realistic applicants for pupillage, either now or in the future.

In considering applications the following will be taken into account:

  • Predicted or actual academic performance at degree level or equivalent
  • Any additional academic qualifications (whether in Law or not)
  • Attainment on the BPTC or GDL where studied prior to applying.
  • Previous legal work experience (type and amount)
  • Paid employment and/or extra-curricular activities demonstrating transferable skills relevant to the Bar
  • Motivation for applying for a mini-pupillage/interest in the Criminal Bar
  • Commitment to a future at the Bar of England and Wales.

If all other indicators are equal, preference will be given to those who have not had previous mini-pupillages, or have not had previous mini-pupillages in criminal chambers, in recognition of the barriers faced by candidates from non-traditional backgrounds in securing mini-pupillages.

The Application Process

To ensure the fair allocation of mini-pupillages, it is chambers policy that all mini-pupils must be selected through our formal allocation process - members of chambers are not able to offer informal mini-pupillages.

Applications should be made by way of a covering letter and CV, addressed to Oliver Pateman, the Mini-Pupillage Coordinator. We prefer applications to sent by e-mail to minipupillage@5pb.co.uk.

Application windows:

Chambers offer mini pupillages at three times of the year:

  • For mini-pupillages between October and January, applications must be received by the first Friday in September.
  • For mini-pupillages between February and May, applications must be received by the first Friday in January.
  • For mini-pupillages between June and September, applications must be received by the first Friday in May.

Successful applicants will be contacted shortly after the application deadline with further instructions on how to arrange their time in Chambers.

Our usual practice is to offer a mini-pupillage for 5 days. However, if a candidate would prefer a shorter period for practical or financial reasons they should say so in their cover letter and this can be accommodated.

Duration, Location and Assessment

Members of chambers practice across the country. However, most of our work is in London and the South-East. If a candidate will struggle to travel to London then efforts can be made to place them with members appearing in courts closer to their home towns. However, the criminal bar is very unpredictable, and there can be no guarantee that at any given time there will be a member of chambers in any particular part of the country.

Similarly, we cannot guarantee that any particular type of case will be happening during your mini-pupillage, though if there is a type of case you particularly want to see we will accommodate that if possible.

Mini-pupillages are not assessed. However a record is kept of those who have undertaken mini-pupillages with us.

Funding

Mini-pupillages in chambers are unfunded. However, as we recognise that mini-pupillages can put a financial strain on applicants, especially those who do not live in London, chambers offers a limited amount of financial support. These limited funds will be awarded on the basis of need, on a discretionary basis. Applicants seeking assistance with their travel costs should identify this in their covering letter. An application for financial assistance will have no impact on whether an applicant is offered a mini-pupillage.

Chambers is a member of Inner Temple’s Pegasus Access and Support Scheme. Applicants wishing to apply through that scheme should apply via www.pegasus.me

Privacy Notice

Please read the following information carefully. This privacy notice contains information about the information collected, stored and otherwise processed about you and the reasons for the processing. It also tells you who we share this information with, the security mechanisms we have put in place to protect your data and how to contact us in the event you need further information.

Who Are We?

5 Paper Buildings collects, uses and is responsible for personal information about you. When it does this, it is the ‘controller’ of this information for the purposes of the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you need to contact 5 Paper Buildings about your data or the processing carried out, you can use the contact details at the end of this document.

What do we do with your information?

Information collected

When processing mini-pupillage applications, 5 Paper Buildings collects some or all of the following personal information that you provide:

  1. personal details
  2. family details
  3. lifestyle and social circumstances
  4. physical or mental health details
  5. criminal proceedings, outcomes and sentences, and related security measures
  6. other personal data relevant to your application

Information collected from other sources.

5 Paper Buildings will not ordinarily collect information from any other sources.

How we use your personal information: Purposes

5 Paper Buildings may use your personal information for the following purposes:

  1. To process mini-pupillage applications – making decisions on which candidates to offer places to, and ensuring the smooth running of the mini-pupillage system within chambers.
  2. To ensure that a suitable placement is available for you in the particular time period sought, considering the barristers available and the courts at which they are conducting cases
  3. To keep accounting records and carry out office administration
  4. To track patterns and trends in mini-pupillage applicants. This data will all be anonymised.
  5. To respond to potential complaints or make complaints
  6. As required or permitted by law.

Whether information has to be provided by you, and why

If you have made an application for mini-pupillage your personal information has to be provided to enable 5 Paper Buildings to consider your application fairly.

The legal basis for processing your personal information

5 Paper Buildings relies on the following as the lawful bases on which we collect and use your personal information:

If you have consented to the processing of your personal information, then we may process your information for the purposes set out above to the extent to which you have consented to me doing so.

Processing is necessary for the consideration of an application for mini-pupillage.

We rely on my legitimate interest and/or the legitimate interests of a third party in carrying out the processing for the Purposes set out above.

