Bar Council U-turns over Pupillage Gateway application opening date

After announcing that the opening date of the Pupillage Gateway application system would be moved from April to January from 2016 onwards, the Bar Council has now U-turned to say that the current timetable will remain in place (with applications being made in April and offers being sent out in August) until further notice.

The Bar Council announced in July that the Pupillage Gateway application period would be moved from April to January in order to prevent clashes with exams and enable people to know whether they had secured pupillage before enrolling on the highly expensive Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). Now, in an embarrassing U-turn, the Bar Council has decided not to go ahead with the decision while it considers matters further, citing logistical problems for some chambers. The Bar Council also claims that some students have contacted it to protest against the proposed change.

A change in the recruitment calendar is clearly necessary to help students decide whether to pay for the BPTC – and avoid being taken advantage of by unscrupulous for-profit law schools. That this change had been previously confirmed, only for it to be cancelled after it emerged that adequate consultation has apparently not been undertaken, therefore paints a less than flattering picture of those charged with regulating training at the Bar.

A Bar Council spokesman urged candidates to apply early in order to avoid paying for the BPTC without having a pupillage lined up – although this advice is far from watertight in terms of protecting applicants. The spokesman said: “We remain eager to help students get a better idea of their chances of securing pupillage before committing time and money to the BPTC. We urge students to apply as early as possible for pupillage to gage whether they have a realistic opportunity of beginning a career at the Bar and before making those costly commitments. Students shouldn’t go into the BPTC blindly. By applying early, those who might previously have been put off by the financial risk associated with committing to the BPTC without some assurance of a pupillage in future, but who have the talent to pursue a successful career at the Bar, will get a better understanding of their chances before it is too late.”