Towards the end of the year, there are several opportunities to attend Pupillage Fairs; the Bar Council usually run one in October, TargetJobs in November and then Legal Cheek do a virtual one in December. This gives you the chance to hear inspiring and informative talks, to engage with barristers at a range of different chambers and to pick up some application tips. Hanene Latrache popped along to the TargetJobs one, here’s her account of the day:
On November 22nd, 2025, I attended the TargetJobs National Pupillage Fair. It was truly an insightful experience, especially as an international student who never truly had the chance to immerse myself in UK law before, and I had the chance to meet many representatives and employees at Chambers, many of which I never heard of before.
Before entering the Great Hall at Lincoln’s Inn, I had the pleasure of attending Charlotte Wanendeya’s talk about “How to land pupillage”, where she gave us tips and tricks that we can use to make ourselves stand out from other applicants. She particularly highlighted instances where we showed resilience, emphasising the importance of proving we are capable of overcoming challenges. Charlotte is the Head of Law at BPP University Law School. This talk helped me discover more options for the vocational stage of my legal education and consider questions to ask of institutions to see which will suit me best.
The Great Hall was lined with stands where different Chambers and Universities presented their Bar/Pupillage options, and through the discussions I had with the representatives, I discovered the specific areas of law they practice in the Chambers, and learned that not every area of law is practiced in every Chambers. I also was curious about international opportunities after Undergraduate, and I spoke to a representative at 39 Essex Chambers who told me all about their Singapore and Kuala Lumpur offices, and it made me think more widely about the options I have.
Unrelated to the event itself, I also met new people there who were from all stages of their law studies/career, and as a first year myself, it was nice to see a couple other first years as I was afraid I would be the only one there. But having peers around me made it a more enjoyable experience overall.
Overall, I enjoyed the fair and it made me look into other events like it. I definitely recommend attending if you have your eyes on the bar, and I learned lots of new things about possible opportunities. Getting to visit Lincoln’s Inn is always a delight too.
You can watch some of the presentations from the day via the TargetJobs website. Have a look and plan to attend this or another pupillage fair later in 2026!
Hanene Latrache is a first year Law LLB student at City St. George’s University. She is an aspiring barrister with goals to one day work in the UN and specialize in international law. She is passionate about getting involved with the legal world both academically and socially, so has taken on the role of Lawbore Journalist to introduce herself, as well as readers, to the opportunities and information that she discovers.