Bar Training CourseManchester Metropolitan University
Prepare for Practice. Build Your Future at the Bar.
Develop the advocacy, legal knowledge and professional skills you need to progress towards pupillage and a career as a barrister.
You’ll develop essential skills in advocacy, conferencing, drafting, opinion writing, litigation, legal research and professional ethics while gaining opportunities to build your professional network and experience life at the Bar.
Programme Key Facts
Postgraduate
Manchester Metropolitan University
1 Year
Full-Time
Manchester Law School
September
Future Careers
Prepare for life at the Bar.
Manchester Met’s Bar Training Course provides the vocational training required on your pathway towards becoming a barrister in England and Wales.
You’ll develop the legal knowledge, practical skills, professional judgement and advocacy abilities required to progress to pupillage, the work-based component of Bar training.
Possible Career Directions
Barrister, UK
Advocate & Solicitor, Malaysia
Civil Practice
Commercial Practice
Family Practice
Advocacy & Dispute Resolution
Why This Programme Matters
The Reality
- Becoming a successful barrister requires much more than academic legal knowledge.
- Advocacy, client communication, legal analysis, professional ethics and sound judgement are fundamental to practice at the Bar.
- Aspiring barristers need opportunities to practise professional skills in realistic environments.
- Building professional connections and gaining relevant legal experience can be important when competing for pupillage.
Manchester Met’s BTC combines the required Bar knowledge and skills with professional development designed to prepare you for the realities of modern pupillage and practice.
The Professional Practice Advantage
Manchester Met goes beyond the core Bar curriculum with a dedicated Professional Practice module offering approximately 75 hours of employability-enhancing activities.
These can include court visits, marshalling, industry and alumni guest speakers, chambers social events, wellbeing support and study skills development.
Course Modules
- Professional Ethics
- Professional Practice
- Advocacy (Civil)
- Civil Litigation
- Drafting
- Opinion Writing and Legal Research
- Advocacy (Criminal)
- Conference Skills
- Criminal Litigation, Evidence and Sentencing
A distinctive feature of Manchester Met’s BTC, the Professional Practice module helps you establish links with the profession while developing your employability, resilience, confidence and professional readiness.
Activities can include court visits, marshalling, interaction with practitioners and alumni, professional networking and personal development.
The Bar Training Experience
Learn by doing.
Manchester Met’s BTC is designed to immerse you in the professional environment of a practising barrister.
Develop Your Advocacy
Build your oral advocacy skills through civil and criminal advocacy training, practical exercises and opportunities to take part in competitions.
Practise in a Professional Courtroom
Use Manchester Law School’s digitally enabled moot courtroom for advocacy classes, mooting and competitions.
Work Like a Barrister
Use dedicated replica chambers, chambers rooms and a specialist chambers library that recreate aspects of professional life at the Bar.
Experience Mock Trials
Take part in professional simulations that may include mock-trial exercises involving organisations such as Greater Manchester Police.
Join a Chambers Community
Build relationships within your chambers group and access continual pastoral and employability support throughout your studies.
Professional Experience & Employability
Build your CV while completing your Bar training.
Manchester Met places strong emphasis on professional experience alongside academic and skills training.
75 Hours of Professional Practice
The Professional Practice module gives you approximately 75 hours of employability-focused activities designed to strengthen your professional profile.
Pro Bono Opportunities
Join Manchester Met’s Pro Bono Network and access legal volunteering opportunities in Manchester and beyond.
Marshalling & Court Exposure
Professional Practice activities can include court visits and opportunities for marshalling, providing further exposure to the legal profession.
Professional Networking
Meet barristers, alumni and other legal professionals through chambers social events, guest speaker sessions, Northern Circuit events and professional networking activities.
Strong Northern Circuit Connections
Build your professional network in one of the UK’s major legal centres.
Manchester Met’s BTC benefits from strong relationships with organisations across the Northern Circuit.
Students can attend events, interact with legal professionals and learn about professional and work-experience opportunities through connections with barristers’ chambers, courts, solicitors’ firms, practising barristers and the wider Northern Circuit legal community.
Manchester as a Legal Hub
Studying in Manchester places you within a major UK legal centre and gives you opportunities to engage with one of the country’s most established legal communities outside London.
A Professional Learning Environment
Train in facilities designed for aspiring barristers.
Digitally Enabled Moot Courtroom
Practise advocacy in a state-of-the-art courtroom used for classes, mooting and professional competitions.
Dedicated Chambers Rooms
Work within replica chambers designed to recreate the collaborative and professional environment of life at the Bar.
