Course Overview - BTT
Bar Transfer Test (the “BTT”), is a route to be qualified Barrister of England and Wales. It is a unique test and route specifically designed for advocates who are licensed to practice in the courts in Pakistan to transfer to the Bar of England and Wales without having to travel to UK for the whole duration of course and without incurring the high cost as if one enrolls for actual Bar Training Course (previously known as BPTC/ BVC).
Nonetheless, students proceed to the UK to sit for the centralized exams conducted by BPP University on behalf of the Bar Standard Board. The BTT consists of centrally assessed modules comprising academic components and vocational components both written papers and oral assessments.
There are usually at least two sittings for the BTT [March/April (spring) and August/September(spring)] However from 2022 there will be winter sitting as well. A BTT candidate has unlimited attempts at the BTT for each module for the span of 5 years and the time will start from the date of procurement of BSB exemption and unlike in the past, the degree will not restart after 2 unsuccessful attempts. You will be only required to go to the UK for one month and pass the Bar Transfer Test. The total duration of the Bar Transfer Course is generally 8 - 9 months.
A Candidate will have to appear in all modules simultaneously regardless of whichever sitting is chosen by the candidate which essentially means that the candidate cannot defer their modules and has to appear for all the modules in a single sitting.
PATHWAY TO BECOMING A BARRISTER
- Fill in Themis Admission form for the Bar Transfer Course.
- Apply to the qualification committee of the Bar Standards Board (BSB) of England and Wales in order to seek an “exemption” from the Academic and Vocational training of the Bar Training Course (BTC), on the basis of being a qualified foreign lawyer.
- Once exemption from the BSB is granted, you will be able to enroll in the BTT at Themis
- Apply for membership to one of the four Inns of Court.
- Apply to BPP University (sole provider of BTT) for the exam, which takes place at least twice a year (i.e. March/April or August/September plus winter sitting from 2022).
- During your stay in UK for appearing in the exam, attend the required (usually six to nine) qualifying sessions at your Inn.
- Once all these steps have been completed and you have passed the exam, you will be eligible to be called a Barrister to the Bar of England and Wales
WHY BTT?
- BTT enables candidates to become qualified Barrister without having to go to UK for the whole duration of course and incurring substantially less amount of cost compared to actual Bar Training Course (previously known as BPTC/ BVC) offered in UK.
- Candidates can stay in their own country with the luxury of the same standard of tutorial guidance enabling them to hone their skills and prepare them for the BTT exam which can be cleared through dedication, determination, sheer commitment and hard work. It covers the advocacy skills, and detailed knowledge of the law, required to be able to confidently work with clients and present legal cases in court which will eventually lead you to a successful career as a Barrister.
THEMIS FOR BTT
- Themis has one of the best faculty for BTT in Pakistan, and as the entire course is itself managed by practicing barristers themselves. Themis boosts a blend of recent qualified barristers who are well equipped with the current bar course offered and have themselves attained outstanding results in the Bar Training Course from UK. In addition, all the faculty members are teaching modules that they have completed in their “first attempt” and are extremely well versed with the Bar Course.
- The qualified and expert faculty of Themis brings their updated knowledge of UK Bar along with practical experience in the classroom to provide tutorial guidance to the students for BTT.
- Themis aim to emulate the same model adopted and used successfully in the Bar Training Course with the introduction of Small Group Sessions. Thus, students will be taught in a small group providing them optimum guidance, attention and help on an individual level.
FACULTY MEMBERS
Barrister Junaid Ahmed
Barrister-at-Law (Lincoln’s Inn)
LL.M (Bristol), LLB (Hons) (University of London)
PGD Taxation (IBA)
Accredited Mediator (UK)
Founding Partner JA Legal
Barrister Muhammad Shahzad
Barrister-at-Law (Lincoln’s Inn)
LL.M (Queen Mary University of London)
Accredited Mediator (UK)
Senior Associate S.M Masud & Associates
Barrister Salman Dosani
Barrister-at-Law (Lincoln's Inn)
LLB (Hons) (University of London)
Accredited Mediator (UK)
Associate at Seema Wasim Law Associate
Barrister Umair Usman
Barrister-at-Law (Lincoln's Inn)
LPC (Uni. of West of England)
LL.M (Bristol)
LL.B Honours (University of London)
Accredited Mediator (UK)
Partner at JA Legal
Barrister Shahzeb Shahid
Barrister-at-Law (Lincoln's Inn)
LLB (Hons) (University of London)
Accredited Mediator (UK)
Former Visiting Lecturer Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto University of Law
You are eligible to apply for this training if you:
- Are a qualified lawyer who has license to appear at least in subordinate courts.
- Hold a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB).
BTT comprised of 2 sections: Part A and Part B in the past which has now been changed to:
Previous Requirements |
New Requirements |
|---|---|
| Part A (Academic Components) | GDL in Law Subjects/LLB Degree |
| 1. Public Law | - Public Law |
| 2. EU Law | - EU Law |
| 3. Criminal Law | - Criminal Law |
| 4. Property Law | - Property Law |
| 5. Law of Equity and Trust | - Law of Equity and Trust |
| 6. Contract Law | - Contract Law |
| 7. English Legal System | - English Legal System |
| - | - Another Area of Legal Study |
| Part B (Professional Components) | Vocational Bar Training Assessments |
| 8. Advocacy | - Advocacy |
| 9. Civil Litigation and Evidence | - Civil Litigation |
| 10. Criminal Litigation, Evidence and Sentencing | - Criminal Litigation, Evidence and Sentencing |
| 11. Professional Ethics | - Professional Ethics |
| - | - Opinion writing and Legal Research |
| - | - Drafting |
| - | - Conferencing |
- If you are a qualified lawyer in another jurisdiction, you can apply as a Transferring Qualified Lawyer and seek BTT exemptions. TQLs do not need to complete the GDL, however they may need to complete certain BTT papers.
