After securing pupillage I looked back and realised how cloaked in mystery the road to the Bar of England and Wales was. To help provide insights I decided to set up my YouTube channel in 2021 and started creating content to help aspiring barristers. Since launching the channel more than 5000 aspiring barristers have reached out to me for support and in response to this outburst for support I decided to bring a team of practising barristers together to help aspiring barristers. 3 years later Legist Lab was born. Our mission is to help aspiring barristers start their careers at the Bar of England and Wales.
Legist Lab’s faculty is made up of experienced bar course tutors and practising barristers. We have created the first free online community for aspiring barristers which hosts monthly live events including, mooting, debating and public speaking events as well as inviting guest speakers from across the bar to speak with our community members. The goal of these types of events is to provide students with a space to practice their advocacy in a relaxed environment and receive constructive feedback from seasoned professionals. I learned advocacy on the bar course but before that, I didn’t have any advocacy experience which puts you at a disadvantage when it comes to performing in the advocacy modules examinations and pupillage interviews. Once completing the bar course I realised there weren’t that many spaces that I could attend to continue practising my advocacy which is we why have decided to run these types of events.
Outside of the community, Legist Lab’s primary aim is to tackle the two key issues facing aspiring barristers which are:
- The low pass rate bar students face on the bar course which was recorded as low as 33% – ICCA 2022
- The significant difficulties aspiring barristers encounter on the path to securing a pupillage offer was recorded as low as 15% – The Bar Council 2021
To address these issues Legist Lab’s faculty have created the UK’s first preparatory courses for the bar course and pupillage process.
The Bar Prep Course Academy (BPCA) is the first course designed to address the average low pass rate students face on the bar course. We have condensed each module on the bar course into a summary version, along with infographics and accessible templates to facilitate student learning. One of the greatest issues students face on the bar course is limited time to cover large volumes of information; BPCA provides students time to familiarise themselves with complex materials before they embark on the bar course and key resources to use as revision aids to enhance their exam performance. We provide access to exam-style questions for each module and give our students the opportunity to practise and develop their advocacy to ensure they are in prime condition for when it matters most. The goal of BPCA is to optimise bar students’ exam performance and elevate the average pass mark across bar course providers.
The Future Pupil Barrister Academy (FPBA) is the first comprehensive pupillage course designed to demystify the pupillage process and equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to effectively compete for pupillages and secure an offer. We guide students through each stage of the pupillage process from researching AETOs to drafting pupillage applications and preparing for first and second-round pupillage interviews.
We hope to serve as a force for good at the Bar and provide bar students, who invest significant resources into the bar course, every opportunity to achieve the highest marks possible thereby protecting their investment into their education and future career. When it comes to pupillage our goal is to teach aspiring barristers the intricacies of each stage of the process to empower them to evolve as applicants and secure pupillage offers.
By Taz Aldeek, Pupil Barrister at Crown Prosecution Services