ADD ADVICE TO FAVBar Vocational Course (BVC)
The one-year Bar Vocational Course (BVC) will sharpen your advocacy skills and prepare you for pupillage. However, competition is tough, so applications and motivation have to be outstanding.
A law degree or Common Professional Examination (CPE) / Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) provides the academic grounding for a career as a barrister, and the BVC is the next step. The BVC is the vocational stage of training that must be completed (alongside 12 educational sessions through one of the Inns of Court) in order to progress to the next stage of professional training – the 12-month pupillage.
Course content
The BVC is designed to give you the initial tool-kit of essential skills and knowledge that you will develop and hone during your career as a practising barrister. This includes:
Skills
- casework
- legal research
- general written skills
- opinion-writing (giving written advice)
- interpersonal skills
- conference skills (interviewing clients)
- negotiation
- advocacy (court or tribunal work)
Knowledge
- civil litigation and remedies
- criminal litigation and sentencing
- evidence
- professional ethics
- two optional subjects from a choice of at least six.
The majority of BVC programmes are full time, although two-year part-time/distance-learning courses are available from some institutions.
BVC delivery methods
The BVC is an intensive course that focuses on the development of both legal knowledge and skills. Inevitably, this requires a broader range of teaching and assessment methods than you might have experienced on your first degree. A typical pattern of study could involve a 48-hour working week made up of time spent in seminars, lectures and private study.
The BVC prepares you to find and apply practical solutions to complex legal problems, so you need to develop and practise effective research, advocacy and advice-giving. The emphasis is on practically focused tasks and effective feedback on your performance. Much of the teaching is done in small groups in order to maximise the benefits of learning from your own and your peers’ experience. You should also learn from interacting with, and receiving feedback from, experienced practitioners.
How is the BVC assessed?
Assessment methods vary, and may include online multiple-choice tests for the knowledge elements, or exams and formal exercises to assess written skills. Practical skills such as advocacy, negotiation and conferencing can be developed through role-play interviews, and mock trials and tribunals, and may be recorded to help students reflect and improve their skills. Many courses will offer placements, marshalling with a judge or pro bono clinics to broaden your experience.
This method of teaching and assessment has so far proved very effective in training intending barristers. The BVC is constantly under review, particularly in the light of the competitive nature of the profession and the high costs of training for the Bar.
