The ICCA Bar Course application process is designed in line with the ICCA Fair Admissions Policy. This means that all applicants are measured against fair and transparent criteria.
We are looking for students who are motivated, bright, dedicated and diligent with a realistic chance of attaining the standard required for an award of pupillage, irrespective of your social, cultural and economic background.
The ICCA Bar Course application covers six question areas: motivation, oral and written communication, interpersonal skills, taking responsibility and initiative and determination. Detailed below is an outline of the criteria required for each section – how to frame your examples, which elements will be measured and the maximum length for your answer.
The ICCA application process involves four stages:
We are not looking for the “finished article” but rather a student with the individual qualities to develop and succeed on the ICCA Bar Course and into the profession. To this end, we have detailed below an outline of the questions that will be asked and the criteria which will be applied:
Your reasons for wishing to qualify as a Barrister. Please include an experience you have had within a legal or non-legal environment which has influenced and informed your decision to train for the Bar and why. Please also include here why you feel the ICCA Bar Course model (comprising online learning in Part One and face-to-face teaching in Part Two) would suit your individual learning style, including the ability to work independently with limited tutor support on Part One.
Criteria:
You must answer this question using a maximum of 2100 characters, including spaces. This equates to approximately 300 words.
Experience of public speaking where you have sought to persuade an audience to agree with the argument you were advancing. Please provide an example of public speaking to an audience and how you were able or not able to persuade your audience to your point of view. How were you able to use your oral communication skills to connect effectively with your audience?
Your example can be in a legal or non-legal field and could include (but is not limited to) a work-based presentation or an event at school or university where you have communicated with an audience individually or as part of a group on any subject, or taken part in a debate, mock trial or a moot. Please note that losing an argument is not in itself a negative indicator in our assessment of this part.
Criteria:
You must answer this question using a maximum of 1400 characters, including spaces. This equates to approximately 200 words.
A well written, clearly structured, succinct and grammatically correct application. Please provide an example of where you have impressed someone/a group with a piece of written work (which does not have to be legal). Your example could include, but is not limited to, persuading someone to your point of view, settling a dispute or gaining a prize in a competition.
Criteria:
An application which is:
You must answer this question using a maximum of 1,400 characters, including spaces. This equates to approximately 200 words.
Your experience of building productive working relationships with individuals. Treating others with courtesy, respect and consideration regardless of who they are. Please provide an example of a time when there was a problem in your working relationship with another individual and you took steps to resolve it. This can be in a legal or non-legal context. What was the problem/issue? What approach did you take? What was the outcome? What did you learn from that experience?
Criteria:
You must answer this question using a maximum of 1,400 characters, including spaces. This equates to approximately 200 words.
Please give an example of where you have taken responsibility for a task to ensure it is completed to a high standard. What did you achieve? What did you learn from the experience? This could be, for example, in a work environment, a sporting environment, a voluntary organisation, or a society.
Criteria:
You must answer this question using a maximum of 1,400 characters, including spaces. This equates to approximately 200 words.
Please give one example of when you have shown initiative and determination to achieve a goal which required you to work round a problem or obstacle. This could be in a legal or non-legal context and could include, but is not limited to, overcoming a hurdle to achieve a desired outcome within a work, university, sporting or personal context.
Criteria:
You must answer this question using a maximum of 1,400 characters, including spaces. This equates to approximately 200 words.
All applications will be assessed by our trained team of admissions assessors. Successful applicants will be invited to a virtual selection event.
Selection Events will take place from Tuesday 22 to Saturday 26 February 2022 inclusive, from 10:00-16:30 GMT, with evening slots available to accommodate applicants in different time zones. The selection events will take place online and will consist of a welcome talk, an advocacy exercise and an interview.
Invitations will be sent to your registered email address and will contain full details on the format of the day. All candidates will be assessed in the same way and against the same selection criteria, as follows:
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All 4 competencies above are assessed at interview and only Analysis and Effective Communication are assessed during the advocacy exercise. Details of the advocacy exercise will be sent to all candidates at least 24 hours in advance.
The best performing candidates in line with our selection criteria will receive an offer to attend the ICCA Bar Course. Offers must be accepted by the specified deadline, failing which the offer will be deemed to have been withdrawn.
Due to a high demand for places, the ICCA may notify candidates that they have been placed on a reserve list, in which case they will receive an offer if a place becomes available.
If additional places become available due to student deferrals or for other reasons, the ICCA may hold an additional application cycle in 2022.