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If you have decided to pursue a career at the Bar, it is likely that you will need to complete a Bar training course with one of the course providers (or authorised education and training organisations (AETOs) to give them their official title).
A frequent question asked by students is: what should I do before starting the Bar course? Students in this situation will fall into two camps – those who have already attained pupillage and those who have not.
If you have not yet attained pupillage before starting your Bar training, then you are in the same boat as the large majority of students who subsequently attain pupillage. It is far more common to obtain pupillage while taking a Bar course or after completing it than it is to have pupillage in the first place.
Why is the choice of AETO and course relevant? The Bar course you choose will constrain the level of external activity you can accomplish. If you are studying on a full-time course, you will be unlikely to achieve much in the way of extra-curricular activity.
If you feel it is necessary to significantly bolster your CV, you might consider a part-time course or one that has a split study pattern (some online training, some in-person training).
The key point is that if your CV is deficient, the summer between finishing an undergraduate course and commencing Bar training may be insufficient to bolster it. A part-time course allows for a greater period in which you can add to your CV.
Don’t underestimate the financial commitment involved. If you do not already have the funds to pay for a Bar course, then you can either save or (probably further) borrow to pay for it. Plan when and how you will work around your study. Is your chosen course the right one to allow you to accomplish your plan?
Often, we see students attempting to combine work with a full-time study course, which invariably ends badly.
Too many students take on activities without a clear view of what they are trying to achieve by doing so.
If you don’t have pupillage, you are likely to be doing two things – CV bolstering and improving skills. Your previous academic achievements are now immutable. Other than polishing what is already on your CV, the only way to improve your chances is to improve its content in other areas.
If you do have pupillage, your endeavours are likely to be more focused on gaining an understanding of the profession and improving your skills before pupillage. You may also be seeking to garner professional connections pre-pupillage.
If your aim is to bolster your CV, then be realistic about what is going to stand out. It is very common for students to work as a paralegal, enter moots and undertake mini-pupillages. What will make you stand out?
Winning prestigious moots, undertaking mini-pupillages with sets that you are applying to, and gaining practical work experience, often internationally, are likely to be far more attractive to chambers.
If you are CV building, it may pay you less in the short term but pay off in the long term.
It is remarkable how few students studying for a career at the Bar have ever set foot inside a courtroom and witnessed the mechanics of their preferred future profession.
There are huge advantages in doing so. You will get an understanding of what you are getting yourself into, gain invaluable context to the Bar training, become familiar with skills likely to be tested in pupillage interviews, and it will prepare you for pupillage.
Go to court and take notes of what you are seeing (make sure they are public hearings). Ask your tutors on the Bar course about the experience.
Also attend court hearings in areas in which you do not intend to practise.
Bar courses tend to have elements of criminal practice (typically cross-examination and examination in chief) and elements of civil practice. Your intention may be to become a commercial silk as soon as you possibly can. To do that, it is likely you will have to demonstrate an ability to cross-examine a witness in a criminal context during your Bar training; prepare for this by attending the Crown Court.
Once you are in pupillage, you will have little spare time. That which you have will probably be spent as far from courtrooms as possible. Use the time now to gain a feel for the wider justice system.
Going to university is a daunting experience, and one of the most daunting aspects is mixing with a group of other students of diverse backgrounds who are often of very high academic ability.
After spending several years realising that you fit in and can thrive in that environment, you have to enter a new academic environment. As the pool of students shrinks, the ability often increases. You may be fearful that you will be weaker than other students. We frequently encounter students who want to go back over previous academic study to ensure that they will not be of a lower standard than their peers.
Firstly, you should not worry. If you have chosen your AETO well, then you can be assured that you are of sufficient calibre to be there. Any good AETO should assess whether their students have a realistic chance of pupillage before accepting them onto the course. The qualities that feed into this assessment are not limited to previous academic achievement.
Second, you may well meet people of very high ability. The Bar attracts such people. Try to learn from them and recognise that you have skills which they may not have.
Third, don’t try to restudy. Your undergraduate study is over. Practice at the Bar is very different, and a good Bar course should reflect that. It will be a waste of your time to go back over your previous studies.
Fourth, don’t try to cheat. Bar courses change from year to year but often materials stay the same. Students can be tempted to try to coast through courses by accessing previous samples before the course starts. Not only will this prevent you learning on the course, it may well result in disciplinary action which imperils your career.
The Bar is a challenging and rewarding career. Good training should replicate this.
At the Inns of Court College of Advocacy, we advise students that they will be engaging in an intense period of study for their in-person teaching. Many students seem to need to experience this before they believe it.
Once your career is up and running, you will have few chances for a break. If you are at the self-employed Bar, any break you take will be unpaid.
So, take some time off before your Bar course. Take a holiday, do what you enjoy. This is likely to be the last gap in study in your lives and you should try to enjoy at least some of that gap.
Turn up on day one of whichever course you undertake refreshed and enthused.
Good luck with your studies, wherever they may be.
