4BB– 12 Months – October 2026

Pupillage Vacancy Information

Chambers’ Practice

4BB Chambers is a leading set of Chambers practising in serious and general crime, white-collar crime, and regulatory offences.

Chambers has a long-history of practising in the Thames Valley, Sussex, Essex, and London, but members of Chambers practice nationwide, with opportunities to practice on the regional circuits as well as abroad (for example, in the Courts Martial).

4BB Chambers’ expertise includes: serious and organised crime, homicide, terrorism, sexual offences, white-collar crime and serious fraud, and regulatory offences. Further specialisms include VAT and revenue fraud, money laundering, and proceeds of crime.

Members of Chambers appear in all levels of criminal courts – from Youth Courts and Magistrates’ Courts, to Crown Courts, and appellate jurisdictions. Representation is also offered to those facing quasi-criminal matters, such as GMC proceedings, Coroner’s Court inquiry, and regulatory investigation – with particular specialism in police disciplinary and regulation. A subset of Chambers’ advocates also appear in the Courts Martial.

Structure of Pupillage 

Pupils will have a 6-month non-practising six (First Six) and 6-month practising six (Second Six). Pupils will be assigned a different supervisor for each Six. There will be opportunities to shadow other members of Chambers throughout their pupillage.

In their final few weeks of First Six, pupils will exclusively shadow junior members, probationary tenants, and practising pupils to maximise exposure to the work they will undertake.

In Second Six, pupils can expect to be in Court every day. Pupils will have the opportunity for development at their own pace, with structured support from the clerks, and can expect to graduate to Crown Court work early in their career – with the appropriate supervision and training.

Chambers runs frequent training sessions throughout the pupillage period, on topics including cell-site evidence and experts, maximising billing and fee receipts, and areas that pupils will be most frequently exposed to in their early practice.

Chambers is recruiting 2 pupils to start in October 2026 and 2 pupils to start in April 2027. Applicants must be available to start at either time.

Financial and Other Support Available 

Chambers offers pupillage funding of £2175 per month (£26,100 per annum). This is comprised of a grant during the First Six and guaranteed earnings during the Second Six.

Pupils can expect to exceed the guaranteed earnings when practising.

Pupils also receive a monthly grant in addition to their award to cover the majority of monthly expenses. Chambers offers additional funding for considerable expenditure (e.g. travelling to a regional Court with their supervisor) on a case-by-case basis, in addition to both the pupillage award and travel grant.

Compulsory course fees, and fees necessitated by the BSB, are also paid for by Chambers.

Equality Diversity and Inclusion

4BB Chambers is dedicated to increasing representation for under-represented groups, non-traditional backgrounds, and those who reflect the modern criminal bar. Chambers is committed to choosing the most capable pupils that are best equipped to succeed, regardless of background.

4BB Chambers maintains an Equality & Diversity Committee. The committee chair, and accessibility officer, is Philip Misner (philip.misner@4bb.co.uk). Applicants are invited to contact him directly to discuss any accessibility requirements prior to making an application.

AI policy 

Please either attach your AI policy as a document, using the add documents section below, or add details of your AI policy regarding the use of AI within applications here

How to Apply

Aspiring barristers are invited to apply to chambers between 5 January 2026 and 22 January 2026 using the Pupillage Gateway application system to search for the relevant Pupillage Vacancy and selecting ‘Apply for this pupillage’.

Candidates will be asked to respond to the following questions from Chambers:

1. Why do you believe you will make a good barrister, in criminal practice? (max 1200 characters);
2. Why do you want to join 4BB Chambers? (max 1200 characters);
3. Do you have a preference for starting in October 2026, April 2027, or either? (max 100 characters).

Further information

Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to long-term practice at the criminal bar, genuine interest in 4BB Chambers’ practice areas, and the core skills needed for a successful pupillage.

4BB Chambers is keen to recruit pupils who will contribute to the community in Chambers and excel in the rigours of criminal work. This includes designs upon a long and prosperous career, particularly in 4BB Chambers’ geographical areas of practice, as well as practice areas of instruction.

Applications will undergo a careful sifting process based upon their paper application. Applicants are reminded that the use of generative AI in the course of application drafting is prohibited.

Applicants should demonstrate: strong academic ability; advocacy skills and experience; exposure and commitment to criminal law; skills relevant to successful pupillage and practice; and genuine commitment to 4BB Chambers and its practice areas.

Some ~40 candidates will be invited to first-round interview on one Saturday in March 2026. Some ~15 candidates will thereafter be invited to second-round interview on either a weekday, or weekend, in April 2026. All interviews will involve an advocacy exercise. Second-round interviews must be conducted in-person unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Successful applicants will be invited to commence their pupillage either in October 2026 or April 2027.

Progression Post-Pupillage

Pupils that successfully complete their pupillage may be invited to apply for a probationary tenancy of up to 6 months post-pupillage, before consideration is given to tenancy applications.

In the last 5 years, 94% pupils have been invited to apply for probationary tenancy. Of those probationary tenants, all of those that completed their probationary tenancy have been admitted as tenants.