James Welsh

Co-Director of Programmes, BPTC

Location

• BPP Law School London Holborn
• BPP Law School Leeds

Courses taught

• BPTC - Advocacy and Criminal Litigation

Career history

James is a practising barrister at 9 Bedford Row in addition to his role at BPP. He qualified in 1994, and practiced full time until the end of the millennium. He has been active as a door tenant since.

At BPP James has been at the forefront of developing the advocacy programmes across BPP, writing a number of courses that have been accredited by Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The Advocacy programme at BPP has been widely praised under his leadership.

James was involved in a ground breaking project by invitation of the CPS Director of London where he was involved in assessing and grading prosecution advocates in the Crown Court. James is now in a management position on the BPTC; running the programmes in a job share with Anna Banfield.

Education and professional qualifications

• 2000 - Accredited Advocacy Trainer
• 1994 - Called to the Bar
• 1993 - Common Professional Exam
• 1992 - BA Hons Politics, 2.1, Durham University

Publications and citations

• 'Advocacy in the Magistrates Court', Cavendish
• Training of Army prosecutors was described as "the best that we've had" by the Director of the Service Prosecuting Authority, Bruce Holder QC
• Training of the advocates in the British dependency of St Helena was described by the Chief Justice of St Helena as being 'universally ecstatic'
• Colin McCaul QC, reviewing the quality of BPP's BVC (now BPTC) advocacy training said that he was 'incredibly impressed' by James's teaching
• James was on the faculty at the prestigious Keble College Oxford Advocacy training organised by the South East Circuit, where his feedback was described by Tim Dutton QC (the course leader) as 'excellent'
• James performed a mock trial in front of students from the William Mitchell University USA and was described as 'epic'.