At the time rail strikes were announced over the summer, 29 individuals were scheduled to attend an in-person Qualifying Session (QS) on legislation research. If there were a positive arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, it would be our organisation’s ability to quickly pivot to remote learning when needed. On this occasion, we opted to move the training to Zoom in response to the possible travel disruption, allowing everyone the opportunity to attend. The adaptability of the QS programme offered by Middle Temple Library not only extends to the timetable, but also in the content provided, keeping up with the dynamic legal world.
Middle Temple Library’s role is to support the informational needs of its members and members of the Bar. This is achieved through the maintenance of a library collection, which includes both print and online resources. The support also extends to teaching; lectures given by Library staff on various topics related to legal research help form the QS programme offered by Middle Temple.
Sessions
Middle Temple Library staff taught 25 Qualifying Sessions from October 2021 – July 2022. The timetable was pre-planned as a hybrid learning model, with more than a third of classes hosted remotely over Zoom to accommodate members outside of London and in response to new working and studying patterns caused by the pandemic. The new format proved popular and will most certainly continue to allow for flexibility and greater reach. A mixture of morning and evening times are also on offer, and the Library still includes in-person training to encourage members of the Bar to take advantage of the collegiate element of meeting with colleagues.
Qualifying Sessions led by the library during the recent academic year included general overview sessions on the following topics: The European Union, human rights, and US Law. In 2022, two introductory classes on case law and legislation research were provided as an introduction to legal research, and a new QS titled You v Google highlighted free legal resources and how to use Google more efficiently and appropriately when conducting legal research. The most frequently offered class, titled Effective Legal Research, focused on legal research strategies and a review of resources available. The combined programme is designed to reflect the informational needs and interests of our membership.
Descriptions of each of these sessions are submitted to the Bar Standards Board in advance to ensure certain standards and criteria are met. Along with a description, staff provide learning outcomes and details of how the session aligns with the BSB’s professional statement for barristers. The QSs are particularly focused on supporting the legal knowledge and skills required by the profession.
The QSs are not only reviewed each academic year, but prior to each session to reflect any updates. The EU session responded to the changing legal landscape, post-Brexit, and the human rights class looked at the reform of human rights and atrocities in Ukraine. Our You v Google session was developed in response to more individuals working from home and the need for freely available resources. Library staff who taught sessions thank those who have attended for their feedback, as sessions are continually updated to reflect the needs of our members.
Thank you for an engaging session. It is already helping me navigate some of the less commonly utilised features of the databases for my dissertation, I’ll definitely be back for more. Greg Clement, student member of The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.
Every (QS) that is hosted by the Inn offers a wonderful chance to get knowledge from illustrious legal professionals and other well-known persons.- Airfat Yousaf, student member of The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple
Reflections
The Library’s training sessions, as outlined above, have proved popular and well-attended throughout the legal year. Our reasons for running these sessions are simple: the Library team is keen to contribute and align its work with the Education Department’s training provision for all student members, pre- and post-Call. Across the course of the last year, the Library team contributed to the pupils’ course by presenting a legal research training session aimed at early-career barristers. The main offerings, though, were the popular QSs for pre-Call Bar students.
The range of QSs across the 2021/22 legal year have covered a multitude of topics in alignment to the Inn’s five main themes, where appropriate, including: Legal Knowledge, Justice and the Rule of Law, Advocacy Skills, and Preparation for Pupillage. In addition to this, we aimed to ensure that the individual QSs were both interactive and engaging for student members, and to ensure that they acquired knowledge essential to their future careers as advocates, as well as learning about new areas of law that they might not have explored before (the law of Human Rights, the European Union, and the United States).
2022/23
Although training for the legal year has wound down, as attention turns to forthcoming holidays and summer respite, Library staff are now beginning to prepare next year’s training calendar. What we have noticed from feedback and general remarks from the student membership is that sessions remain both online and in-person. This, as outlined above, will ensure that Out of London (OOL) students will have the same opportunities to attend events as those based in London.
While a hybrid approach to delivering training – online and in-person – is something that will continue across 2022/23, we would encourage all students to attend at least one Library Qualifying Session in-person. One of the many benefits of being a member of Middle Temple, and attending the QSs, is the opportunity to network with peers and, most likely, those with whom you will work both in and out of court across your future careers.
Next year’s timetable will include the longstanding session on Effective Legal Research, as well as its international counterparts in the form of US Legal Research and EU Legal Research, which tie in with the Library’s authoritative electronic and print collections. Building on the success of this year’s QSs, future sessions will include one on parliamentary papers that will cover sources of information available for parliamentary research to show students how to trace and understand the legislative process, as well as demonstrate the basics of undertaking Pepper v Hart research.
Spring 2023 will see the arrival of a one-off mini research course, spread out over three sessions, which will introduce next year’s cohort to research on legislation, case law, and legal current awareness. Further to this, a new session on Irish law will be added to the training calendar, relating to the Library’s collection specialism for this particular jurisdiction. And, finally, but of no least significance, there will be a new page on Middle Temple’s website containing four-minute training videos on areas of legal research, such as where to locate court forms and precedents, and how to find case law and legislation in other jurisdictions. These videos will be available to all members wishing to keep up to date with their own continuing professional development and knowledge of the law.
Over to you
The training offered by the Library, as part of the Education Department, is designed and delivered to the benefit of the Inn’s membership. Therefore, if you are reading this and have suggestions for future training sessions, or wish to attend any of the training sessions, please contact the Library by email: library@middletemple.org.uk; or telephone: 020 7427 4830.
Jake Hearn joined Middle Temple in August 2021 as Assistant Librarian. In his role, he curates the Library’s specialist European and United States research collections; teaches classes on navigating and finding legal information; and contributes to the Library’s enquiry service. He serves on the editorial board of Legal Information Management Journal (Cambridge University Press) as Vice Chair.
Beth Flerlage is an Assistant Librarian at The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, where she’s responsible for the development of the UK and Official Publications collections. Prior to working in law librarianship, she spent a decade working in public libraries in the United States.
