Down from over 70% pre-Covid
Exclusive Legal Cheek data shows that the bar’s most sought-after chambers continue to draw heavily from Oxbridge talent, but there are signs that the elite university duo’s grip on pupillage places is starting to loosen.
A deep dive into the educational backgrounds of the five most junior tenants at 50 of the country’s leading sets reveals a clear picture of how elite chambers are recruiting and who’s actually getting through the door.
At the very top end of Oxbridge recruitment, the five most junior barristers at six leading commercial and chancery sets all studied at Oxford or Cambridge at undergraduate level.
Across 34 out of 50 sets on our Chambers Most List 2026, Oxbridge graduates made up the majority of those progressing from pupillage into tenancy, with at least three of the five most recent tenants at each set coming from the two elite universities.
Overall, we looked at close to 250 junior barristers across 50 sets to see how many had completed their undergraduate degree at Oxbridge. Our research shows that 143 of them — or 58% — are Oxbridge alumni. While this still accounts for more than half of all juniors surveyed, it represents a notable drop from pre-Covid levels of as high as 77%, and likely reflects the efforts some sets have made to broaden access and recruit from a wider range of universities, including through Legal Cheek‘s Virtual Pupillage Fairs.
The tendency to recruit from Oxbridge broadly aligns with practice area: sets operating in the most lucrative fields — company law, financial regulation, tax, and private international disputes — show the highest proportions of Oxbridge grads. By contrast, sets with broader practices spanning mixed civil, public and specialist areas display a wider spread of educational backgrounds, including larger numbers from Russell Group and other universities.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, chambers that recruit predominantly from Oxbridge also tend to offer some of the higher pupillage awards.
Which chambers recruit the most Oxbridge grads? 
*Figure is for the five most junior members of chambers; does not include postgraduate studies.
You can view everything pupillage-related on our 2026 Legal Cheek Chambers Most List