4-5 Gray’s Inn Square

About Chambers

Who we are: 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square is a leading housing, planning, property, commercial and public law chambers.

We have a reputation for excellence and are home to a group of intellectually energetic and highly regarded barristers, mediators and international tenants. We are committed to providing creative and practical legal advice to meet the commercial needs of our clients. We have a reputation for excellence in all of our core practice areas. Our barristers are supported by a first-class practice management team.

What we do: Our core areas of law include: administrative and public law, social housing, commercial, employment, planning and property, dispute resolution, election, local government, regulatory and disciplinary, and international law.

What we’re looking for: We seek to identify candidates with the skills and potential to be outstanding barristers within our fields of expertise.

What you’ll do: Pupils’ work will include research, drafting opinions and arguments. Pupils will shadow their pupil supervisor as they do research, paperwork and go to court, sharing an office and analysing how they perform their day-to-day tasks.

Perks: Chambers shall accommodate pupils’ reasonable requests for flexible working hours in order to allow for parents of children and other dependents to meet their caring commitments.

Pupillage at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square Roisin Putti, tenant at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square

Graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a 1:1 in Law and Political Science (LLB); St. Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge with a 1:1 in International Law (LLM); and the Inns of Court College of Advocacy with a Merit in Bar Practice (PG Dip.). Supervised by Annette Cafferkey, Jonathan Manning and Vivienne Sedgley during pupillage.

Pupils at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square find themselves at a vibrant and collegiate set, with exposure to a diverse range of practice areas. During my pupillage, I had the opportunity to learn from leading practitioners, observe skilled advocacy at all levels, and work with an excellent clerking team to build and develop my own practice.

Day in the life during non-practising period (‘first six’): On a particularly exciting day during my first six, I started the morning by joining a virtual conference with my supervisor and another member of chambers. These barristers had recently represented the client in a case in the Court of Appeal. As the outcome had been unsuccessful, the purpose of the conference was to advise on whether to appeal the matter to the Supreme Court. The barristers explained the strengths and weaknesses of the case and made an assessment of the likelihood that permission to appeal would be granted.

At the end of the conference, I travelled to a court in South London to observe a junior member of chambers in court. She was representing the applicant who was seeking a Stalking Protection Order. The respondent did not attend and was not represented. The barrister made submissions on why the test in s.2 of the Stalking Protection Act 2019 was satisfied. The Magistrates were content to grant the order and the client was very happy. It was a useful opportunity to observe the type of hearing which I might myself be instructed on in a few months’ time.

When I returned to chambers, I learned that the client in the Court of Appeal case had decided to proceed with the appeal to the Supreme Court. As the deadline for filing the grounds of appeal was fast approaching, we needed to turn to drafting immediately. My co-pupils and I spent the rest of the day researching and drafting sections of the grounds of appeal, in collaboration with the barristers on the case who provided useful guidance and feedback.

Transition to practising period (‘second six’): Second six at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square is extremely hands-on; pupils can expect to be in court multiple times per week and receive instructions on drafting and advisory work. While it can be challenging, support is available at every stage. Prior to commencing second six there are ample opportunities to shadow junior barristers undertaking work which is typical for second-six pupils. There are strong networks of junior barristers who are always willing to assist with a query or pick up the phone. The clerking team are committed to striking a balance which allows pupils to work on varied and interesting cases while developing a practice in a sustainable way.

Some of my favourite things about pupillage at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square are the practical nature of the work, the level of autonomy and court-time in second six and the genuinely supportive culture which exists between the pupils, junior practitioners and throughout chambers. I cannot recommend it enough!

Diversity and inclusion

Anatomy of a case

The instructions arrive: The brief comes through from the solicitors via my clerks. Normally there will be an ‘instructions to counsel’ document along with the papers which will give some background to the case, contact details for the solicitor, an overview of what papers they have provided and whether they will be sending me any other documents closer to the hearing. It is always helpful to check the brief as soon as you receive it, even if you aren’t planning to prepare the case that day as sometimes there is an urgent deadline or a request for immediate advice. I normally have a quick scan of the papers to see what I have been given and estimate the complexity of the case and how long I think it will take me to prepare so I can set aside enough time. I will also check whether it is being billed hourly or as a fixed-fee matter, so I know whether or not I need to record my hours.

Getting to grips with the case: When I sit down to prepare a case, I will spend some time reading the papers in detail before setting out the key dates in a chronology and identifying who the key parties are. I will then establish what the key issues are going to be in the case and what the client wants to achieve. At this point it is common to go back to my instructing solicitor to ask for additional documents or to ask some clarifying questions.

Research and advice: I would then spend some time researching the relevant case law and statutory provisions and considering how they apply to this client’s specific situation. If the case involves something I haven’t come across, I might discuss that element with a more experienced colleague in chambers to check whether I am approaching it from the right perspective. I may then provide some written advice to the solicitor on the merits of the case and whether there are any other steps that can be taken to increase the chances of success or what a suitable settlement might be or alternatively I may advise on which witnesses are likely to be needed at a hearing.

Preparing for court: If the case is proceeding to a hearing, I will then prepare my skeleton argument and my speaking notes. I will often print myself a hard copy of the bundle in which I will tab the key documents/pages that I want to take to the court. The day before the hearing my clerks will confirm which court the hearing is in and what time we are listed to start.

The hearing: When I arrive at court, I will meet my lay client and sometimes my instructing solicitor will attend too. I will brief the client on what to expect, how long I think the hearing will last and answer any questions they might have. I will check in with the usher and ask them to provide the judge with any additional documents I have brought with me. I will also try and find my opponent and confirm if they have any changes to their case and see whether we agree on what the key areas of contention are.

During the hearing I will introduce the case from my client’s point of view and tell the judge what we are seeking and why. I may need to cross-examine a witness, answer questions from the judge and usually make submissions to persuade the judge to rule in my client’s favour.

Following the hearing: Immediately after a hearing I will have a quick debrief with the client about next steps. I will then update my instructing solicitor by phone or email if they haven’t attended to let them know what the judgment was. When I get back to chambers, I will type up my notes of the hearing so I can provide my solicitor with a more detailed attendance note of what happened and provide advice on next steps.