Why choose us?
Hardwicke is an established and successful civil set with a growing reputation for high quality in our various specialist areas. We now have 14 members recommended by Chambers & Partners and 18 in the Legal 500, in areas as diverse as Shipping, Commercial Litigation, Insurance and Reinsurance; Professional Negligence; Education; Public Law; Housing, Property Law and Real Estate Litigation; Personal Injury, Clinical Negligence and Healthcare.
We are an ambitious set of chambers occupying modern premises with the latest networked computer technology. Our 21st century facilities were designed specifically with the needs of a modern chambers in mind. Chambers makes considerable strategic use of information technology and e-communication, including Blackberries, video-conferencing and its award-winning website, all of which promote the accessibility of its barristers to clients throughout the UK and overseas.
As you will see from this brochure, we cover a range of specialist practice areas at all levels of call. However, our members are specialists in their individual areas of practice. Chambers covers a broad range of practice areas and is divided into several smaller specialist teams. Each team has the benefit of experienced clerks and takes responsibility for its own practice development and marketing. Each group provides specialist contributions to our in-house training programme for pupils.
If you are already sure about the type of practice which you wish to develop then we shall be happy to accommodate you with a specialist Pupillage which focuses on that discipline. However, if you have not yet reached a definite conclusion about your future, that does not present a problem either. We do not expect you to specialise in any particular area of Civil or Family before you are ready to do so. Instead, we offer you the opportunity to experience as wide a variety of work as you wish so that, with our assistance and encouragement, you can decide where your skills and interests lie before you commit yourself. That means that during the course of your Pupillage with us you might have pupil supervisors and assessors from several groups in Chambers. If you do not yet know what areas of law you want to practice we are flexible enough to help you work that out.
We believe that you will thrive and develop in a setting where both practitioners and staff demonstrate a clear understanding of the commercial environment in which the Bar operates and where the quality of our service provision and professional standards are complimented by our friendly and inclusive approach.
We understand how important it is for you to be settled as soon as possible and we want to ensure that you feel comfortable and at ease, able to approach and discuss any point of interest or topical subject matter with any member of chambers. From your first day you will be treated as a part of Hardwicke Building. We will make sure that you have a full and comprehensive introduction to chambers, its members, staff and facilities.
Our pupils will find themselves in court regularly throughout their 2nd six and will receive in-house advocacy training to supplement this and help make their first time in court less nerve-wracking! We also encourage our pupils to work for FRU.
We want to build on your talents and provide you with the tools which will develop your abilities as an advocate and practitioner. That means we listen to you to establish where you consider your strengths lie and give you the appropriate support where it is required.
We will do this by providing you with
- Intensive specialist training in the area or areas of your choice.
- A continuing and innovative programme of in-house advocacy training across most practice areas to prepare you for the work you will do during your second six.
- Access to modern integrated IT resources, including video conferencing facilities, that will meet all your research and any conferencing needs.
- A practical grounding in all aspects of professional ethics.
- Monitoring of your progress and regular feedback.
Our Pupillages are divided into four assessment periods of three months each. During each period you will be assigned to one pupil supervisor plus two assessors. You are required to complete at least three pieces of work for each assessor. All your pupil supervisors and assessors are required to provide formal assessments of your ability and progress at the end of each three month period. The choice of your four pupil supervisors and eight assessors will be made by the Pupillage Committee in consultation with you.
Pupils receive feedback on their progress from us both informally throughout the Pupillage and formally after completion of each assessment period.
Civil
The Civil Group comprises 3 Queen's Counsel and 60 junior barristers who provide advocacy, drafting and advisory services across a wide range of contentious and non-contentious matters in England and Wales and overseas. Our Civil practitioners act for both corporate and individual clients as well as local authorities, government agencies and professionals with direct access to the Bar. The Civil Group consists of specialists practising in 5 main areas.
- The Commercial/Chancery Team - covers a range of company and business litigation, insolvency, partnership disputes, construction cases, professional negligence and various other areas. The team is particularly well reputed for its commercial litigation, construction and insurance work, and has recently expanded into the fields of intellectual property and technology.
- The Property Team - covers Commercial and Residential Landlord & Tenant, Housing and Real Property
- The Injury Team - covers all areas of Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence work
- The Employment Team - covers all aspects of employment work including enforcement of restrictive covenants, unfair dismissal and discrimination
- The Public Law Team - provides specialist advice and representation in all areas of Public Law. It is particularly well-known far an expertise in Housing and Education Law and has recently formed a community care team.
Our aim is to give pupils the benefit of in-depth exposure to the range of practical experiences that arise in all aspects of a civil practitioner's work. We combine that with high quality training so those pupils emerge with a complete package of skills necessary for success at the Bar in their chosen areas of practice.
Family
The Family Group is the smallest group in Chambers. Nevertheless, it has its own dedicated clerking and a wealth of knowledge and expertise. The Family Group includes members who:
- Advise and act in all aspects of divorce proceedings, including foreign divorces.
- Have experience dealing with proceedings for judicial separation and nullity.
- Are experienced in dealing with the particular problems arising from divorce in "big money" cases which require specialist knowledge of the implications of commercial and tax law, and provision for pensions in that context.
- Have extensive experience in dealing with the financial consequences of divorce for middle income and low income families and the particular difficulties they can present.
- Advise and act on behalf of unmarried parties who require expert legaladvice, not only when their relationship breaks down, but also when setting up home together.
- Deal with all aspects of child law, both public and private, with particular expertise as advisors and advocates in emergency situations concerning children, including child abduction and child protection cases.
If you are interested in experiencing some family work you will find the family group a friendly and committed team of practitioners. Being a small group it is particularly easy during Pupillage to make sure you experience the full range of work and working styles by working with almost all the individuals in the Family Group.