The HM Revenue & Customs pupillage

The pupillage HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) offers involves a one-year contract that begins at the start of the pupillage year on 1 October. During September prior to its start, HMRC encourages its pupils to undertake a month's paid work experience at the Solicitor's Office. The rationale behind this month is to give the pupil a better understanding of the type of work HMRC lawyers undertake as well as enabling the pupil to start making contact with their future colleagues.

The first six months is spent in Chambers. HMRC arranges this placement in consultation with the pupil. Efforts are made to match the pupil and their interests with an appropriate set of Chambers. In the past HMRC has placed pupils at Devereux Chambers. The 2009 intake of pupils were placed in Landmark, Hare Court, and 3 Paper Buildings. The objective is to give the pupil a broad range of experience before they begin to specialise upon their return to HMRC during their second six months.

HMRC places a strong emphasis on supporting all legal trainees and this is particularly evident during the first six months of pupillage. Along with having regular meetings and contact with the pupil supervisor, who is a senior barrister at HMRC, a pupil is assigned a 'buddy' who is usually the most recently qualified barrister to provide informal support and guidance. In addition, HMRC hold regular internal training sessions for legal trainees throughout the year which provide ample opportunity to keep in touch with the other trainees and the department.

The second six months is spent at HMRC, where pupils work in one of the 20 or so legal teams at the Solicitor's Office. This is where pupillage mirrors the training contracts that trainee solicitors undertake, except that HMRC provides pupils with increased opportunities to undertake advocacy. Advocacy opportunities can include insolvency actions at the County Court, bringing national minimum wage claims at the Employment Tribunal or responding to a VAT claim at the VAT Tribunal.

At the end of the year, providing that the pupil meets all of the Bar Standards Board's requirements, they become a fully qualified barrister and entitled to a practising certificate. Subject to satisfactory performance, HMRC is likely to offer the newly qualified barrister a further contract of employment at Legal Officer Grade (equivalent to Senior Officer in the wider Civil Service). The newly qualified barrister will undertake two further placements with different teams within HMRC over the next 11 months in order for them to broaden their experience before being placed in their first substantive post. The end of the training period therefore coincides with that of the trainee solicitors. From the start of the first substantive post it takes a further year at the Legal Officer grade to become a Lawyer (Grade 7) at HMRC.