The shadowy world of third six pupillages

News of the website 3rdsix.co.uk - which charges fees to prospective barristers applying for third six pupillages and is registered to a non-trading individual without a listed business address - certainly caused a few raised eyebrows at Legal Week.

It seems bizarre that a profession which prides itself on its high standards of integrity has allowed a semi-anonymous figure to play a central role in entry to its junior ranks and make money out of its members.

To put this in context for those not voiced in the quirky ways of the Bar, to qualify as a barrister students have to complete a 12-month pupillage at a barristers' chambers - sometimes split into two parts (known as a 'first six' and 'second six'). Applications for first and second six pupillages are tightly regulated by the barristers' professional body, the Bar Council. Having completed this stage, candidates become eligible to practise independently as tenants in chambers. However, tenancies can be hard to secure, so some candidates go on to do a 'third six' pupillage - effectively a second chance at entry into the profession - at a different chambers to the one at which they completed their first and second six.

Somewhat surprisingly, the third six pupillage application system is completely unregulated. The Bar Council justifies its position on this by reference to the fact that those undertaking third sixes have completed the 12-month pupillage requirement - and are therefore technically fully qualified. However, third six pupils say that, despite their full barrister status, they are treated to all intents and purposes as if they are still in training.

Whatever your thoughts on the Bar Council's stance on this issue, what's undeniable is that it has allowed a site like 3rdsix.co.uk to operate unchecked. The fact that the Bar Council also runs its own website to match third six pupils with chambers - for which it charges no fee - appears not to have hindered 3rdsix.co.uk, with the site claiming to have 367 registered pupillage seekers, suggesting that many believe that not signing up to it could damage their hopes.

Okay, the £14.99 3rdsix.co.uk charges pupillage seekers to register isn't exactly bankruptcy-inducing - but after running up large debts at Bar school, and often struggling on near subsistence-level wages during first and second six pupillages, barristers who have reached this stage surely deserve a little more protection from their professional body.