Chambers Library
Access a dedicated BTC chambers library to support professional study and case preparation.
Personal Academic Tutor
Access individual support, mentor-style coaching and guidance on professional development throughout the programme.
Bar Society
Join a student-led society that encourages peer support, coaching, circuit competitions and regular social activities.
Industry Partners
Connect with the legal profession from day one.
Your legal education at BAC goes beyond the classroom. Through our strong connections with leading law firms, professional bodies and the Inns of Court Malaysia, you gain valuable exposure to the people, institutions and networks shaping the legal profession.
These partnerships help you better understand legal practice, explore different career pathways, and develop the professional confidence to take your next step.
Industry Partners
- Thomas Philip Advocates & Solicitors
- Lavania & Balan Chambers
- Messrs. Jamie Wong
- Alvin John & Partners
- Shearn Delamore & Co.
- Richard Wee Chambers
- Daljit Singh Partnership
- Chooi & Company
- Cheang & Ariff
- Messrs. Farez Jinnah
- Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill
- Zul Rafique & Partners
- Izral Partnership
- Messrs. Kuek, Ong & Associates
- Mah-Kamariyah & Philip Koh
- Haeme Lew Advocates & Solicitors
- Halim Hong & Quek
- Vilasiny Gan & Co
- Tan Norizan & Associates
- Belden Advocates & Solicitors
- C.Y. Ng & Barry
- Low & Partners
- Malek, Gan & Partners
- Zaid Ibrahim & Co.
- Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership
- Raj, Ong & Yudistra
- Raja, Darryl & Loh
- MahWengKwai & Associates
- Rahmat Lim & Partners
- WongPartnership LLP
- Baskaran Law
- Shook Lin & Bok
- Lee & Poh Partnership
- Jeeva Partnership
- Arief & Iskandar
- K.H. Ong & Ng
- Azmi & Associates
- Skrine
- Adnan Sundra & Low
- LAW Partnership
- Gan Partnership
- Christopher & Lee Ong
- Wong & Partners
- Albar & Partners
- Othman Hashim & Co
- Kadir Andri & Partners
- Jeff Leong, Poon & Wong
- Wong Boon & Toh
- Teng, Sheng & Fatima
- Abdullah Chan & Co
- Teh & Partners
- Nazmi Zaini Chambers
- Inns of Court Malaysia
- Great Eastern Sdn Bhd
- SLB
- UN Global Compact Network Malaysia, Brunei & Cambodia
- Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution
- The Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (MAICSA)
- The Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators (MIArb)
- TrialSim
- LexisNexis
- WestLaw
- Coursera for Campus
- CLJ Law
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Career Outcomes
Develop professional skills for the Bar and wider legal practice.
The programme develops the advocacy, legal analysis, client communication, professional ethics and judgement required for progression towards pupillage and a range of legal careers.
Roles in Focus
- Barrister, UKProgress towards pupillage and professional practice at the Bar.
- Advocate & Solicitor, MalaysiaPursue professional legal practice in Malaysia, subject to applicable qualification requirements.
- Civil PracticeApply litigation, advocacy and professional judgement to civil matters.
- Commercial PracticeDevelop the professional skills needed for commercial disputes and advisory work.
- Family PracticeUse advocacy and client-care skills in family-law settings.
- Advocacy & Dispute ResolutionApply persuasive oral and written advocacy to dispute resolution.
Why Manchester Metropolitan University?
75 Hours of Professional Practice
Go beyond the core BTC curriculum with approximately 75 hours of employability-focused activities, including court visits, marshalling, guest speakers and chambers events.
Strong Northern Circuit Links
Build connections with barristers, chambers, courts and solicitors’ firms across one of the UK’s major legal circuits.
Legal Work Experience
Access extensive pro bono opportunities through Manchester Met’s Pro Bono Network, including Support Through Court and the Legal Advocacy Support Project.
Expert Legal Faculty
Learn from successful lawyers with a range of practice specialisms, including experienced Bar-training lecturers and active practitioners.
Award-Winning Law School
Manchester Law School was named Law School of the Year at the Educate North Awards 2025.
BSB Authorised Training
Manchester Metropolitan University is an authorised provider of the vocational component of Bar training.
Entry Requirements
To be confirmed by BAC.
Tuition Fees
To be confirmed by BAC.
Speak to a Future Advisor
Ready to take your next step towards becoming a barrister?
Find out more about Manchester Metropolitan University’s Bar Training Course, study options, entry requirements, fees and application process.