COURSE OUTLINE FOR BAR TRANSFER TEST
Bar Transfer Test (BTT) is a specialized route to procure the license to practice in the jurisdiction of England and Wales. This program can be studied independently without any third party intervention and require minimal effort if you are already practicing in another common law jurisdiction like Pakistan.
The BTT encompasses 10 modules which include centralised, oral and theoretical exams. The breakdowns of the same modules have been mentioned below:
MODULE
PARTICULARS
DURATION
Civil Litigation and Evidence
This module will familiarize students on how to go about litigation matters in civil disputes using Civil Procedural Rules (CPR), following procedures step by step from the beginning of the dispute between the parties till the conclusion of the matter with the decision of the court including the cost of the parties.
7 months
Criminal Litigation and evidence
This module aims to provide core knowledge of litigation in criminal matters from committing of the crime to selection of the courts to ultimately sentencing principles that a defendant who has been found guilty will be subjected to.
7 months
Advocacy
It entails three components; Civil Advocacy, Examination in chief and Cross examination.
In Civil Advocacy, students are expected to prepare a short skeleton argument for an interim application based on law given in CPR and orally argue before a judge where judicial intervention is testing criteria.
In Cross examination and examination in chief, an actor is brought who acts as the defendant and complainant accordingly and students are expected to discredit and prove his credibility respectively.
7 months
Professional Ethics
This module is taught using the handbook of barristers used in the UK and the exam is based on 30 MCQs.
4 months
Conferencing
It involves one on one session with client before their appearance in front of the court to seek necessary information pertaining to the case of the client and then providing him with realistic chances of success/failure and possible consequences.
2 months
Drafting
Students are expected to draft a legal document and this is based on the format followed by lawyers in the UK.
2 months
Opinion Writing and Legal Research
At the initial stage of the case, opinion is sought from the barrister regarding the prospects of the case on the basis of factual and legal grounds involving damages to the aggrieved party which is taught in this module. Research trail is also provided to keep track of the legal research in order to reach the potential outcome suggested in the opinion.
2 months
| MODULE | PARTICULARS | DURATION |
| Civil Litigation and Evidence | This module will familiarize students on how to go about litigation matters in civil disputes using Civil Procedural Rules (CPR), following procedures step by step from the beginning of the dispute between the parties till the conclusion of the matter with the decision of the court including the cost of the parties. | 7 months |
| Criminal Litigation and evidence | This module aims to provide core knowledge of litigation in criminal matters from committing of the crime to selection of the courts to ultimately sentencing principles that a defendant who has been found guilty will be subjected to. | 7 months |
| Advocacy | It entails three components; Civil Advocacy, Examination in chief and Cross examination. In Civil Advocacy, students are expected to prepare a short skeleton argument for an interim application based on law given in CPR and orally argue before a judge where judicial intervention is testing criteria. In Cross examination and examination in chief, an actor is brought who acts as the defendant and complainant accordingly and students are expected to discredit and prove his credibility respectively. | 7 months |
| Professional Ethics | This module is taught using the handbook of barristers used in the UK and the exam is based on 30 MCQs. | 4 months |
| Conferencing | It involves one on one session with client before their appearance in front of the court to seek necessary information pertaining to the case of the client and then providing him with realistic chances of success/failure and possible consequences. | 2 months |
| Drafting | Students are expected to draft a legal document and this is based on the format followed by lawyers in the UK. | 2 months |
| Opinion Writing and Legal Research | At the initial stage of the case, opinion is sought from the barrister regarding the prospects of the case on the basis of factual and legal grounds involving damages to the aggrieved party which is taught in this module. Research trail is also provided to keep track of the legal research in order to reach the potential outcome suggested in the opinion. | 2 months |
Feel free to reach out for any queries.
Advocacy
Advocacy in the literal sense is the art of an advocate; it literally means work of a legal advocate. The Advocacy Module is divided into two parts, Criminal Advocacy and Civil Advocacy. Any Advocacy assessment will be assessed in a Court room setting where the students will be required to be formally dressed, likewise all such assessments will be record and then subsequently marked by the Examiner. The students also have to undertake a compulsory mock, which is a session for three days, which if missed makes the student incapable of appearing in the final examination.
Civil Advocacy
Civil Advocacy will consist of one assessment which is divided into two parts, skeleton argument and practical assessment. In order to pass this Assessment an average of both skeleton and the practical assessment will be taken into consideration. The Skeleton argument is a document which will be prepared and submitted prior to your assessment, it is a tool used to present your case before the Judge/assessor during the assessment. In the practical assessment students will be required to argue their case according to the instruction received by them. Unlike Criminal Advocacy, Civil Advocacy will be a one-on-one session with a Judge/assessor, during the exam the Judge/assessor will actively engage in judicial intervention by asking a student questions regarding the case.
Criminal Advocacy
Criminal Advocacy consists of two exams, Examination in Chief and Cross Examination, both of which need to be cleared individually in order for a student to pass Criminal Advocacy. In Criminal Advocacy we will be teaching students two techniques relating to statements recorded during the course of a trial, namely, examination in chief and cross examination. Both Criminal Advocacy assessments will consist of an actor, performing their role as a witness and the student will be performing their Chief or Cross on them.
Civil Litigation
The module will help you understand and develop a conceptual understanding of the overall framework for the conduct of a civil trial from its inception to its very end. The material is designed in order to understand the matters taken into account before initiating a civil trial, the protocols / preliminaries which are necessary to be complied with. We shall familiarize ourselves with different stages of a civil trial and what it entails. Civil Litigation & Evidence module is examined centrally by the Bar Standards Board. The module will be examined in two parts i.e. Paper 1 and Paper 2. You will have a total time period of 2 hours to attempt 50 Multiple Choice Question’s in Paper 1 and 2.5 hours to attempt 40 Multiple Choice Questions including rolling case scenarios in Paper 2.
Professional Ethics
Barrister Furqan will be teaching Professional Ethics (PE) which is one of the four core modules taught on the BTT Course. Previously, PE was a centralized module examined by the Bar Standards Board of England and Wales, however, subsequent to recent changes made to bar training, PE has now been categorized as one of the internal modules which is now examined by the approved providers, which in the case of BTT is the BPP University. During the course, student will be taught the Code of Conduct and other rules and regulation relevant to the practice and conduct in general of barristers of England and Wales. In addition, students will also be taught about the standards of competence expected of barristers, the requirements of upholding the integrity, dignity and independence of the profession and the bar etc. The assessment of PE is a two hour-closed book exam, comprising of multiple choices Questions (MCQs) and single best answers (SBAs). During your time at DLS, we will not only teach you the course but will also assist you working through multiple past paper questions in order for you to be well acquainted with the final exam.
Criminal Litigation and Evidence
This module will help you understand and develop a conceptual understanding of the overall framework for the conduct of a criminal trial from its inception to its very end. From imposition of a criminal charge on an accused to rules regarding the first hearing, bail, rules relating to evidence, rules of criminal trial, sentencing and finally appealing a decision of the lower courts, students will learn the entire procedural law of the criminal justice system of the UK. Criminal Litigation & Evidence module is examined centrally by the Bar Standards Board. The module will be examined through a written / online exam consisting of 75 Multiple Choice Questions.