- For candidates with GDL/ LLB degree and seeking exemptions in Vocational Bar Training Assessment: Bar Standard Board (BSB) (the regulating body for the Barristers) holds a discretion to grant partial/full exemptions to the candidates based on their academic qualification and professional experience as an advocate in a commonwealth country including Pakistan. Usually UK law degree holder or Law degree holder (BA-LLB) from a commonwealth jurisdiction such as Pakistan, may usually not be required to pass the Academic Component sections of the BTT.
- Further guidance, assistance, and help will be provided by Themis to the candidates to seek exemptions and paying any relevant fees. The power to grant an exemption at the end of the day still rests with the BSB.
| 1. 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. |
|---|---|
| 2. 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. It also teaches how to use evidence in the criminal litigation once it passes through the standards that have been set. |
| 3. Advocacy | It involves various civil applications that are made in the course of the proceedings. For e.g., interim injunction, freezing injunction etc. Another component of the advocacy module covers examination in chief of your witness and cross examination of the prosecution/defendant’s witness who is the opposing party. |
| 4. Professional Ethics | This module introduces the concept of ethics which is an essential tool in the practice of a Barrister. |
| 5. 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. |
| 6. Drafting | It involves drafting claim and particulars of claim, counterclaim, additional claim and defense. |
| 7. 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. |
| Civil Litigation | Paper one: 2 hour closed book, multiple choice, or single best answer questions. Paper two: 2.5 hour open book assessment, multiple choice, or single best questions with 7 rolling case scenarios of 5 questions and 5 standalone questions. |
|---|---|
| Criminal Litigation | 3 hour closed book multiple choice assessment. |
| Professional Ethics | 2 hour closed book assessment with 30 multiple choice and single best answer questions. |
| Advocacy | 3,15 minutes oral assessments plus a written component of a skeleton argument Assessment material provided in advance No last-minute instructions provided |
| Opinion Writing | Coursework Candidates receive a realistic set of papers and undertake legal research and write an opinion. The opinion is limited to 4000 words. |
| Legal Research | Coursework Candidates receive a realistic set of papers and undertake legal research and write an opinion The legal research needs to be presented in a legal research note and is limited to 2000 words |
| Drafting | Normally, a 3-hour assessment but due to the coronavirus pandemic the alternative assessment arrangements will be for this to be 24hour time limited assessment Candidates receive a briefing sheet with broad areas of law which they use to undertake research followed by an assessment brief which they use to draft a statement of case. |
| Conference Skills | Oral assessment Candidates must perform 20 minutes of a conference in a criminal case. Candidates must produce a conference preparation note limited to 3 sides of A4 in font Arial 11. |
TITLE |
LOCATION |
FEE |
|---|---|---|
| BSB APPLICATION HANDLING FEE **PLEASE NOTE THAT THE INITIAL PAYMENT TO BE MADE IS ONLY £440. THE FEE THAT FOLLOWS BELOW IN THIS TABLE IS ONLY PAYABLE SUBJECT TO ACCEPTANCE OF YOUR APPLICATION. |
London | £440 | INNS OF COURTS MEMBERSHIP | London | £115 | BPP EXAMINATION FEE *FEE INCREASES IF THE APPLICANT CHOOSES TO OPT FOR OPTIONAL SESSIONS. THE MANDATORY TEST FEE IS ONLY £4000. | London | £ 4,000 approx. (includes mandatory sessions and the examination fee) |
FEES PAYABLE TO THEMIS SCHOOL OF LAW |
|
|---|---|
| Registration Fee (non-refundable) | Rs. 10,000/- |
| Full Tuition Fee | Rs. 380,000/- |
| BTT Study Materials | Rs. 30,000/- |
| Total | Rs. 420,000/- |
** Please note Bar Transfer Course fee is inclusive of assistance/tuitions for all the steps above mentioned. This fee also includes all the securing of the resource persons, reading material, modules, advocacy training material and guidance on exam papers.
** In addition, that the airfare and accommodation expenses to London for sitting the exam are not included in the fee.
For more details, please click here.
DESCRIPTION |
First Priority Deadlines |
Early Decision Deadlines |
Regular Decision Deadlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scholarships | Up to 20% | Up to 10% | No scholarship | Application Deadline | 31st August, 2023 | 15th September, 2023 | - | Commencement of Classes | October, 2023 |
We give priority to early applicants who are ready and have a firm plan to study for their Bar exam.
Round 1: First Priority Round
If you want to secure a spot in our upcoming session, the benefit for applying in the First Priority Round is that:
- We give priority to applicants who apply early, and
- You are also eligible to secure up to 20% scholarship based on our assessment.
Round 2: Early Round
For Early Round applicants, you have a little more time to apply. Again, the sooner you apply, the sooner we can review your application. You can also secure up to 10% scholarship in the early round.
Round 3: Regular Round
The regular round applicants can apply, if they couldn’t apply in Priority and Early Rounds. No scholarship is available for applicants in this round.
APPLY ONLINE - BTT