Aspiring Barristers' Public Speaking Club enables aspiring student barristers:
1. An opportunity to develop their own oral advocacy skills;
2. To do so within a less formal and more relaxed environment; and
3. To do so among their peers with the benefit of advocacy feedback from a practitioner.
Aspiring Barristers' Public Speaking Club allows aspiring student barristers to enhance their own oral advocacy skills through the presenting of thoughts and ideas in a less pressurised environment amongst their peers and the session's Chair.
Attendees will also have the benefit of receiving live feedback from the session's Chair guaranteed at particular sessions (namely, the debating sessions and presentation sessions). Feedback at the remaining sessions is optional and students may opt out of receiving feedback at the start of those sessions.
The Public Speaking Club may be of particular interest to aspiring student barristers who may not yet feel ready to enter more formal oral advocacy competitions and initiatives, the opportunity to develop their confidence speaking in a group setting under the guidance of a practitioner.
Each Public Speaking Club session is Chaired by either a Barrister, Solicitor, Judge or Academic and takes place on the first Thursday of each month at 6:30-7:30pm (unless informed otherwise). All Public Speaking Club sessions take place on Zoom and participants are sent the login details ahead of each meeting.
If you are an aspiring student barrister who would like to participant in the Public Speaking Club’s next session, please complete the Public Speaking Club registration form which you can find here.
Participation in the Book Club is open to Aspiring Barristers members only.
The topics to be discussed at each meeting for 2023 are as follows:
• 1st June 2023 - 'The Trial of the Chicago 7' (film) - available on Netflix
• 6th July 2023 - Is Eating People Wrong in Instances of Necessity? (Debate motion)**. Students are asked to familiarise themselves with the facts of R v Dudley v Stephens (1884) QBD 273 for the purpose of this session.
• 3rd August 2023 - 'Jailed Over a Group Chat: UNTOLD' - (30 minute documentary available on Channel 4 hub).
• 7th September 2023 - 'Crime: Are We Tough Enough? Episode 1 - The Courts' (BBC, available here).
• 5th October 2023 - 'This House Believes that Politicians Should Not Be Allowed Legally to Participate in Reality TV' (Debate motion)**.
• 2nd November 2023 - 'Youth Offending - Can The UK Learn From Spain?' (Debate motion).** Students are asked to watch the following 5-minute BBC clip for the purpose of this session, available here).
• 7th December 2023 - Present a 5-minute presentation on a topic of your choosing. Students may present on a legal topic or a non-legal topic. For example, your pet, favourite food, music etc.
• 4th January 2024 - 'The Case of Sally Challen' (BBC 2, 90 minute documentary).
• 1st February 2024 - Students are asked to watch a Court hearing of their choosing from the Supreme Court website and present their thoughts on it. For example, whether you agreed with the Court's findings having listened to counsel's submissions, or which advocacy techniques you observed that you found to be particularly effective/ineffective etc.
• 7th March 2024 - 'This House Believes that Juries Should be Abolished'**.
The topics to feature for the remainder of 2024 will be posted here at a later date.
**Attendees are asked to prepare both sides of the motion. Allocation of sides (opposition/proposition) will be allocated by the Chair at the start of the session itself).