Advocacy training

The Trust runs an advocacy training programme each year.  Please click on this link for more information about each year’s course dates and admissions process.

Run by the Trustees, with the help of volunteers from the Bar and Bench and trainers drawn from the world of performing arts, the programme teaches aspiring criminal barristers the skills they will need at the criminal Bar.

Aimed at BPTC students, those who have completed the BPTC and pupils, the programme gives its cohort around 25 hours of intensive, small-group tuition.  It includes work on some of the key components of daily life at the criminal Bar (for example, how to prepare for trial, and practical exercises in oral advocacy).  It also includes work on presence, breaking this concept down into skills such as physical self-management, voice work, and emotional intelligence.

We know that one of the skills a barrister must bring to their professional life is the ability to persuade, calm, and manage their colleagues: from their solicitors, to those giving evidence, as well as the defendant or counsel appearing for the other side.  And, of course, judge and jury.  Our course considers this holistically, incorporating attention to these implicit skills as well as the technical aspects of the Law.  This is what distinguishes it from other advocacy training courses, as well as our focus on those who have not had access to this type of intensive, productive training.

The course culminates at the Central Criminal Court in London where students take part in mock advocacy exercises – often, this is the first time they have been in a court environment ‘on their feet’.

We are proud to work with those who come to us from under-represented backgrounds, and to watch them grow in confidence as they learn about managing their nerves and putting their talent to work in a supportive, enthusiastic environment.