As a family law pupil at Cobden House Chambers I have travelled across the Northwest region for the last six months. During this time, I have observed a breadth of cases spanning all three disciplines of family law and spent all but a handful of days, in court. From the outset, I have been afforded a great deal of autonomy in working with both clerks and my supervisor to shape my pupillage. This flexibility has allowed me to engage with a cross section of family law work, an approach I intend to continue into my second sixth.
Alongside the continual woes of traffic and trains, I have pledged to continuously carry an emergency Freddo chocolate bar within my court handbag as an absolutely necessary precaution. Experience has taught me that life at the Bar does not always accommodate regular mealtimes.
The first half of my pupillage has been a process of trial and error. This has allowed me to work more proactively and efficiently when in receipt of last-minute papers, for instance completing a chronology and crib sheet initially for all my cases. Mastering the facts and issues in a short timeframe is essential, I find this structured exercise a practical way to remain calm and a sense of control and understanding over the context of each case.
The well-worn cliché of life at the Bar being no two days the same has certainly proved true. For example, I have observed by pupil supervisor manage a complex Finding of Fact hearing significantly overrun. I have been exposed to a wide range of advocates, professional and lay clients, Judges, court teams, and the like. I have been extremely involved throughout my first sixth outside of the court room also, drafting attendance notes and Orders for my supervisor and experiencing the challenges with the practical case management of litigants in person, intermediaries and interpreters.
A lot of family law can be quite emotionally charged, nearly every case before the court involves complex and deeply personal circumstances involving children and vulnerable individuals. I have been fortunate within my first sixth to experience the rewards of lengthy cases concluding for families and children and the sense of resolution for clients and legal teams who have worked tirelessly. I have witnessed the entirety of the family team at Cobden House deliver honest, frank and considered advice. More often than not this can conflict with the clients’ assessment of the situation and expectation, and this has taught me an invaluable skillset.
The support network within chambers has allowed for this difficult area of practice and career as a whole to feel manageable, making a debrief over a coffee (I more accurately mean cake) an essential weekly occurrence. Alongside a busy six months in court, I have also embraced the social side of life at the Bar, networking at the infamous Cobden House Oast House event, represented chambers at pupillage events, attended mess to be elected to the Northern Circuit and completed my circuit advocacy training.
I look forward to being on my feet from the beginning of April.
Elicia Westran
Cobden House Chambers
1st April 2026
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