I have to admit the news that One Essex Court is to pay its pupils an award of £60,000 arouses a trace of envy in me – perhaps not entirely unrelated to the fact that my pupillage award was £10,000, and that now as a third six pupil somehow I’m earning even less than that.
Even with the huge debts that so many of us come to the Bar with, £60,000 is a massive amount. And £60,000 is just the basic payment. In addition to that, One Essex Court pupils will receive earnings from the second six of as much as £13,000. And let’s not forget that pupillage awards paid in the first six months are tax-exempt – hence the common practice (among non-criminal sets) to offer a larger proportion of the award in the first six. One Essex Court will pay its pupils £40,000 in the first six (tax-free), with the remaining £20,000 paid in the second-six (subject to tax, alongside any additional earnings).
