Pump Court Chambers is pleased to announce that we have been selected as the first chambers in London to take part in The Legal Education Foundation’s Justice First Fellowship (JFF) pupillage programme for 2016/2017.

The Legal Education Foundation has selected Pump Court Chambers in London and St John’s Chambers in Bristol to take part in its ground breaking Fellowship scheme.

This is a 12 month-pupillage at Pump Court Chambers, following completion of a 12-month period of employment with the Bar Pro Bono Unit. The pupillage will be predominantly with the Family Team at Pump Court Chambers with a focus on publicly funded work across a wide range of areas, encompassing private and public law children, financial remedies and inheritance.

The two-year JFF training programme is being run by TLEF, with support from the Bar Pro Bono Unit.

Matthew Smerdon, TLEF chief executive, said:

“When we launched our Justice First Fellowship scheme in 2013, it broke new ground. We are ambitious for our Fellows and one of our key aims for the scheme is to create the future leaders of the legal profession. With 18 trainee solicitor Fellows in place already, I am absolutely delighted that we have now been able to work in collaboration with the Bar Pro Bono Unit, the Council of the Inns of Court and the Family Law Bar Association to extend the scheme to include the Bar.”

Jess Campbell, Bar Pro Bono Unit chief executive, said:

“We look forward to helping future generations of the Bar better understand and interact with vulnerable people who struggle to access legal help. Having these talented pupils join the unit as caseworkers will enable us to further facilitate access to justice. It is a privilege to be able to play a role in the training and education of future pro bono barristers.”

Jennifer Lee, on behalf of the Pupillage & Tenancy Committee at Pump Court Chambers, said:

“We are very excited to be the first set in London taking part in this extremely worthwhile cause, which has the promotion of access to justice, rule of law and equal opportunities at its core. As a set committed to those core values, and proud of our professional excellence, we feel that it is important to give high-calibre candidates, dedicated to advancing those aims, a fair opportunity to become successful members of the Bar in an increasingly competitive environment.”

The closing date for Fellowship applications is 4 May 2016. Applications should be made via the Pupillage Portal.