BHRC and HRLA to co-host Half-Day Seminar for Early Career Practitioners, Law Students & Members of BHRC and HRLA
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Skills training for early career practitioners is a core part of the Bar Human Rights Committee (BHRC)’s learning and training advocacy track, bridging the widening gap between academic knowledge and real-world practice and offering perspective and experience exchange on various aspects of practice, including client interaction and interviewing, advanced advocacy techniques, and vital communication and leadership skills. BHRC is committed to supporting our members and partner networks with opportunities to develop these essential skills for human rights practice and to build the confidence and capacity to handle complex, challenging human rights cases using a holistic, human-centred, trauma-informed approach.
The Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA) is open to all connected with the law and the legal profession who have an interest in human rights law in the United Kingdom. The Association currently has over 2,000 members including solicitors, barristers, advocates, judges, government lawyers, legal academics, legal executives, in-house lawyers, pupils, trainees and law students. HRLA exists to increase knowledge and understanding of human rights and to aid their effective implementation within the UK legal framework and system of government.
BHRC and HRLA are proud to be partnering on this event as a follow up to the ‘Human Rights Careers, Skills & Values’ seminar jointly hosted in November 2023. Through a half-day programme of intensive but insightful and interactive sessions, ‘Skills for Human Rights Practice’ aims to support the development of confidence, community and competency among junior members of the Bar and the legal profession overall, with content specifically designed to help early career practitioners, pupils, trainees and law students skill up in key areas that support advanced, human-centred advocacy approaches to human rights practice. Speakers will be drawn from the Executive Committees and member networks of BHRC and HRLA, as well as valued contacts from the legal profession, from NGOs and higher education.
The half-day seminar will be open to UK and members of BHRC and HRLA, UK and international law students (including undergraduates and postgraduate / postdoctoral researchers), trainee solicitors, pupil barristers and early- to mid-career solicitors and barristers who are already working in or interested in moving into human rights practice, or more deeply embedding a rights-based approach within their legal and professional practice in general. Please bookmark this page for updates on speakers, agenda and registration, or to register, please do so here.
Session Programme
Event Hosts: The Bar Human Rights Committee & Human Rights Lawyers Association (Zoom)
Speakers: Members of the BHRC & HRLA Executive Committees plus Special Guests
Convenor: Dr Louise Loder (BHRC Education & Training Lead / HRLA Executive Committee / University of Exeter Law School)
Date: Wednesday 27 November 2024 on Zoom
Time: 12:00 – 16:00 (with break)
12:00-12:30 (Opening) Session I – Skilling up for holistic, human-centred practice
Skilling up for holistic, human-centred practice involves acquiring a blend of technical, interpersonal and reflective skills to address diverse client needs with integrity and confidence. Legal practitioners must develop empathy, active listening and cultural competence to understand clients’ unique contexts. We also know that training in collaborative problem-solving and interdisciplinary teamwork enhances the ability to design and implement integrative solutions, whereas reflective practices are crucial for adapting to evolving client and professional dynamics. In this opening session, BHRC and HRLA will introduce the timely and valuable topics that will be covered in the afternoon’s programme and share the vision and values of their respective organisations. This opening session will welcome Kirsty Brimelow KC, Vice Chair Elect of the Bar Council & Head of the International Human Rights Team, Doughty Street Chambers, former Chair and current Advisory Board Member of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales; Jo Cecil, Barrister & Vice Chair of BHRC; and Joe Middleton KC, Chair of HRLA.
