Professional courses
Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) Our well-established and world-renowned barrister training is designed to meet every demand of the modern Bar and provides our students with case analysis, advisory and courtroom skills.
Duration
Full-time: one year. Part-time: two years. Entry requirements
Applicants should have completed the academic stage of training, which consists of either a qualifying law degree or non-law degree followed by a law conversion course, such as the Graduate Diploma in Law or the Graduate Entry LLB. In both cases a lower second class Honours degree is required. In addition, applicants are required to pass the Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT) before an offer of a place on the course can be confirmed. BCAT test centres are located around the world and administered by the Bar Standards Board. For further information, please visit: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk. English language requirements
For applicants whose first language is not English, one of the following qualifications is also required: IELTS: A minimum of 7.5 in each sub-test TOEFL (internet-based): A minimum score of 28 in each part of the test Pearson Test of English: A minimum score of 73 in each part of the test. BPTC conversion to an LLM in Professional Legal Skills Students who take the Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Skills with The City Law School get the opportunity to convert it to a full LLM by undertaking a dissertation that can be completed within six months or a year of the course. See page 32. www.city.ac.uk/law/llm-bptc
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Our BPTC puts an emphasis on skillsbased training and advocacy. To give students the best possible chance of entering the Bar, our specialised Pupillage Advisory Service offers advice on cvs, applications and mock interviews. On successful completion of the course students will receive the Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Skills, which is required to be called to the Bar.
Course content The BPTC consists of several core subjects to develop the relevant legal skills and knowledge that all newly qualified barristers need, together with a range of option subjects available for students to develop their knowledge of particular areas. Core subjects: • Alternative dispute resolution • Case preparation and analysis • Civil advocacy • Civil litigation, civil evidence and remedies • Conference skills • Criminal advocacy • Criminal litigation, sentencing and criminal evidence • Drafting skills • Legal research • Opinion writing skills • Professional ethics. Other important areas covered within the context of the main subjects: • Costs • Human rights • Risk analysis. Full details of the syllabus for the course, including a list of option subjects, can be found on our website: www.city.ac.uk/law/bptc.
The City Law School Prospectus 2014/15
Course structure The BPTC has been developed in consultation with practitioners to ensure that it meets the needs of the modern day Bar. Students use sets of papers, which develop over a number of weeks in the same way as real cases progress through the court system. Advocacy is a key subject on the BPTC. Advocacy training follows the system used in the training of pupils and junior barristers by the Inns’ Advocacy Training Committee (ATC). The BPTC is led and delivered by experts who bring their experience and specialist knowledge to the course. Our academic staff sit, or have sat, in a part-time judicial capacity and maintain door tenancies. On enrolment, students receive a complete set of materials that reflect the work during the early years of practice, including manuals and relevant practitioner texts. Professional conduct and ethics are also central to all learning on the course, with the courses focusing on helping students to: • Become an independent, innovative and confident lawyer • Improve their ability to use argument and persuasion in oral and written forms • Develop high standards of client service and care.
Feedback Feedback is provided throughout the year and is central to the course and the development of legal skills and students’ own professional (and personal) development.