The Inner Temple Debating Society

Competitions – We send debaters of all levels to a variety of tournaments across the UK, covering travel expenses, as well as holding our own competitions within the Inn. These competitions look great on your CV!

 

Advocacy – If you’re on the Bar Course you know how important it is to have strong advocacy skills. The Bar Course is difficult course and even if advocacy comes naturally to you, you can always improve your skills. Debate teaches you how to think on your feet and how to quickly construct an effective argument. This is obviously useful to your advocacy classes (think – judicial interventions) but it’s also useful for your other skills too, which usually have time pressures (eg, timed opinion writing).

 

Pupillage – We want to help you be a better advocate but we also want you to have something to show for it. Come build your CV and show that you’re interested in advocacy and committed to practising it in your spare time. Debating also helps make you a better interviewee for pupillage interviews, as it teaches you to analyse problems and think on your feet.

 

Networking – The Bar Course is hard enough. Joining a society is a great way to build a support network of people who are interested in debating and a career at the Bar. Come meet with fellow current and former students, while also gaining valuable skills. You will also get to meet and network with other university students at competitions. If that’s not enough, we have Masters of the Bench come to judge our competitions whenever possible. Last year, we were very fortunate to have the involvement of several esteemed Benchers at our events. The Rawlinson Cup was chaired by the Treasurer of the Inn, and the Public Speaking competition was judged by the Reader of the Inn, both of whom gave excellent feedback to our competitors.

 

Fun - As a society, we hold a number of socials throughout the year that allow our members to unwind. Whether it be post-Pupillage Gateway drinks or the annual Christmas and summer parties, we are a society that knows how to have fun together. By getting involved with debating, you can be part of this network too!

Debating is the process of critically analysing and evaluating argument in a structured way. While debating is about speaking persuasively, it is more importantly about thinking logically. At Inner Temple we are fortunate to be part of a global British Parliamentary debating circuit. In this format, each debate is stylised as a hypothetical House of Commons debate, both procedurally and linguistically. A debate consists of four teams: two teams in proposition (the Government bench), and two teams in opposition to the motion (the opposition bench). There are two speakers in a team. The object of the debate is to use your skills of advocacy, wit and strategy to convince the judges of your case. Do so and you win. Motions are similarly stylised on the House of Commons, e.g. ‘This House Would Nationalise the Banks’. Teams are given fifteen minutes to prepare their cases once the motion is announced. Because motions can be on literally any topic of any significance – from war with Iran to art history and from the abolition of wigs and gowns to the restoration of debtors prisons. – we aim only to provide you with the underlying skills to deconstruct an issue, apply your knowledge effectively and construct a water-tight case.

Not at all! The Inn welcomes all levels of debaters from those who have never debated formally or otherwise to those who have participated in major debating events. At the start of each term, the Debating Society will present the different forms of debating, taking you through all the rules and regulations, and hopefully providing you with some useful tips!

We start the year doing British Parliamentary Style (BP), which we do all first term. After the holidays we swap to Rawlinson Style debating, which is a style that is unique to the Inn and allows you to be a bit more creative and focus on exploring and improving your advocacy style. During this term, we also practice the debate style questions that may appear in pupillage interviews. After the Rawlinson Cup is held, we return to BP for the remainder of the year in preparation for the Debating Shield. We will explain both styles of debating to you in detail, as well as all of the debating positions.

We hold weekly sessions throughout term time. Our sessions are held virtually, via Zoom, to allow member to join from wherever they are in the country. Socials and (the majority of) competitions will be held in person. At the beginning of the year, we recruit for committee positions, including Treasurer, Secretary, Competitions Officer, Events Officer, and EDI Officer. 

Please email us to join our mailing list and receive details of all sessions, competitions, events, and other opportunities.