Comparative Trial
Advocacy Pupillage
( 3 semester units )
June 15 - July 3, 2009
The London Program on Comparative Advocacy
offers law students much more than a classroom
experience. It provides a unique and privileged
opportunity to enter the world of the English
barrister and savor all that is traditionally
associated with life at the Bar in London.
Above all, students will be able to see
first hand how law cases are conducted in
the very home of the common law.
At the same time, students can immerse themselves
in the cultural riches that this dynamic
city and the broader reaches of the United
Kingdom have to offer.
This three-semester-unit program comprises
two components: one week of classes on the
English legal system, and two weeks of a pupillage
with a barrister selected from among some
of the most successful chambers of London.
The mission of this exceptional program
is to promote development of the practical
skills every lawyer needs in order to pursue
a successful career.
In addition to receiving instruction from
a superb faculty that has established an
international reputation for preparing lawyers
for practice, our students will also receive
individual guidance and attention from their
pupil-masters, who belong to a profession
which has earned world acclaim for its expertise.
Introduction to the English Legal
System
The initial week of lectures is designed
to give our law students a grounding in
fundamental aspects of the English legal
system.
Not only will these sessions familiarize
students with some of the more important
highlights of English practice and procedure,
but also they will help to prepare them
to enter the chambers more fully equipped
to get the very most of their internship
during the second portion of the program.
Pupillage: The English Legal Tradition
During the period of the internship or pupillage,
our law students will be assigned--just
as is every newly qualified English barrister--to
a member of chambers who will act as their
pupil-master with whom they will attend
court and client conferences and whom they
will help to draft pleadings and other documents
and conduct research.
By undergoing pupillage, our law students
will be traveling down the same vocational
training path completed by countless generations
of lawyers before them. This "hands
on" approach to learning the law has
long been an important and integral feature
of the English barrister's and solicitor's
education.
The School of Law is fortunate to enjoy
the support of a highly dedicated and loyal
team of enthusiastic barristers who have over the years demonstrated a deep
commitment to ensuring that their American
students from Roger Williams University
School of Law have a memorably educative
and enjoyable experience.
Students will be able to see a wide range
of areas of practice that include common
law, crime, family law, and commercial law
so that they can return home with a complete
picture of life at the English Bar.
In addition to their work in chambers,
our students are required to complete a
number of oral and written exercises of
the type undertaken by new practitioners.
These exercises will be graded. (Resource
materials will be available in chambers
as will the counsel of the pupil-master
and other colleagues.)
Study In Legal London
The first part of the program will be held
at the Inner Temple, one of the four
historic Inns of Court, the
traditional training institution for British
barristers in the very heart of legal London.
The Inns of Court, the Royal Courts of
Justice, and the Central Criminal Court
(popularly known as the Old Bailey) are
all immediately nearby.
Our barristers' chambers are located within
the environs of the celebrated Four Inns
of Court, universally regarded as one of
the most historic and, indeed architecturally,
significant parts of London.
Faculty
Robert M.C. Webster, B.A., University of
Sussex and Universite de Reims; Barrister
of the Inner Temple; Sometime Senior Lecturer
at the Inns of Court School of Law, London,
teaches the course.
Professor Webster has lectured extensively in Europe,
Asia and the United States, and maintains
chambers in London where he specializes
in European Union Law. He has conducted
international programs for American law
students for well over a decade.
Participating lecturers and intern hosts include barristers and members of the judiciary. Pupillage supervision is provided by a highly
select group of barristers under the coordinating
supervision of Robert M.C. Webster.
Lodging
Students will be lodged at the University
of London, on a first-come, first-served
basis in accordance with the date of receipt
of application for the program. Ramsay Hall
is located in central London and has a dining
hall, pub, TV lounge, laundry facilities,
games room, and reading room.
Each student will be accommodated in a
single room, and daily breakfast is provided.
Tuition, Fees and Expenses
Tuition and Fees:
$4,675 (Single occupancy) $5,875
(with accompanying person)
Tuition and fees include a single room
and daily breakfast, required course materials
and social events. Airfare, other transportation
costs, other meals, and personal spending
are in addition to the stated tuition and
fees.
