Amid all the debate about rising Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) fees and the new pricier-than-expected Bar aptitude test, two obvious points keep being ignored. 1) There has always been a Bar aptitude test (it's called the Inns of Court scholarship application process) – and 2) training to be a barrister is free for those who pass it (via a full Inns of Court scholarship)...
Last week Eddie Stobart Lorries' newly-formed legal arm caused controversy by claiming that solicitors are like GPs and barristers like consultants. While there's some truth in this medical analogy, it can also be misleading – with misguided notions of status often leading wannabe lawyers to do the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) when they should do the Legal Practice Course (LPC). So how do you decide?
Back in 2009, Essex beautician Georgina Blackwell caused a media storm when, without any legal training, she represented her mother in a High Court dispute against a large property company – and won. Sniffing a PR opportunity, BPP Law School immediately – and very publicly – offered Blackwell (pictured below) a full scholarship to do its then-newly launched LLB...
I see barristers' refusal to embrace diversity monitoring has been described as "embarrassing" and "pathetic". What nonsense, writes pupil barrister-to-be OccupyTheInns. There is absolutely nothing embarrassing or pathetic about declining to disclose highly personal data about oneself. In fact, I regard the Bar’s stance on this matter as something of which to be proud.
Unlike so many areas of society, the Bar stands robustly in the face of faddish winds of change, like an English oak in a field of straw. Do most barristers foolishly "share" every scrap of knowledge they have, as new social norms tell us we must through the likes of Facebook? No. Thought in greater measure must occur, before acts a barrister...
Picture courtesy of must-follow legal tweeter Jeremy Hopkins.
Wannabe barristers who forget to apply for a lucrative Inns of Court scholarship may find themselves haunted by feelings of regret and self-loathing...
Ed note: This is the first in a series of posts where leading members of the legal profession share their wisdom with the next generation of wannabes. We'll be featuring one-a-week in the run-up to the 'Legal Cheek at the Google Campus' event in December.
If I had known then what I know now, I would have become a barrister rather than a solicitor, writes Joshua Rozenberg.
I found it very difficult to get through the solicitors’ exams in the early 1970s – though I made it in the end. The Bar exams were reputedly much easier at the time. Why, then, didn’t I read for the Bar?
Nine months working as a solicitor’s outdoor clerk (delivering briefs, getting deeds stamped; asking High Court masters for leave to file out of time) persuaded me that barristers were much cleverer than I could ever aspire to be and that solicitors merely needed to be methodical.
This turned out to be a gross misrepresentation of both sides of the profession...
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.