Barnaby Pinfield has been Bar Course Leader at the Inns of Court College of Advocacy since 2022. He was called to the Bar in 2001 and had a mixed practice before becoming an academic.
If you have decided to pursue a career at the Bar, it is likely that you will need to complete a Bar training course with one of the course providers (or authorised education and training organisations (AETOs) to give them their official title).
A frequent question asked by students is: what should I do before starting the Bar course? Students in this situation will fall into two camps – those who have already attained pupillage and those who have not.
If you have not yet attained pupillage before starting your Bar training, then you are in the same boat as the large majority of students who subsequently attain pupillage. It is far more common to obtain pupillage while taking a Bar course or after completing it than it is to have pupillage in the first place.
Why is the choice of AETO and course relevant? The Bar course you choose will constrain the level of external activity you can accomplish. If you are studying on a full-time course, you will be unlikely to achieve much in the way of extra-curricular activity.
If you feel it is necessary to significantly bolster your CV, you might consider a part-time course or one that has a split study pattern (some online training, some in-person training).
The key point is that if your CV is deficient, the summer between finishing an undergraduate course and commencing Bar training may be insufficient to bolster it. A part-time course allows for a greater period in which you can add to your CV.
Don’t underestimate the financial commitment involved. If you do not already have the funds to pay for a Bar course, then you can either save or (probably further) borrow to pay for it. Plan when and how you will work around your study. Is your chosen course the right one to allow you to accomplish your plan?
Often, we see students attempting to combine work with a full-time study course, which invariably ends badly.
Too many students take on activities without a clear view of what they are trying to achieve by doing so.
If you don’t have pupillage, you are likely to be doing two things – CV bolstering and improving skills. Your previous academic achievements are now immutable. Other than polishing what is already on your CV, the only way to improve your chances is to improve its content in other areas.
If you do have pupillage, your endeavours are likely to be more focused on gaining an understanding of the profession and improving your skills before pupillage. You may also be seeking to garner professional connections pre-pupillage.
If your aim is to bolster your CV, then be realistic about what is going to stand out. It is very common for students to work as a paralegal, enter moots and undertake mini-pupillages. What will make you stand out?
Winning prestigious moots, undertaking mini-pupillages with sets that you are applying to, and gaining practical work experience, often internationally, are likely to be far more attractive to chambers.
If you are CV building, it may pay you less in the short term but pay off in the long term.
It is remarkable how few students studying for a career at the Bar have ever set foot inside a courtroom and witnessed the mechanics of their preferred future profession.
There are huge advantages in doing so. You will get an understanding of what you are getting yourself into, gain invaluable context to the Bar training, become familiar with skills likely to be tested in pupillage interviews, and it will prepare you for pupillage.
Go to court and take notes of what you are seeing (make sure they are public hearings). Ask your tutors on the Bar course about the experience.
Also attend court hearings in areas in which you do not intend to practise.
Bar courses tend to have elements of criminal practice (typically cross-examination and examination in chief) and elements of civil practice. Your intention may be to become a commercial silk as soon as you possibly can. To do that, it is likely you will have to demonstrate an ability to cross-examine a witness in a criminal context during your Bar training; prepare for this by attending the Crown Court.
Once you are in pupillage, you will have little spare time. That which you have will probably be spent as far from courtrooms as possible. Use the time now to gain a feel for the wider justice system.
Going to university is a daunting experience, and one of the most daunting aspects is mixing with a group of other students of diverse backgrounds who are often of very high academic ability.
After spending several years realising that you fit in and can thrive in that environment, you have to enter a new academic environment. As the pool of students shrinks, the ability often increases. You may be fearful that you will be weaker than other students. We frequently encounter students who want to go back over previous academic study to ensure that they will not be of a lower standard than their peers.
Firstly, you should not worry. If you have chosen your AETO well, then you can be assured that you are of sufficient calibre to be there. Any good AETO should assess whether their students have a realistic chance of pupillage before accepting them onto the course. The qualities that feed into this assessment are not limited to previous academic achievement.
Second, you may well meet people of very high ability. The Bar attracts such people. Try to learn from them and recognise that you have skills which they may not have.
Third, don’t try to restudy. Your undergraduate study is over. Practice at the Bar is very different, and a good Bar course should reflect that. It will be a waste of your time to go back over your previous studies.
Fourth, don’t try to cheat. Bar courses change from year to year but often materials stay the same. Students can be tempted to try to coast through courses by accessing previous samples before the course starts. Not only will this prevent you learning on the course, it may well result in disciplinary action which imperils your career.
The Bar is a challenging and rewarding career. Good training should replicate this.
At the Inns of Court College of Advocacy, we advise students that they will be engaging in an intense period of study for their in-person teaching. Many students seem to need to experience this before they believe it.
Once your career is up and running, you will have few chances for a break. If you are at the self-employed Bar, any break you take will be unpaid.
So, take some time off before your Bar course. Take a holiday, do what you enjoy. This is likely to be the last gap in study in your lives and you should try to enjoy at least some of that gap.
Turn up on day one of whichever course you undertake refreshed and enthused.
Good luck with your studies, wherever they may be.
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