Bar Placement Scheme

We have finished reviewing the applications and are pairing students with their chambers. We will send confirmation to all students by Friday 24 May.

Bar Placement Scheme

The Bar Placement Scheme allows students to spend up to four days shadowing a barrister in chambers and in court. Participants receive advocacy training from the Inns of Court College of Advocacy.

This is an excellent opportunity to build up your skills and CV, and to work out whether a career at the Bar would be suitable for you.

Bar Placement Week will take place on Tuesday 2 July – Friday 5 July.

Applications for 2024 have now closed - if you submitted your application after 12:00, we are unable to consider your application. We have finished reviewing the applications and are pairing students with their chambers. We will send confirmation to all students by Friday 24 May.

Eligibility criteria

To deliver the Bar Placement Scheme, the Bar Council works with Pathways to Law and the Social Mobility Foundation.

State-educated sixth form and college students and 1^st year undergraduate students who previously attended a state-educated sixth form and college can independently apply to the scheme. Places are awarded on the following criteria:

Quality of the application
Demonstrated commitment to, and interest in, a career as a barrister
Fulfilment of at least two of the following social mobility criteria:
1. must be currently or have previously attended a state school or college (in year 12, 13 or 1^st year undergraduate)
2. you'll be the first in your family to attend university
3. have been eligible for Free School Meals.

When and where does it run?

When

The Bar Placement Scheme 2024 will run from Tuesday 2 July to Friday 5 July 2024.

Where

Number of places and locations are yet to be finalised.

Advocacy training

Advocacy training will take place in London. If you are a student in the north, the location of the advocacy training is yet to be finalised.

Chambers: host a student

We are no longer accepting requests from chambers to host.

The Bar Council is grateful to the Council of the Inns of Court, the Inns of Court College of Advocacy, and the four Inns of Court for supporting the Bar Placement Scheme.

Bar Placement Scheme Blog Competition winners

Each year, we invite students to submit a short blog describing their experiences during the week. We are consistently overwhelmed with the quality of responses.