These residential weekend courses provide intensive advocacy training. They are also very over-subscribed and places are allocated by ballot. For that reason (and without wishing to discourage anyone) we emphasise that applications should only be made by those who are committed to:
- Definitely attending, if offered a place;
- Thorough preparation of the material;
- Full and active participation in the programme.
Please read the 'guide for potential applicants' below before applying for a place.
Eligibility
Only current Bar Course students (or those who’ve completed the course and are yet to be Called or, in some cases, transferring lawyers) are eligible to attend one of these weekends. Priority will be given to the new intake of Bar Course students.
The weekend in York is limited to students studying the Bar Course at a provider based Outside of London (OOL).
Applications
Applications will open on 27 August 2024 and will close at 10:00 on October 18th 2024. Student members who are commencing the Bar Course that September can apply for any of the applicable weekends. Student members who are commencing the Bar Course in January are eligible to make an application for the January (OOL students only), March and May weekends.
Applications then will reopen on 16 December 2024 and close at 9:00 on 13 January 2025 to enable any students starting the Bar Course in January who were admitted to the Inn after the first application window, or any students who missed the first window, to apply for the March and May weekends.
Do not submit more than one application within an academic year - repeat applications will not be considered.
The structure of the courses is the same on each occasion. The emphasis is on providing advocacy training. The tuition is provided principally by busy practitioners, judges, and academics, all volunteers giving up their time freely, and also by senior members of the Inn who are no longer practising but who have had years of experience at the Bar.
As the training is focussed on developing advocacy skills, a high level of preparation and participation is expected from each student. To obtain the full benefit of the training, students will be expected to do the following:
- Spend time on preparation prior to the course, based on the bundle that will be provided a week in advance;
- Attend all sessions punctually;
- Deliver advocacy performances in, examination-in-chief, cross-examination and mitigation, to be reviewed on these by tutors.
- Participate in larger group sessions on case analysis and other advocacy related topics. This will involve public speaking in the larger group.
- Interact appropriately with colleagues from other providers and also with practising members of the Bar, judges and other legal professionals.
A substantial part of the workshops will focus on witness handling, i.e. examination-in-chief and cross-examination. If you have not yet covered this on the Bar Course, you should familiarise yourself with the principles of Xn and XXn before the weekend, or of course you may want to consider opting for a date after you have covered it.
Whilst this all sounds very formal, the courses are actually good fun and friendly.
A weekend course is accredited with four Qualifying Sessions (and falls under the theme of Advocacy Skills and is Interactive and requires preparation in advance).
The actual cost per student is approximately £500 (on the basis of two students sharing a room). Places are heavily subsidised and the cost charged to students is £120. This includes accommodation, food and drinks with dinner (plus, for Cumberland Lodge weekends, a coach from London to Cumberland Lodge and back). This price applies to all students, both London based and OOL.
2024/25 Advocacy weekend dates:
- 29 Nov – 1 December 2024 at Cumberland Lodge
- 24-26 January 2025 in York [only available to OOL students]
- 7-9 March 2025 at Cumberland Lodge
- 16-18 May 2025 at Cumberland Lodge
These courses provide intensive advocacy training. They are also very over-subscribed. For that reason (and without wishing to discourage anyone) we emphasise that applications should only be made by those who are committed to:
- Definitely attending, if offered a place;
- Thorough preparation of the material;
- Full and active participation in the programme.