Radical training for aspiring judges

 The UCL Judicial Institute claims its two-day weekend course, "Understanding Judging: Roles, Skills and Challenges" is the first of its type in the UK.

It’s aimed at practitioners and academics who are interested in taking on a fee-paid or salaried judicial appointment, and will cover the generic skills needed to be a judge, ethical dilemmas faced by judges, the difference between practice and being a judge, and the challenges practitioners often face when moving into a judicial post.

The course is open to all solicitors, barristers, Ilex members, employed lawyers and academics and carries 12 CPD points. Bursaries are available to members of under-represented groups for a quarter of places.

Professor Dame Hazel Genn, co-director of the Judicial Institute, said the program is not designed to help lawyers fill in an application form for a judicial post or do a practice examination.

“Instead this course will give lawyers an incredibly valuable hands-on, intensive and  personal experience of what it’s like to be a judge. We’ve also set the size at a maximum of 24 people, and most of the work will be done in small groups so everyone can receive the maximum amount of personal feedback.” 

For further information visit www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/