The Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR) is delighted to announce that its mentoring scheme for applicants from underrepresented groups is now open for its third year.

This mentoring scheme is a key element of COMBAR’s commitment to the promotion of diversity. It is vital that the Commercial Bar continues to recruit the most talented future practitioners, from all walks of life, and that no-one with the ability to succeed at the Commercial Bar is deterred from doing so.

The scheme is aimed at potential mentees who are interested in a career at the Bar and who come from traditionally underrepresented groups. Those groups include, but are not limited to: women, Black and other ethnic minority people, people who attended state schools, people from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds (particularly those eligible for free school meals), those who were in the first generation in their family to attend university, LGBTQ+ people, those who spent time in care, and people with disabilities.

More than 400 mentees have received mentoring in the two years that the COMBAR scheme has been running, and some of those are now entering pupillage at leading commercial sets. This year’s scheme is larger than ever, with no fewer than 25 COMBAR sets participating (full list below), with Maitland Chambers and Wilberforce Chambers joining the scheme this year.

Successful applicants are placed with a mentor from one of those sets, allowing them to access a series of one-to-one mentoring sessions, and detailed advice from practitioners on how best to go about preparing to apply for commercial pupillage. That advice can span everything from what electives to choose through to application and interview tips to whether or not it is worth buying your own wig and gown! All participating sets have also agreed to cover reasonable travel expenses for mentees allocated to them.

Mentees and their mentors are also invited to a combined pupillage interview and application workshop and social event, which will take place at Gray’s Inn on 14 January 2025. The equivalent event for this year’s cycle, held on 16 January 2024, was attended by over 130 mentees. The keynote introductory speech was delivered by Mr Justice Foxton, the Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court, underscoring the strong support for the scheme by the senior judiciary. A number of mentees have gone on to marshal with High Court Judges.

Applicants are likely to get the most out of the scheme if they apply early in their university career. The sooner that a mentee receives the guidance and support offered by a mentor, the earlier they can channel their focus towards improving their chances of obtaining pupillage. Candidates must have started undergraduate study but this need not be in law, and non-law students are very much encouraged to apply. That said, the scheme has also had a number of successful mature applicants, who might be thinking about switching to the Bar as a second career.

Eligible applicants for the scheme are assessed by reference to both their 'potential to succeed' at the Bar and 'need', i.e. how much they are likely to benefit from mentoring.

'Potential to succeed' is just that. Applicants to the Commercial Bar must be able to demonstrate evidence of strong intellectual ability. They must show a desire to pursue a career at the Bar, which may be by undertaking mini-pupillages or other suitable work experience, but also by reference to relevant extra-curricular activities such as debating or mooting. Finally, applicants must have the ability to write and/or speak persuasively. The longer questions in the application form gives candidates a good opportunity to demonstrate that competency.

In relation to 'need', assessors will have particular regard to the candidate’s educational and social background and the extent to which talented applicants may gain the most from the assistance provided by the scheme. Those who have previously been mentored on the scheme are not strictly ineligible to re-apply, but may find that their 'need' is not assessed as great as others who have not previously had access to mentoring.

Finally, all applicants are assessed on whether or not they are likely to be realistic candidates for pupillage in due course. The Commercial Bar is a highly competitive profession and will continue to be so. The mentoring scheme is designed to ensure that excellent candidates do not 'slip through the net'. But excellence must remain the touchstone of the Bar. 

How to apply

Applicants wishing to participate in the scheme are requested to download and complete the application form which can be found here. Completed application forms must be saved as a PDF with the naming convention 'First Name – Surname' and emailed to socialmobility@combar.com by Friday 20 September 2024. 

COMBAR hopes that applicants will be informed as to whether or not they have been accepted onto the scheme within October 2024. Due to the number of applicants applying for the scheme, it will unfortunately not be possible to give individual feedback as to why an application may have been unsuccessful, though unsuccessful applicants are welcome to reapply in subsequent years.

Full details of the scheme can be found at the Scheme Guidelines which can be found here. Any other questions should be directed to the following email address: socialmobility@combar.com

The 25 participating sets are (in alphabetical order):

Blackstone Chambers

Brick Court Chambers

Devereux Chambers

Essex Court Chambers

Fountain Court Chambers

Gatehouse Chambers

Henderson Chambers

Keating Chambers

One Essex Court Chambers

7 King’s Bench Walk

11 King’s Bench Walk

Maitland Chambers

Monckton Chambers

4 New Square

4 Pump Court

Quadrant Chambers

Radcliffe Chambers

Serle Court

4 Stone Buildings

36 Stone

South Square

Twenty Essex

3 Verulam Buildings

Wilberforce Chambers

XXIV Old Buildings