Bar Council Training Scheme (BCTS) for Chinese Lawyers
The summer of 2013 has seen the Bar Council welcoming a new cohort of ten young Chinese lawyers in the second year of the programme it conceived and now administers as a successor to the Lord Chancellor’s long-running training scheme. The commercially-focused BCTS programme combines a weeklong bespoke study course on English law at BPP law school with a five-week placement in a set of barrister’s chambers. The placement aims to give Chinese lawyers knowledge of the English Bar and the work barristers do, as well as equipping them with practical knowledge of how to work with them.
Through their placements and the networking opportunities that form part of the programme, the lawyers gained valuable international contacts and take back to their firms in China insights on building a successful international legal practice. The young lawyers were introduced to the more practical and legal aspects of barristers work through a series of supplementary evening seminars and workshops delivered by practitioners, while court visits helped to give an overview of the English legal system.
The Bar Council looks forward to building on this successful scheme and to further collaboration with future cohorts.
