Probationary Tenancy

5 Essex Chambers seeks to recruit one probationary tenant (formerly known as a third-six pupil), with a view to tenancy.

We are a civil law set consistently recognised for excellence in our practice areas, which range across public and administrative law, civil liberties and human rights, inquests and public inquiries, information law, all aspects of police law, and beyond. Chambers’ work is exciting and often high profile with members at all levels involved in the vast majority of significant cases in our fields of practice. A probationary tenant can expect significant advocacy experience in court together with building a paperwork practice.

5 Essex Chambers is Top Ranked by Chambers & Partners, a Top Tier Set in Legal500, and won LegalCheek’s 2025 Chambers of the Year. We and our members are currently shortlisted in Legal500’s 2026 Bar Awards for Public Law Set of the Year, Public Law Silk of the Year, and Public Law Junior of the Year, Public Services and Charities Silk of the Year, and Public Services and Charities Set of the Year.

5 Essex Chambers prides itself on providing pupils and junior tenants with a supportive, friendly, and constructive environment in which to learn and begin their practices. The successful candidate will receive guaranteed earnings of £30,000 over the 6-month probationary tenancy, but may well earn more than that. No prior experience in police law, inquests, or our other practice areas is required. We offer training from Members of Chambers and shadowing opportunities as an introduction to our work.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the post is filled, so application at the earliest opportunity is strongly advised. Applicants should send a covering letter, CV and two references by email to pupillages@5essex.co.uk with the subject ‘Probationary Tenancy Application’.

Candidates will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Interest in and commitment to Chambers’ areas of practice.
• Intellectual ability;
• Analytical ability;
• An ability to express ideas clearly and persuasively, both in writing and orally;
• An ability to think and respond clearly under pressure;
• A commitment to practice development;
• An organised approach to work;
• A capacity to understand and to show understanding of the needs and problems of those for whom and with whom she works;
• Good communication skills;
• Developed advocacy skills;
• Compatibility with Chambers’ practice areas; 

We seek to make our application process as transparent and fair as possible. All those who are involved in the selection process have undergone training in equality and diversity and fair selection. Each year we publish a report on our pupillage application process for that year, giving details of how we made our selections – see our Pupillage page.