Navigating the Bar Course (LDC) – Uganda Chapter

The Law Development Centre is not difficult. The most important factor in completing the Bar Course is organization. The primary goal of the Bar Course is to prepare you to be an ethical lawyer in practice and to have a deep understanding of the law. Therefore, you should set aside the theoretical knowledge you gained as an undergraduate and focus on practical application. How can you provide practical advice to your client based on the law you have learned?

Passing the Bar is a cumulative grade that starts totaling the moment you set foot on campus. This includes active class participation, maintaining handwritten notes for each class, and completing continuous assessments for each subject every week. During my time, these happened on Fridays.

I completed the Bar Course in December 2021, and there are certain things I wish I had known before starting. Fortunately, I had the COVID-19 lockdown to address the areas where I had fallen short in the first semester, but this opportunity may not be available.

Based on my experience, I would like to share some general principles to help you pass and excel in the Bar Course.Be sure to contact a recent graduate from the Center for any current advice on making it at the Bar.

Structure:

The Bar is structured into Category A, Category B, and optional courses under Category C. During my time, Category A subjects included Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Land transactions, Family Law, and Corporate and Commercial Law. Category B was Taxation and Accounting for lawyers, and Category C included Legislative drafting, which I took, and Corporate Governance, to mention a few.

Category A courses are taught in different weeks based on different topics. For example, a term might have four Corporate and Commercial weeks with different topics covered and examined per week.

Additionally, students are organized into ‘Firms’ where all their classes occur. Your firm is the group you will study with for the entire year. Building a good rapport and relationships with your firm mates is important because they will form part of the pool of your professional career networks that you need.

The classes are student-led discussions conducted in the form of workshops. Students are provided with various facts and are required to generate presentations and briefs submitted to the lecturers before the class. During the week, students present their research, and the lecturer provides comments or clarifications.

It is important to note that you are usually required to have handwritten notes for each class and are usually excused from the class in case you don’t.  

At the end of every week, students receive an overview of the week’s topic, an introduction to the following week’s topic, and an examination of the week’s covered material. These assessments are graded and contribute to your final course grade to pass the Bar. During my time, this used to happen on Fridays.

Before the next week begins, students have supervised discussion sessions within their firms to discuss the week’s workshop and develop a draft outline of what will be submitted to the lecturer for the week’s class presentations. We used to have these on Saturday mornings during my time.

Organization:

Organization is key to keeping all your notes and resources in check. Once the week is over, you will not interact with the topic again until the final oral and written examination.

Here are some general principles I applied during my time at the Bar, which I believe are broadly applicable.

Read the learning outcomes for each week:

For the Category A courses, the head of subject designs each course to have specific weekly objectives they want you to focus on. Some of these objectives may not be covered during workshops, but it’s important to ensure you fully understand each learning outcome by the end of the week. This is crucial because these learning outcomes often form the basis of the oral questions asked during examinations. It’s best to address each learning outcome every week since you may not have another opportunity to revisit them later.

‘Introduction to the Week’ and ‘Summary of the Week’ sessions:

At the end of every week, there is usually a summary of the week and an introduction to the next week’s course and topics. Attending these sessions is important as they help you pick out the key takeaways from the past week and focus areas for the following week. In case your firm did not have the head of the subject for either sessions, inquire from your friends in other firms that had them what their key takeaways were and what the focus areas for the week will be. Make sure to take note of the key cases shared.

Make clear and concise notes:

These notes are what will be key to your written exams. Keep in mind that LDC is more practical with a focus on knowledge of the law than the theory of it. There’s no need to make detailed notes that will occupy multiple pages of your book. I was a victim of being too verbose in my notes, which affected the quality of my study. I would recommend making your notes in this format:

• The issue at hand, according to the workshop
• Provision of the law that deals with the issue. If it is more than one law, refer to all the laws that address that particular issue.
• Case law that addresses that particular issue (Supreme Court decisions are preferred since they are binding) and
• Analysis of how the law addresses the issue at hand.

Leave a margin in your book to note changes and corrections made by your lecturer during the workshops. Distinguishing cases is not necessary at this point since your client is seeking advice on particular issues.

Remember to address each learning outcome within the issue and each principle for that week in your notes because you will never have the chance to learn the laws and cases that apply to those principles once you finish the week.

Ethical considerations:

The goal of LDC is to prepare ethical lawyers for legal practice, so each workshop will usually require that ethical considerations from that topic be addressed. This applies to all Category A subjects and is usually the final learning outcome for each week. It is also relevant for written exams. The applicable information can be found in The Advocates (Professional Conduct) Regulations SI 267-2. Demonstrating your ability to address this issue will indicate how well-prepared you are for legal practice after completing the Bar Course.

Have a good balance:

Know your most productive time and maximize it. I am a morning person, so I read better between 5 and 8 a.m. Be productive during your peak hours and schedule discussions or other academic activities for your less productive times. This is an important tip because you will see people reading up to 5 a.m. or waking up at 3 a.m., but it is because that is how they work best. Everyone’s journey is different, and comparison has always been the thief of joy!

I wish you all the best during this year and it will be the most fulfilling year of your professional life if you choose to see it as such.