With top sets opening branches up north, the regions are a great bet for up-and-coming barristers, argues Leeds-based pupil Adam Beaumont

Consider your choices wisely. Or at least be aware that you have a choice. Sooner or later, all of those aspiring to practice as a barrister have to start the dreaded search for a pupillage. London tends to be seen as the obvious first port of call. With numerous sets to choose from, some of which offer relatively large pupillage awards, and the chance to practise in some of the most renowned court centres in the world, this is hardly surprising. But before you decide that London is the only conceivable place to be, you should consider all the options open to you. After all, this may well be what you end up doing for the best part of your life.

Money

It's no secret that some London sets offer very impressive pupillage awards for those lucky enough to secure a place. It is important, however, not to focus too much on these awards – they are not representative of what most chambers in the capital offer their pupils. Consequently, unless you are one of the fortunate few who lands a pupillage at one of the big paying magic circle sets, your income is only going to cover your basic costs of living and not much more, wherever you are.

Not that being a pupil in the regions is especially lucrative. But I have found that a pupillage outside of London has hidden perks that many don't consider, such as chambers footing the bill for your Archbold legal guide, travel and compulsory courses. You may also discover that your supervising barrister pays for your lunch every day. This may not seem like much, but it certainly helps the bank balance when you don't have to open your wallet all day.

I have found it financially viable to live relatively close to chambers during my pupillage year. Living in the city centre means that my daily commute into chambers is a leisurely 10 minute walk. In my first six months of pupillage this has been an enormous advantage and certainly beats the daily squeeze on the London underground. Nevertheless, the second six has involved travelling throughout the region and is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

Support

From the beginning of my pupillage, I have felt that there has always been someone to turn to for advice or support in chambers, whether I needed it or not. In fact, it's difficult to think of somebody who hasn't offered their help along the line; from those in silk to the most junior tenant. This has had the effect of reducing my anxieties substantially, enabling me to concentrate on the primary purpose of pupillage: learning and developing the skills I am hopefully going to rely upon in practice.

I am conscious of avoiding the kiss of death here, but outside London it is frequently the case that a pupillage is awarded with a view to offering tenancy on its satisfactory completion. This is an obvious benefit, and it also means that you are not competing with other pupils for the tenancy decision. This has a number of consequences – one of which is that you feel comfortable asking for assistance for those questions that you might fear are blindingly obvious.

Tight knit

As a pupil on circuit I have found that it's quite a tight-knit community. A pupillage on circuit means you get the opportunity to meet and build relationships with those practitioners and pupils that you're likely to see day in and day out from different sets. This is priceless when you have a concern and are able to turn to somebody, no matter which court centre you find yourself in.

Regularly visiting courts on circuit, you also get to know the court staff. These people are some of the most important to get along with – and a good working relationship can make the job a lot less difficult. Of course, knowing those around you at work can help substantially, but it also means the veil of anonymity is lost and everyone's mistakes are known to everybody else.

As a pupil you will sometimes wish your mistakes could be left behind you with no way for them to find their way back to chambers! But this openness also enables everyone to know who they can and cannot trust, something which is enormously helpful in breeding an environment of honesty, trust and professionalism critical to the Bar.

The work

The opportunity to take on good quality work at an early stage in your career is there for most outside of London. This may well be one of the reasons why large London sets such as Doughty Street Chambers and 39 Essex Street are adding annexes in Manchester, from where their barristers can do work in cities across the North. With the quality of work also comes a better income – although this will depend to some extent on what type of work you are looking to do. In London there is the option to specialise in an area of law that has always been your burning interest. And really it's the only place this level of specialisation can be undertaken. A general common law practice, on the other hand, tends to be the norm in cities in the regions. With that in mind, it is important to consider what area you want to practice in now as well as in the future.

It is not my intention to persuade you that pupillage in the regions is a better bet than pupillage in London, simply that outside the capital is a good place to be.

Adam Beaumont is a pupil at St Pauls Chambers in Leeds.

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The regional bar: State of play

Simon Myerson QC reports on how the regional Bar is faring in uncertain times for the profession

In reality, how can anyone really know what the state of the regional Bar is? Beyond looking at anecdotal evidence and a scan of the bankruptcy lists, it is difficult. So I have asked around and watched the robing room at work. What follows is no more scientific than that and comes with the appropriate health warning.

There are clearly worries. Advocacy with a not-very-level playing field is one; I recently prosecuted a murder where the junior (a solicitor advocate) for one of the accused was doing their very first Crown Court trial. Another is the forthcoming slash in criminal fees. And then there are new business structures, which very few people understand and the effects of which even fewer can predict. But these are not worries specific to the regions. Similarly, although rumours occasionally circulate about chambers having to fold because of lack of income, I do not detect any upsurge in the numbers of those leaving the profession, or a decrease in those seeking to join it.

I observe most of my colleagues as being robustly cheerful and optimistic. That, I think, is because they enjoy the work they do, and because there is still work to be done. To an extent, the regional Bar is insulated against income cuts because professional expenses have historically been lower, and money goes further, than in London.

Those factors add to confidence that we will survive. That confidence is bolstered by close links with the judiciary who are supportive and very largely see it as part of their job to encourage talent and discourage sycophancy.

Anyway, most barristers aren't in it for the money. And although one can't predict with any certainty the effect of working for very much less, my instinct is that the enjoyment will remain. There will, however, be more incentive to take on additional types of work, thus depriving the publicly-funded Bar of significant talent. If that eventuates it will be the Government's problem, not ours.

There is certainly plenty of civil and family work in the regions, and the solicitors' profession seems to be moving away from the view that London is the only place to go. The Mercantile, Chancery and Technology and Construction (TCC) courts are working well and the judicial talent on display is impressive – the latest Mercantile appointment in Manchester is a silk from Fountain Court, a magic circle set. The administrative court now sits regionally and, certainly in my part of the world, the higher judiciary is genuinely committed to regional work being done in situ. The opportunities thus created are apparent to any barrister with any sense.

I note, with some amusement, that those of my friends who could not bear to leave the smoke have almost unanimously decided to undertake daily that wonderful experience known as commuting. Considerations such as journey times, property prices, access to real countryside and an ability to see your kids before they go to sleep all point to the regions. It may not be directly relevant to the strength of the Bar, but – as we are increasingly coming to realise – contented people work well.

As for professional advancement, recent judicial and silk appointments seem to me to show that it is still easier to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond. Once you have convinced people you can do it, access to decent work is better and the aforementioned judicial support does wonders to develop a practice. I admit I have no statistics to back this up, but that is the feeling. Certainly, I have rarely heard someone say that they want to move to London to improve their prospects.

Simon Myerson QC is a barrister at St Pauls Chambers in Leeds