Barristers | Pupillages | Mini-pupillages

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Key advice for aspiring barristers

Everything you need to know

Bar courses: a student’s guide to barrister training 2023-24

The Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) was replaced by a range of new Bar courses in September 2020. To become a barrister, students must pass a Bar course approved by the Bar Standards Board. All approved Bar courses lead to the same destination – being ‘called to the Bar’, which enables you to apply for a pupillage. Here’s LawCareers.Net’s guide to Bar courses.

Noreen Siddique - The Bar of England and Wales: full time or part time?

Noreen Siddique

More than 1,500 students each year study for the Bar course in the hope of achieving their goal of becoming practising barristers. Many students are left disappointed without any real understanding of why they couldn’t secure pupillage.

The LCN Podcast

Bar course, scholarships and pupillage applications

We speak to Bar student Dani about her journey to becoming a barrister – including what the Bar course entails, pupillage applications and how to secure a scholarship to fund your studies.

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Becoming a barrister

Barrister career path

The whole process from studying, to pupillage, to qualifying

Bar Training Courses (BTC/BPTC)

The one-year, postgraduate vocational course

Mini-pupillage

Essential work experience in chambers

The Bar Standards Board

Find out what the Bar Standards Board do

The Bar Council of England and Wales

Everything you need to know about the Bar Council

The Bar Council’s Young Barristers’ Committee

Find out what the YBC do

Meet the Lawyer

Read how today's barristers went from student to qualified barrister at the Bar

Meet the Lawyer

Hear from Harry Samuels in this Meet the Lawyer barrister profile, as he discusses his career at the Bar, a recent interesting case and the collegiate culture at XXIV Old Buildings.

Meet the Lawyer

James Poole outlines how he decided which chambers to apply to, the types of case he works on at Ten Old Square and why the self-employed nature of the Bar suits him.

Meet the Lawyer

Srishti Suresh shares her journey to the Bar, from learning how to integrate her creativity with the demands of the legal profession to what made her application successful.

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Videos

See more videos

WHY ARE INNS SO IMPORTANT | Dani the Barrister

What to do in the second year of your LAW DEGREE

How I processed pupillage rejections | BLESSING AT THE BAR

Three years into my journey to the Bar | BLESSING AT THE BAR

Tips: Planning and Time Management | Dani the Barrister

AI improves exam success by 45%, depending on student skill level

Professors Jonathan Choi and Daniel Schwarcz conducted a study using GPT-4 to examine the effect of using AI on student’s work. The study found that the results of low performing students improved by 45% when using AI, while higher performing students were affected negatively by the use of AI.

Potential divorce reforms could impact London’s reputation as divorce capital

Earlier this year, a review was commissioned to revaluate 50-year-old legislation regarding how financial assets are split, with calls for less generous financial awards expected to be requested for financially weaker spouses.

Legal aid providers call for systemic change to immigration legal aid system

In a joint letter to the lord chancellor, legal aid providers have warned that the immigration legal aid system requires systemic change.

American Bar Association launches task force to investigate how AI will affect legal practice

The American Bar Association has created a task force to address how artificial intelligence (AI) will affect legal practice, with a focus on six “critical” issues, including AI and legal education, and AI and access to justice.

First steps

Are you a first-year law student?

Visit our first-year hub for specific advice and info about what you should be doing in your first year

The Beginner's Guide to a Career in Law

Your guide to starting out!

How do I know whether the Bar is right for me?

I’m considering becoming a barrister, but how do I know whether the Bar is right for me?

Michael Edenborough KC

Intellectual property

"It is a brutal, but good, discipline to sit down and consider whether you have added substantive value to the case."

St John's Chambers

Planning/environment

"There’s just so much more public interest due to the important environmental impacts.”

Falcon Chambers

Landlord & tenant/housing

“The basic reason I am a property lawyer is because I am interested in the background of the cases I work on. If I wasn’t a property lawyer, I wouldn’t be a lawyer at all!"

Not studying law?

Tips for non-law students

Check out our non-law hub for key information

A non-law student’s guide to a career in law

You don’t need a law degree to become a lawyer – in fact, the modern legal profession is full of non-law graduates.

Inns Of Court scholarships

The different scholarships, bursaries and grants awarded by Gray's Inn, Inner Temple, Lincoln's Inn and Middle Temple and how to apply for them

How and when to submit applications for the Bar Courses

What will it cost?

The cost of qualifying as a barrister is expensive so investigate potential sources of funding at each stage of the process.

Working as a barrister

Life as a barrister

Everything you need to know from tenancy to continuing professional development.

Types of chambers

Discover the different kinds of barristers' chambers.

Barristers' practice areas

Each practice area has its own demands relating to knowledge, temperament, working practices and remuneration.

What else should I be reading?

Tips, tricks and all that's in-between!

Belonging at the Bar: women’s journey from barriers to barristers

Silk, Anatomy of a Scandal, The Split, Legally Blonde… the list goes on! We’re no strangers to women in the courtroom on TV but very few (if any) programmes express the difficulty women have faced getting to this point. For those who choose the barrister route, the road for women has been one paved with various obstacles. To this day, there are fewer women at the Bar than those practising as solicitors (38.8% compared with 52%).

Can I transfer from solicitor to barrister?

I want to be a barrister, but it seems more financially secure to train at a City law firm and more likely that I’d be able to secure a training contract, compared to pupillage. Can I train as a solicitor and re-qualify as a barrister in the future?

Student Verdict

Legal aid – how can it help you?

There are a lot of sources of information surrounding legal aid and the benefits it has in the legal system. However, universities often don't promote its importance within today's society.

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