International placements and exchange programmes
Each year, the Bar Council organises a number of exchange schemes for barristers and overseas lawyers.
Such programmes facilitate the exchange of legal knowledge and skills, and enable valuable links with other jurisdictions to be established and strengthened. Our incoming exchange programmes include: a training element, visits to key legal institutions and placements in barrister’s chambers.
The current exchange schemes we run are:
- The Bar Council Training Scheme for Chinese lawyers
- The Latin American Exchange Programme
The Bar Council is able to offer immigration assistance to non-European Economic Area lawyers and law students who wish to come to the UK to undertake placements in chambers. It does this by issuing certificates of sponsorship to these individuals. More information is available here.
Contact the international team for more information: IntlEvents@BarCouncil.org.uk
The Bar Council Training Scheme (BCTS) offers a unique opportunity for Chinese lawyers to experience practise at the English commercial Bar.
The scheme includes:
- A Pre-training course in Beijing provided by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC);
- A short bespoke academic programme provided by BPP University;
- A series of legal seminars and vocational training sessions;
- A placement in barristers' chambers for a large part of the programme; and,
- A busy and interesting social and networking programme, which includes visits to key legal institutions such as courts.
If you have any queries relating to the programme please contact Stephanie Brown.
The Bar Council China Training Scheme (BCTS) is the successor to the Lord Chancellor's Training Scheme (LCTS). It has been re-designed and updated to take account of the extraordinary economic progress made in China since 1989 and the impressive development of the Chinese legal profession. The BCTS builds on the success of the LCTS, which came to an end in April 2011.
The original Training Scheme was established by the Bar Council and the Law Society in partnership with the School of Oriental and African Studies and the British Council. The programme was funded by the UK Government and consisted of one full year of legal training, including an academic programme at SOAS University of London, vocational training in law firms and barristers' chambers as well as visits to European institutions and some time in Hong Kong.
In 2015, the Training Scheme celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Many of the Chinese alumni attended the event and produced articles on their time in on the programme. To read their stories, please click here.
The Latin American Exchange Programme for young lawyers is now approaching its seventh year.
The next instalment of the scheme will be between April-May 2020 and will include an incoming delegation of between 10-15 lawyers from Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.
The programme is aimed at facilitating the sharing of knowledge and developing legal links and legal business with Latin America.
The programme typically includes:
- A short bespoke academic programme provided by BPP University;
- A series of legal seminars and vocational training sessions;
- A one or two week placement in barristers' chambers and,
- A busy and interesting social and networking programme, which includes visits to key legal institutions such as courts.
Programme background
The programme was initially set up by the Bar Council, the Law Society and the Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil (Brazilian Bar Association (OAB)) following the Bar Council's first business development mission to Brazil. The programme began in November 2014 with a group of 10 Brazilian lawyers participating in a four-week programme in London. The programme has since seen two groups of young British lawyers head to Brazil for a two-week programme in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and a further group of Brazilian lawyers visiting London in 2016.
In 2018 the programme was extended to Colombian and Mexican lawyers. In addition to the Law Society and the OAB, the programme is now also supported by the three main voluntary Mexican Bar Associations (Barra Mexicana, Asociacion Nacional de Abogados de Empresa (ANADE), Illustre y Nacional Colegio de Abogados (INCAM)) as well as the chamber of legal services of the National Association of Employers of Colombia (Asociación Nacional de Empresarios de Colombia (ANDI)).
If you have any queries relating to the Latin American Exchange Programme, please contact Stephanie Brown.
Have a read of past participant’s experiences
Barrister experiences:
Brazilian lawyers' experiences:
The Bar Council and the Law Society supported the launch of Lex Anglo-Brasil , a bilateral organisation linking lawyers in each country with events and updates on legal developments.