Full-time • Three days teaching in a standard week (typically 12–14 hours class contact time) • Two days for preparation, professional development and research • A recommended 20 or more hours of private study and preparation work. Part-time • Two evenings per week, starting at 6pm and lasting up to three hours • Assessment days • At least ten hours of private study a week during term time. The part-time course begins in September 2014 and ends in May 2016.
Professional courses Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC)
Timetable
Individual professional development students are also encouraged to participate in ‘live client’ work through the Pro Bono programme. This includes the opportunity to work with the National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV), FRU (Free Representation Unit) and the Innocence Project. We often invite high-profile speakers and hold optional evening practitioner sessions.
Career opportunities Graduates of the BPTC have a strong record of gaining pupillage. Our dedicated Pupillage Advisory Service gives expert support to students seeking to enter the Bar and guidance on how to get a mini-pupillage, pupillage application and interviews.
Assessment methods Students will be assessed with eight skills assessments, written and oral, based on realistic cases and a combination of ‘unseen’ and ‘take away’ papers. They will also sit four multiple choice/short answer question tests.
Marcus Soanes
Bar Professional Training Course, BA, MA, Barrister Course Director (part-time route) Marcus is a barrister with extensive experience of vocational legal training. He holds a Masters in Online and Distance Learning, which he gained through part-time study based on teaching the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). He has experience of practice in both the Magistrates’ Courts and Crown Courts. He teaches advocacy, case preparation, commercial law and opinion writing. Marcus creates a stimulating environment for his students to study in to ensure that they get the most out of the course. He supports each of his students in achieving their personal career goals upon completion of the part-time BPTC.
Professor Stuart Sime
Bar Professional Training Course, LLB, Barrister Course Director (full-time route) Stuart was called to the Bar in 1983 and is a former tenant at 169 Temple Chambers with extensive experience in civil and commercial work and in teaching legal professional skills.
Opportunities
He is an Editor and Co-author of Blackstone’s Civil Practice, the Author of A Practical Approach to Civil Procedure and Co-Author of A Practical Approach to ADR, and contributes to a number of Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) manuals and practitioner texts.
Careers advisors at the University’s Career & Skills Development Service assist students with their career development. There is a wide range of career-focused support, including: • Pupillage Advisory Service • Pupillage workshops • One-to-one consultations, cv advice and interviewing techniques • Guidance on alternative careers.
He teaches civil litigation, arbitration, company and commercial law on the BPTC. He is also a door tenant at 13KBW.
Find out more
law@city.ac.uk +44 (0)20 7404 5787 www.city.ac.uk/law/bptc
www.city.ac.uk/law
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