Hi all, James here.
I’m the 2023-2024 Middle Temple Students’ Association Communications Officer and at the time of writing this article I am fresh from my second Barrister Training Course (Masters) exam season.
After delivering this advice ‘live’ at the January 2024 Welcome Evening, I was delighted to be approached by the Education Team to draft a written version for this year’s edition of Middle Templar.
This article has me set out my top tips and the things I wish I had known when starting the BTC.
Top tips:
- The syllabus is essential.
Essential. Print it out. Have it at the start of your ring binder. Laptop wallpaper. Wherever you’re going to see it.
The centralised exams (Criminal and Civil Litigation) have questions that can cover any part of the syllabus. Professional Ethics is managed by each provider, but the BSB set a curriculum to meet.
I made the mistake when studying Civil Litigation of only using my university materials, wrongly thinking they covered everything. That resulted in a very stressful cram over two weeks before the exam trying to read everything. I failed the BSB mocks using only the university materials. I got a Distinction using the syllabus.
Start with the syllabus. Do the reading. It’s boring, but it’s essential.
- Write it down.
Blackstone’s and the Civil Procedure Rules are hard to understand (sorry, Master Ormerod). English is my first language, and I struggled to ‘get it’ just by reading the texts. If English is a second language for you, this tip is all the more important.
When you’re doing your course reading, put the entries in your own words. I would suggest doing it with old-school pen and paper too. People much cleverer than me reckon it’s good for memory. That said, how you take notes is a matter of preference for you.
Studying for Civil Litigation, I did not put the entries in my own words. Revision was hard. Studying for Criminal Litigation, I did put the entries in my own words. Revision was less hard.
Linking back to my first tip, putting each syllabus entry in your own words helps to make sure you’re working through the syllabus too. Double whammy.
- Go to everything*
If you’re anything like me, undergraduate studying was three years of self-discovery, growing up, making friends… and not attending as many lectures as you should have.
The Bar Course is not like undergraduate study. You will be assessed on practical skills. You cannot just read about advocacy and do well. You cannot just read about examination-in-chief and do well. You cannot just read about cross-examination and do well. The list goes on.
You must practise these skills ‘live’.
That means going to your workshops, and really trying for them. Think of them like moots. Go to them. Prepare to win. Don’t be afraid to get things wrong. Barristers get it wrong sometimes, although they mightn’t like to admit it. If you don’t get things wrong, you don’t get better.
*You might have noticed the asterisk. That’s not a typo. A caveat to this ‘go to everything’ rule is to not stress if life gets in the way. I went through this personally. Being self-funded, not a scholar, and living far from home, when I was made redundant from my old job, I had to take on part time work in the middle of my course, which meant my attendance suffered.
If life happens, reach out to your tutors, your classmates, and your friends here at Middle Temple. People will be willing to help. We call it Domus for a reason. Asking if your tutors can move you to different classes that you can attend, friends providing you with resources, classmates relaying class notes to you, there’s always a solution.
If you can, go to everything.
If you can’t, don’t panic.
Seek help. Problem-solve.
- Fill that CV
If you’re on the Bar Course, you want pupillage. You may have pupillage. Mint. More likely though, you’re seeking to get it.
To steal a tip from Master Myerson and Beheshteh Engineer (https://pupillageandhowtogetit.com/), look at chambers you’re interested in. Look at their bottom five juniors. What do they have?
Look at your CV. What do you have? What do you not have? Go get it.
The Inns of Court offer amazing opportunities to build up that CV in the run up to pupillage application seasoning. At the welcome events, you will undoubtedly hear about what our Inn has to offer. In short – a lot.
Beyond that, really explore the world of the Bar. Your authorised education and training organisation (AETO) ought to offer a bunch of its own opportunities. Look into them too. Chambers often hold seminars, which have the added benefit of free nibbles. Join associations and go to their events!
Boot up a Google Calendar. Log your weekly routine. Free space? There’s probably something to be done that can fill it.
The Bar Course and extracurriculars feed into each other. What better to help your advocacy assessment than mooting, debating, and any other number of extracurricular experiences?
Explore pro bonowork! Check Middle Temple’s ‘Students and the Wider Community’ section for more details.
Use the year you have in the best way you can to prime yourself for pupillage applications.
- Don’t lose yourself.
Advice for aspiring barristers can be gloomy.
‘Know the statistics’, ‘it’s so competitive’, ‘the course is hard’, etc, etc.
This article is guilty of that. Sorry.
Knowing what you’re getting into is important, obviously. But you’re here now. You know what’s going on. The problem with statistics is they are just data. Your chance of getting pupillage is binary. You either get it this time, or you get it next time.
Don’t lose yourself for the sake of becoming a Bar Course machine.
At undergraduate, every week I played guitar, I went to the gym, and I loved cooking new dishes.
On the Bar Course, every week I play guitar, I go to the gym, and I cook new dishes.
Studying for the Bar does not mean you stop being you. If you do stop being you, you’ll crash and burn.
In summary: the syllabus is essential, write it down, go to everything, fill that CV, and don’t lose yourself. It’s a hard year ahead of you. Look after yourself. Be yourself. Take time to unwind and destress. Chambers want talented people. But they want talented people. Don’t let the Bar Course change who you are, and don’t let it stress you out too much.
As they say where I’m from: gan canny, it’ll be alreet! (Translation: Don’t worry, it’ll be alright).
James is an aspiring barrister with particular interests in construction, planning, public, and sports law. He read law at the University of York before moving to London to train for the Bar and is currently finishing the LLM component of his integrated BTC.
He is the 2023-2024 MTSA Communications Officer and regularly volunteers outside of this role to support other Middle Temple activities and initiatives.
When not studying or working, he can be found most often playing guitar.
