The Council of the Inns of Court (COIC) welcomes applications for matched funding for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 pupillages.
The COIC Pupillage Matched Funded Scheme (PMF) helps provide additional pupillages in chambers and other approved training organisations, predominantly engaged in legally aided work. Encouragingly, a growing number of chambers are applying for COIC matched funded grants. COIC is set to support 32 pupillages in 2021. This is an impressive improvement on the scheme’s first year of operation in 2014, when it supported 14 pupillages.
How the Scheme Works
It is a prerequisite of the scheme that chambers understand that matched funded pupillages are in addition to those they would have offered in any event. COIC match pupillage funding already provided by chambers, with a total grant of £9,550 for 2022-2023 London pupillages, £8,150 for 2022-2023 out of London pupillages, £9,650 for 2023-24 London pupillages and £8,250 for 2023-24 out of London pupillages, to fund the first six months of a second pupillage. Chambers are responsible for ensuring that the total pupillage award meets the Bar Standard Board’s (BSB) minimum award for the year in question. COIC appreciates that the receipt of grants is all the more important to chambers during the global pandemic and are offering flexibility with the opportunity to defer awards where necessary.
How to apply
Applications to match fund 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 pupillages are invited until Friday 22 October 2021. Decisions will be communicated during the week commencing Monday 8 November 2021. Online applications can be made at www.coic.org.uk/pupillage-matched-funding.
To find out more please email Joanna Robinson at COIC via jrobinson@coic.org.uk.
Mrs Justice Lieven, Chair, COIC Pupillage Matched Funding Grants Committee
Testimonial
Spire Barristers – the only specialist Family and Public Law (Court of Protection etc) set on the North Eastern Circuit and in the North of England has been in existence now for three years; within which time our excellent reputation within these practice areas has continued to be secured. Our members are amongst the most formidable and dynamic of practitioners and the highly specialist pupillages we offer and provide are, we consider, second to none!
It has been possible, thanks only to the grants provided to us by COIC through the PMF scheme for us to recruit two pupils each year since Spire Barristers inception, all of whom have gone on to become thriving and exceptional junior tenants.
We have always had the work to assist two pupils to build successful practices, but as over 85% of our work is publicly funded, we have only been able to afford to fund one full pupillage a year. Over recent years, chambers age demographic has altered such that we have been keen to continue to build our membership, requiring us to focus our recruitment attention on the junior end to enable us to pass on our knowledge and expertise. It is thanks to the fabulous opportunity offered by this scheme that chambers have been assisted in securing continuing growth from the bottom, where strong roots are now ‘taking hold’.
Testimonial
Nexus, the Chambers of Michael Mansfield QC, is a growing common law set mainly undertaking legal aid work. Prior to the introduction of COIC’s Pupillage Matched Funding scheme, Nexus was unable to offer pupillage. Since 2015, with the assistance of the scheme, we have taken two pupils per year; we are delighted that of the nine pupils who have completed their pupillages with us, seven have accepted offers of tenancy at Nexus. We are particularly pleased that both of our 2019-20 pupils have joined us as tenants, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Thanks to COIC’s generous support in awarding our funding well in advance, we can plan ahead and have generally been offering pupillages 13 to 19 months prior to the pupils’ commencement dates. We believe that this is to the benefit of candidates, particularly those from disadvantaged economic backgrounds, because it allows the best candidates the security of knowing they have a pupillage before embarking upon the vocational stage of training.
We pride ourselves on our Fair Recruitment & Selection procedures. As a result, we have recruited some extremely talented pupils from a wide range of backgrounds. We have taken pleasure in seeing our pupils flourish as advocates and very much hope that COIC will continue to support chambers through the PMF scheme.
Sarah Blackmore
