*/
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has agreed to allow new routes for would-be barristers to qualify, including the two-stage course proposed by the Bar Council and the Council of the Inns of Court (COIC).
The Bar Council/COIC model to split the training, currently undertaken through the Bar Professional Training Course which costs up to £20,000, would see an initial knowledge element, that must be passed before candidates progress to the skills-based part of the course at law school.
The BSB said the proposal was supported by the ‘great majority’ of respondents to the consultation on the Future of Training for the Bar, launched last year, which overall received more than 1,100 respondents.
More than 500 barristers, including the former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolfe, signed an open letter to the BSB supporting the proposal and raising concern about other options put forward by the regulator.
The BSB has published criteria for the new courses and said it will publish and consult on an ‘authorisation framework’, which it expected it to be in place from the 2018/19 academic year.
The timing of new courses being approved, it said, will depend on providers coming forward with plans.
BSB Chair, Sir Andrew Burns said: ‘Our role as the regulator is not to design the courses themselves, but to set a robust framework for authorising course providers.’
He said: ‘We look forward to more flexible, accessible and affordable training courses in future which will maintain the high intellectual and professional standards demanded at the Bar.’
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has agreed to allow new routes for would-be barristers to qualify, including the two-stage course proposed by the Bar Council and the Council of the Inns of Court (COIC).
The Bar Council/COIC model to split the training, currently undertaken through the Bar Professional Training Course which costs up to £20,000, would see an initial knowledge element, that must be passed before candidates progress to the skills-based part of the course at law school.
The BSB said the proposal was supported by the ‘great majority’ of respondents to the consultation on the Future of Training for the Bar, launched last year, which overall received more than 1,100 respondents.
More than 500 barristers, including the former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolfe, signed an open letter to the BSB supporting the proposal and raising concern about other options put forward by the regulator.
The BSB has published criteria for the new courses and said it will publish and consult on an ‘authorisation framework’, which it expected it to be in place from the 2018/19 academic year.
The timing of new courses being approved, it said, will depend on providers coming forward with plans.
BSB Chair, Sir Andrew Burns said: ‘Our role as the regulator is not to design the courses themselves, but to set a robust framework for authorising course providers.’
He said: ‘We look forward to more flexible, accessible and affordable training courses in future which will maintain the high intellectual and professional standards demanded at the Bar.’
Efforts continue on gender equality, support for the Bar, meaningful reform for the sector and advocating for the rule of law
To mark International Women’s Day, Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management looks at how financial planning can help bridge the gap
Casey Randall of AlphaBiolabs answers some of the most common questions regarding relationship DNA testing for court
Leading drug, alcohol and DNA testing laboratory AlphaBiolabs has made a £500 donation to Beatson Cancer Charity in Glasgow as part of its Giving Back campaign
Girls Human Rights Festival 2025: a global gathering for change
Exclusive Q&A with Henry Dannell
Marking Neurodiversity Week 2025, an anonymous barrister shares the revelations and emotions from a mid-career diagnosis with a view to encouraging others to find out more
Patrick Green KC talks about the landmark Post Office Group litigation and his driving principles for life and practice. Interview by Anthony Inglese CB
Desiree Artesi meets Malcolm Bishop KC, the Lord Chief Justice of Tonga, who talks about his new role in the South Pacific and reflects on his career
Sir Nicholas Mostyn, former High Court judge, on starting a hit podcast with fellow ‘Parkies’ after the shock of his diagnosis
Once you submit your silk application, what happens next? Sir Paul Morgan explains each stage of the process and reflects on his experience as a member of the KC Selection Panel