In certain circumstances processing may be necessary in order that we can comply with a legal obligation to which we are subject.

Who will we share your personal information with?

It may be necessary to share your information with the following:

  • The barrister acting as the chambers mini-pupillage coordinator
  • data processors, such as Chambers staff, IT support staff, email providers, data storage providers.
  • other legal professionals
  • the staff in chambers
  • other barristers in chambers
  • in the event of complaints, the Head of Chambers, other members of Chambers who deal with complaints, the Bar Standards Board, and the Legal Ombudsman
  • other regulatory authorities
  • business associates, professional advisers and trade bodies, e.g. the Bar Council
  • the general public in relation to the publication of legal judgments and decisions of courts and tribunals we may be required to provide your information to regulators, such as the Bar Standards Board, the Financial Conduct Authority or the Information Commissioner’s Office. In the case of the Information Commissioner’s Office, there is a risk that your information may lawfully be disclosed by them for the purpose of any other civil or criminal proceedings, without our consent or yours, which includes privileged information.

we may also be required to disclose your information to the police or intelligence services, where required or permitted by law.

Transfer of your information outside the European Economic Area (EEA)

This privacy notice is of general application and as such it is not possible to state whether it will be necessary to transfer your information out of the EEA in any particular case or for a reference. However, if you reside outside the EEA then it may be necessary to transfer some of your data to that country outside of the EEA for that purpose. If you are in a country outside the EEA then it is inevitable that information will be transferred to those countries. If this applies to you and you wish additional precautions to be taken in respect of your information, please indicate this when providing initial instructions.

Some countries and organisations outside the EEA have been assessed by the European Commission and their data protection laws and procedures found to show adequate protection. The list can be found here. Most do not. If your information has to be transferred outside the EEA, then it may not have the same protections and you may not have the same rights as you would within the EEA.

5 Paper Buildings may transfer your personal information to the following which are located outside the European Economic Area (EEA):

If you would like any further information, please use the contact details at the end of this document.

How long will we store your personal data?

We will normally store all your information for 12 months from the date of your mini-pupillage.

The mini-pupillage co-ordinator will store some of your information indefinitely. This is in case of complaints, and for conflict-checking between cases and with members of any pupillage panel. However, this is likely to be limited to your name, date of birth and date of mini-pupillage. This will not include any highly sensitive material.

Consent

5 Paper Buildings is relying on your consent to process your information as set out above. You provided this consent by making an application for a mini-pupillage at 5 Paper Buildings

You have the right to withdraw this consent at any time, but this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing activity we have carried out prior to you withdrawing your consent. However, where we also rely on other bases for processing your information, you may not be able to prevent processing of your data.

If there is an issue with the processing of your information, please contact the clerks to chambers using the contact details below.

Your Rights

Under the GDPR, you have a number of rights that you can exercise in certain circumstances. These are free of charge. In summary, you may have the right to:

  • Ask for access to your personal information and other supplementary information;
  • Ask for correction of mistakes in your data or to complete missing information we hold on you;
  • Ask for your personal information to be erased, in certain circumstances;
  • Receive a copy of the personal information you have provided to us or have this information sent to a third party. This will be provided to you or the third party in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, e.g. a Word file;
  • Object at any time to processing of your personal information for direct marketing;
  • Object in certain other situations to the continued processing of your personal information;
  • Restrict my processing of your personal information in certain circumstances;
  • Request not to be the subject to automated decision-making which produces legal effects that concern you or affects you in a significant way.

If you want more information about your rights under the GDPR please see the Guidance from the Information Commissioners Office on Individual's rights under the GDPR.

If you want to exercise any of these rights, please:

  • Use the contact details at the end of this document;
  • we may need to ask you to provide other information so that you can be identified;
  • Please provide a contact address so that you can be contacted to request further information to verify your identity;
  • Provide proof of your identity and address;
  • State the right or rights that you wish to exercise.

The mini-pupillage coordinator will respond to you within one month from when we receive your request.

How to make a complaint?

The GDPR also gives you the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners’ Office if you are in the UK, or with the supervisory authority of the Member State where you work, normally live or where the alleged infringement of data protection laws occurred. The Information Commissioner’s Office can be contacted at http://ico.org.uk/concerns/.

Future Processing

5 Paper Buildings do not intend to process your personal information except for the reasons stated within this privacy notice. If this changes, this privacy notice will be amended and placed on the website.

Changes to this privacy notice

This privacy notice was published on 5th August 2019.

This privacy practices will be continually under review and may change from time to time. When it does, it will be placed on the website.

Contact Details

If you have any questions about this privacy notice or the information we hold about you, please contact the chambers mini-pupilage coordinator, Natasha Lake, or Chambers Data Protection lead, Andrew Ross.

The best way to contact me or Data Protection lead is to write to me at 5 Paper Buildings, London, EC4Y 7HB.