12:30-13:15 Session II – Cultivating Advanced Advocacy Skills
Advocacy is a crucial skill for barristers and solicitor advocates, as to represent clients effectively, you will need to build trust, demonstrate sound judgement, and be able to communicate with different people clearly and persuasively. This session delves into the core qualities that define successful advocacy, offering aspiring and junior practitioners practical guidance on developing effective advocacy strategies. Participants will learn how to cultivate the skills necessary to develop these vital skills in legal practice. This session will be chaired by Jo Cecil KC, Vice Chair of BHRC & Barrister at Garden Court Chambers, with speakers to include Kirsty Brimelow KC, Vice Chair Elect of the Bar Council & former Head of the International Human Rights Team, Doughty Street Chambers, former Chair and current Advisory Board Member of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales; Amrit Kaur Dhanoa, Chair of the Bar Council’s Young Barristers’ Committee of England and Wales; Philip Rule KC, Barrister & Head of the Public Law Group, No 5 Chambers, HRLA Executive Committee; and Rachel Barnes KC, Barrister, 3 Raymond Buildings, Executive Committee Member, BHRC.
13:15-14:00 Session III – Trauma-Informed Approaches to Human Rights Advocacy
Trauma-informed approaches to human rights advocacy recognise the multidimensional impact of trauma and help practitioners integrate this understanding into practice by avoiding re-traumatisation, building trust, and improving client communication and cooperation. Trauma-informed human rights practice enhances the client’s ability to engage with legal processes, ultimately leading to better outcomes for victims of human rights abuses seeking justice and remedy. Adopting a trauma-informed perspective also demonstrates professionalism and ethical responsibility, equipping practitioners with the skills to handle sensitive situations with compassion and competence whilst avoiding vicarious or secondary trauma, thereby strengthening the overall effectiveness of their advocacy. This session will be chaired by Haydee Djikstal, Barrister at 33 Bedford Row & Member of the Executive Committee of BHRC, with speakers to include Zoe Harper, Barrister, Doughty Street Chambers; Jack Dingley, Pupil, Kenworthy’s Chambers and former Head of Casework at Manuel Bravo Project; Oliver Jackson, Barrister 11KBW & HRLA Executive Committee; and Professor Martin Jones, University of York Law School.
14:00-14:15 Break
14:15-15:00 Session IV – Compassionate and Constructive Client Interviewing
Client interviewing skills enable practitioners to gather comprehensive and accurate information about the client’s experiences, which is critical to building a strong case and ensuring the most effective representation for your client. Effective interviewing helps uncover crucial details that might otherwise be overlooked, ensuring a thorough understanding of the human rights violations involved and importantly, helping to establish trust, respect and rapport between the client and the practitioner, especially when clients in human rights cases have experienced trauma, are under extraordinary pressures and may be hesitant to share their lived experiences. This session will be chaired by Shoaib M Khan, Barrister and Solicitor-Advocate, Vice Chair of the Human Rights Lawyers Association, with speakers including Samia Yaqub, ILPA Wellbeing Group, Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association; Josephine Fathers, Barrister at Garden Court Chambers & BHRC, Executive Committee; and George Grammer-Taylor, Trainee Solicitor at Clyde & Co & Academic Committee Member, Client Interviewing Competition for England and Wales.
15:00-15:45 Session V – Emerging Human Rights Challenges and Implications for Future Legal Practice
In this session, leading experts will explore evolving and emerging human rights challenges and how these might impact and shape the work and approaches of legal professionals in the future, including: freedom of expression, protest rights and arbitrary detention; artificial intelligence and digital privacy; sustainability, climate change and extreme poverty; and persistent gender discrimination and violence against women and LGBTQ+ communities. Speakers will examine how traditional human rights frameworks are being tested and the necessity for innovative legal approaches, and will share their experiences and practical strategies that early career lawyers can use to adapt and respond effectively to a changing legal landscape. This session will be chaired by Lui Asquith, Vice Chair of HRLA, with speakers to include Harj Narulla, Barrister in climate law and litigation, Doughty Street Chambers; Dr Felicity Gerry KC, International King’s Counsel, Libertas Chambers; Vicki Prais, Human Rights Lawyer & Academic, HRLA Executive Committee; and Dr Debra Long, International Human Rights Policy Manager, The Law Society.
15:45-16:00 Closing Remarks
Closing Keynote Speaker Edward Fitzgerald CBE KC, Founding Head of Doughty Street Chambers.
