Blackstone Chambers

About Chambers

Heads of chambers: Tom Weisselberg KC and Jane Mulcahy KC.

Who we are: Chambers occupies newly renovated premises, providing an enhanced, modern working environment in which to meet the needs of our barristers and their clients. We enjoy our collegiate working environment; members of chambers work closely together, seeking regular advice from colleagues. We do not believe in rigid hierarchies and our members participate fully in the life and work of chambers.

What we do: We offer a friendly and supportive environment in which to complete your pupillage and develop your career as a junior barrister. Our members specialise in a wide range of legal practice areas, including:

• Commercial: financial/business law, international trade, banking, regulatory, insurance, conflicts, media and entertainment, sport, intellectual property and professional negligence, EU and competition.
• Employment: all aspects (including discrimination) are covered by the extensive employment law practices of members of chambers.
• Public law: incorporates judicial review, acting both for and against central and local government agencies and other regulatory authorities, human rights, other aspects of administrative law and commercial judicial review.

What we’re looking for: Successful candidates will have demonstrated high intellectual ability and will usually have at least a 2(1) honours degrees, although not necessarily in law.

What you’ll do: Our pupils are welcomed into chambers with an induction including admin and IT tasks to get you up and running before joining your supervisor; thereafter you will move through four seats, experiencing the dynamic and aspirational practices of each supervisor.

After pupillage, a new tenant can expect a busy and wide-ranging practice with opportunities to specialise later.

Perks: Blackstone Chambers offers up to four 12-month pupillages each year.

We offer a pupillage award of £90,000 for pupillage commencing in 2026.

Pupils may apply to draw down up to £30,000 during their BPC year.

Life as a pupil Femi Adekoya, pupil, Blackstone Chambers

University: University of Cambridge University of Pennsylvania

Degree: Law; Masters

I studied law at university unsure whether I wanted to become a barrister or a solicitor. After learning about the two professions, I decided that a life at the Bar was one for me. Being a barrister is a very unique and special job. You are in control of your career. You are self-employed so your pay is proportional to your effort and dedication. A life at the Bar involves the ideal combination of intellectual rigour and commercial practicality. Barristers both advise on how the law applies to their client’s commercial context, and persuade judges to accept their arguments on untested propositions of law.

After completing my undergraduate degree in law at the University of Cambridge, I studied for a master’s at the University of Pennsylvania. I also worked as a judicial assistant in the Court of Appeal and as a research assistant in one of the leading regulatory and environmental sets in London.

A pupil at Blackstone sits with four supervisors. Blackstone is unique for its variety of high-quality work, and the pupillage process reflects this. My supervisors’ areas of expertise covered all of Blackstone’s main areas of practice. After a seat with a supervisor that specialises in employment law, when one has just about got to grips with the contours of that practice area, you will start your next seat and have to do the same with commercial law. Ultimately, the range of work you do throughout your pupillage makes the job more interesting and prepares you to be a better lawyer.

Across pupillage, you will assist your supervisor in drafting the key documents of a barrister’s career, for example, opinions, pleadings and skeleton arguments. Your supervisors give you detailed feedback throughout the year so your aptitude for crafting these all-important documents increases markedly. The second six at Blackstone is non-practising, but Blackstone recognises the importance of oral advocacy. There are several advocacy sessions throughout pupillage in which you practise cross-examination and delivering submissions, and remain in awe of the advocacy trainers, hoping that one day you can deliver submissions on the minutiae of contract law so effortlessly.

Pupillage is a daunting year. It is hard work, and it can feel like a year-long job interview. In many ways, pupillage is a great leveller, because despite the varied career paths which can lead one to the Bar, no pupil is familiar with working as a barrister. The prize comes in the form of developing the skills needed for a successful career at the Bar. Additionally, and no less important, are the lifelong relationships you develop with your fellow pupils through your shared experiences.

Blackstone’s culture has a material impact on the pupillage experience. Members of chambers are supportive and remarkably approachable; their doors are always open for a chat. Weekly teas and drinks are an institution to which pupils are invited, so pupils are expected to be wholly part of making Blackstone the friendly and collegiate chambers it is.

Diversity and inclusion