The Bar Standards Board wants to hear students’ views on its future barrister training proposals
updated on 05 October 2016
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has launched its consultation paper on the future training of barristers, and has invited all those with a view on the matter to express their views by 23 December.
The BSB wants to hear from practitioners, academics, students and others about its three different proposals for future barrister training, with the aim of revealing which of the three models has been chosen in Spring 2017. The three proposed models are:
- Option A, the ‘evolutionary’ option, proposes to keep the existing academic, vocational Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) and pupillage stages as they are, but to make the BPTC less prescriptive and pupillage more flexible.
- Option B, the ‘manages pathways option’, would also keep the degree, BPTC and pupillage stages, but would introduce three other alternative routes: a combined law degree and BPTC training; combined pupillage and BPTC training; and a modular approach to training.
- Option C, the ‘Bar specialist option’, would replace the current system with a qualifying exam that is open to any candidate, for example, law graduates and those who complete the Graduate Diploma in Law. On passing the exam, candidates would be required to complete a vocational course that would be shorter than the BPTC, focusing on skills such as advocacy, before going on to pupillage.
The BSB has said that it currently favours option B, the ‘managed pathways model’, although no final decision has yet been taken. The regulator is also holding meetings at different universities to enable students and other interested parties to learn more about the proposals. Students are encouraged to express their opinions on the different models and even propose alternatives.
Ewen MacLeod, the BSB’s director of regulatory policy, commented: “Whichever option is implemented, it will have far reaching consequences for the future of the Bar. We want to ensure that the next generation of barristers are fully equipped to meet their future clients’ needs through a more flexible training framework.”
