ADD ADVICE TO FAVInns of Court
Before starting the Bar Vocational Course (BVC), you must join one of the four Inns of Court in London:
The Bar Council requires you to do this before the end of May in the year in which you are due to begin the BVC, although many join an Inn much earlier.
Your call to the Bar
Only the Inns have the right to ’call’ you to the Bar. After successfully completing the BVC and attending the 12 qualifying sessions at your Inn, you will be invited to attend the Call Ceremony. You can then undertake the 12-month pupillage and obtain a place in chambers. Joining an Inn is no guarantee of a pupillage nor a place on the BVC.
What are the benefits?
Membership of an Inn costs £85 and allows you to take advantage of the facilities and opportunities available. These include:
- access to their library and dining facilities
- opportunities to attend education days
- the opportunity to meet judges, Queen’s Counsel, barristers and fellow students
- the chance to enter the sponsorship scheme and apply for scholarships
- opportunities to participate in debating and mooting competitions.
How to qualify
During the BVC you will have a lot of contact with your Inn. It is during this period that you are required to undertake the 12 qualifying sessions prior to your call to the Bar. Most of these will take the form of dining at your particular Inn. Each dinner counts as one qualifying session, and usually incorporates an educational event which could be a moot, a debates or a talk – you may even be called on to make a speech! Other types of sessions include:
- weekend training courses
- education days for those students studying outside of London
- a domus dinner, when students and seniors dine together
- social dinners.
Each Inn has an education and training department, which arranges an annual programme of events for students including debates, lectures, moots, seminars and social activities. The Inns also organise advocacy training during pupillage, and programmes of continuing professional development for the practising barrister.
Sponsorship
The Inns also operate a scheme whereby a practising member of the Bar will be allocated to you as your sponsor. They will help by providing advice and assistance about the workings and etiquette of the profession. Sponsors are volunteer members of the Inn and take on the responsibility in their own time.
A sponsor cannot get you a pupillage, but they are often a useful source of support, helping you to forge contacts, and assisting with pupillage applications and interview technique.
Funding
The Inns provide over £3m per year in scholarships and bursaries for students undertaking the BVC and/or Graduate Diploma in Law/Common Professional Examination.
If you are considering applying for a scholarship, you may only apply to one Inn, and you must then join that Inn if successful. It is best to seek information on scholarships at the earliest opportunity, as the deadlines for applications are often early in the year.
The Bar Council has further information on the options available to you to help you finance your career.
Which Inn to choose?
If you don’t have a preference as to which Inn you join, find out as much as you can about each one. A good way to obtain information is to write, phone or e-mail the Inns and ask for information packs and application forms. Each Inn has its own character and it is best to get as much of a feel for them as possible.
It is likely that one Inn will stand out over the others and appeal to you more personally, and the choice may then be easy. However, if you are still not sure, all the Inns have websites that you can visit and it is also a good idea to check when the Halls are open to visitors so go and have a look round. Do bear in mind that the Inns tend to be closed at weekends. The student officer at each Inn will be only too pleased to answer any remaining questions you may have.
Whichever Inn you choose, you will be in good company and can be guaranteed to receive plenty of support during your qualifying period. You will also build up a network of contacts that will provide support well beyond your eventual call to the Bar.
