Barrister in England.

chops018

hello,

i was just wondering about becoming a barrister in england..?

i am from Ireland, wit an honours Law degree.

what would you need to go to england, where are the places to go?

any differences from kings inns?

any info at all would help.

thank you.

Tom Young

Lots of differences - Wikipedia on Barristers gives a guide on the main differences. I am loathed to ever recommend Wikipedia but I'd be here all night explaining the vast differences.

Some Differences: Solicitor Advocates; Multiple Inns of Court; Chamber Structure etc.

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrister

chops018

thanks for your reply tom, that info did help.

but how do you go about getting into one of the inn's over there?

and whats would be the requirements, costs etc?

it is a big financial strain to go to kings inns here, which is why im considering going to England if it would be a lot chepaer.

Tom Young

Nah not really. There are issues there too.

Go read: http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/

http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/about/innsofcourt/

NUTLEY BOY

chops018 wrote: »

thanks for your reply tom, that info did help.

but how do you go about getting into one of the inn's over there?

and whats would be the requirements, costs etc?

it is a big financial strain to go to kings inns here, which is why im considering going to England if it would be a lot chepaer.

Start with the Bar Council on http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/

Major money involved I think and structures are quite different to here.

chops018

ok, thanks again for your reply!

chops018

im still unsure..

i've read through the links you have posted me, but the main thing i want to find out is how much is the fee to go to we'll say middle temple for the year and do the bar training programme.. im assuming it's similar to the kings inns training course.

kings inns is 12,000 for the year or 6000 over two years of the course.. this is it a lot of money, although i would love to do the kings inns course i would be happy to go to England if it was a much cheaper option !!

dats_right

chops018 wrote: »

i've read through the links you have posted me, but the main thing i want to find out is how much is the fee to go to we'll say middle temple for the year and do the bar training programme.. im assuming it's similar to the kings inns training course.

No. You do not actually receive tuition or attend classes at one of the Inns of Court, you attend the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) at one of the Universities that offer that course, the cost about £8,000 to £12,000 after that in order to be permitted to practise you need to obtain a pupilage and to do this you need excellent grades from an oxon or cantab or superb grades from a top university.

The King's Inns is unquestionably an infinitely easier route to becoming a practising barrister.

MrPudding

chops018 wrote: »

im still unsure..

i've read through the links you have posted me, but the main thing i want to find out is how much is the fee to go to we'll say middle temple for the year and do the bar training programme.. im assuming it's similar to the kings inns training course.

kings inns is 12,000 for the year or 6000 over two years of the course.. this is it a lot of money, although i would love to do the kings inns course i would be happy to go to England if it was a much cheaper option !!

I have looked into this recently.

The first thing you need to do is confirm that your degree is a qualifying degree. If it is then you need to apply for The Bar Professional Course, the new name for the BVC and join an Inn. There are about a dozen institutions that offer this course. The cost ranges from £9000 to £15000, roughly depending where you go. It is one year full time and some places offer it part time over two years. I have attached a list of provider details, I would suspect that would be a good place to start.

Once you have successfully completed that you need to get pupillage. It is only something like 33% of people who complete the BPTC manage to get pupillage. Pupillage consists of two 6 month periods under the supervision of a barrister approved to provide puppilage. The first 6 months is following him or her around and the second six is effectively as a barrister taking instruction under supervision.

Once you have completed pupillage you need to find tenancy. This can also be quite hard. Other options are squatting or taking a third six.

Once you have completed the BPTC you can work immediately for the CPS, skipping the pupillage stage. I am not sure how that works if you want to leave after a period and try to get tenancy, but I would expect it is possible after a time. I am trying to find that out.

You need to apply for the BPTC through The Bar Standards Board. You also apply for pupillage through a single portal.

MrP