Advocacy Training and the Family Bar

I would never have signed up to be an advocacy trainer if it hadn’t been for Sarah Clarke KC. After I gave a truly stunning car crash of a performance at the Keble Advocacy Course in 2017, she somehow saw something salvageable in me. Sarah invited me to consider becoming a trainer, suggesting it would transform how I approached advocacy. She was right.

Shortly after I completed the Keble Course, I attended and luckily passed the Inn’s Advocacy Trainers’ Course. I discovered I loved teaching – there’s something magical about watching junior barristers find their voice and confidence over the course of a day. Seeing someone transform from hesitant to commanding in just a few hours never gets old.

As well as giving back, training others sharpens our own advocacy. When we teach, we must deconstruct what someone has said, identify precisely why it wasn’t effective, explain it clearly and demonstrate an alternative. It trains the brain to think faster and more strategically. It also deepens our own learning; just as participants benefit from observing each other, we learn constantly from our fellow trainers’ insights, approaches and feedback. It’s an incredibly collegiate, constructive and rewarding experience.

There are also extraordinary opportunities to train internationally. Thanks to my accreditation, I’ve had the privilege of training at Keble College and further afield – in Australia, America, Jamaica, Germany, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Namibia, to name just a few. Some in person, some online – all unforgettable experiences.

As a family practitioner, I have found it particularly valuable to train across different practice areas, from crime to civil. Like my colleagues at the Family Bar, I am in court almost daily and therefore spend a great deal of time on my feet. The skills I’ve developed as a trainer are highly transferable; there’s real overlap in technique and approach. Training across disciplines has made me a stronger, more agile advocate.

While cross-training brings invaluable breadth, there’s also real value in family-specific expertise. That’s why it’s so exciting that the Advocacy Training Committee is now introducing fact patterns and sessions designed specifically for family practitioners, delivered by experienced family advocates and judges.

So here’s the plug: if you’re a family practitioner, please consider signing up for the Advocacy Trainers’ Course. You’ll not only strengthen your own practice but also help shape the next generation of advocates in our field.

The Advocacy Training Committee is especially keen to recruit more family specialists and to widen the diversity of our trainer cohort. The more backgrounds and perspectives we bring to the table, the stronger the training becomes for everyone.

If you would like more information about the Inn’s Advocacy Trainer’s Course, contact establishedbarristers@innertemple.org.uk

Bibi Badejo
4 Brick Court
Advocacy Training Committee