From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BVC may also stand for Bolsa de Valores de Cabo Verde, a stock exchange in Cape Verde.

The Bar Vocational Course (usually termed the BVC) is a postgraduate course that is completed by those wishing to be called to the bar, i.e. to practice as a barrister in England and Wales. This vocational stage is the second of the three stages of legal education, the first being the academic stage and the third being the practical stage, i.e. pupillage. You cannot practice as a barrister unless you have completed this course.

The entry requirements for the BVC is a qualifying law degree with no less than lower second class (2:2) honours, or a degree in another subject with no less than 2:2 honours in addition to a pass in the Graduate Diploma in Law or Common Professional Exam (CPE) (also known as a law conversion course.)

The course bridges the gap between academic study and the practical work of a barrister by teaching subjects with which a pupil barrister will need to be familiar. Core modules include: Advocacy, Drafting, Opinion Writing, Conferencing (client interviewing), Negotiation, Criminal Procedure and Evidence (including Sentencing), Civil Procedure and Evidence (including Remedies), Practical Legal Research, Case Analysis, Professional Ethics.

Optional modules vary between institutions but as a guide, those offered at Northumbria University in 2005-6 are:

• Criminal Practice,
• Civil Practice,
• Employment Practice,
• Family Practice,
• Landlord and Tenant,
• Professional Negligence and
• the Student Law Office.

Manchester Metropolitan University offer a similar choice of modules (subject to demand) in:

• Advanced Criminal Practice (ACP),
• Business Law and Corporate Finance,
• Chancery Practice,
• Child Law,
• Employment Law,
• European Competition Law,
• Family Law,
• Judicial Review,
• Personal Injury Litigation, and
• Sale of Goods Law.

There are 8 BVC providers in England, and 1 in Wales - at least one provider on every circuit.