2.59 Turning to the major professional courses (LPC and BPTC), a minority of respondents (including trainees) amongst the most relevant occupational groups took the view that the LPC and BPTC are positively unfit for purpose – 29.5% and 31.1% of solicitors and barristers respectively.31 But there was no strong endorsement either. Thus, 45% of solicitors responding to the survey agreed that the LPC is ‘fit for purpose’,32 while 38.5% of barristers so agreed with regard to the BPTC.33
2.60 A range of opinion also comes across in the qualitative data, where the LPC attracts a range of epithets from ‘superb’ to ‘pointless’. From many of the comments it is clear that the LPC is affected by the growing fragmentation of practice (discussed in Chapter 3). This is reflected in debates about the appropriateness of its breadth and depth, and whether it is intended to provide only a general introduction to practice, or provide a springboard to more specialised subject matter and immediate fee-earning.34 In this context, it is notable that 43% of solicitor respondents to the online survey felt that the attempt to retain a ‘common core’ course is outmoded. This is not shown in stakeholder responses to Discussion Papers, where a majority indicate approval of the course as it stands. The City sector, represented in some of these responses, has been best placed to take advantage of the flexibility the SRA has built into the system to ‘re-engineer’ the LPC to its own needs. Other groups need to work out how best to do this for themselves and course providers need to be encouraged to work with them in order to satisfy their needs.
2.61 The negative response to the BPTC probably needs to be viewed with some caution.
The BPTC has only been in operation since 2010/11, so the majority of LETR research data from those in practice are likely to reflect experiences and perceptions of the BVC.
Although some student and academic responses clearly did refer to the BPTC, these were not sufficiently numerous to warrant separate analysis. The Wood Review (BSB,
29 Eg, A wider but shallower compulsory curriculum would significantly inhibit the ability of the law degree to provide a grounding in the kind of in-depth analysis, critical thinking and writing skills which is essential both to a liberal education and the development of neophyte lawyers. If an aim of the Review is to increase the development of these core skills, such a proposal will not, in our view, achieve the objective.
University College, London response to Discussion Paper 02/2012
A: I think I was really more thinking about expanding the academic phase to cover other things than purely
just-B: But if you put other things into the academic phase then you - you don’t want to lengthen the time period so what are you taking out of it?
C: And then you’d have to cope with the fact that the ones who hadn’t done a law degree, if you’ve put some extra stuff into the law degree, the ones who haven’t done a law degree need to pick it up later. Perhaps it’s at the LPC that we should be addressing some of this.
Solicitors
30 Though the CILEx route already includes ethics, those who wish to retain the possibility of transferring into the solicitors’ profession must pass all of the Foundation subjects at level 6. Consequently additional subjects would add to the loading across that stage.
31 Weighted data.
32 Weighted data. Note that 19.4% respond neutrally to this item (ie, neither agree nor disagree), and missing responses = 6.2%, so that, in effect, 25% of solicitor respondents do not express an opinion.
33 Weighted data. The level of effective non-response from the Bar is even higher at 30.5%: 16.7% respond neutrally and 13.8% are recorded as missing data.
34 The dichotomy is represented by this exchange between trainee solicitors at the same firm:
A: I didn’t take the legal aid route although I’m now working in the family department and all my work is legal aid. And I’m glad I didn’t because I got a taste of different areas of law. I took the commercial module, family law and personal injury - so I took different modules. I think it’s helped me to decide which area of law I wanted to focus on and I think that’s why I probably disagree with some of my colleagues. I think it doesn’t need to be so specific.
B: I think you should be able to pick the route you go down from the offset and then be trained on that basis rather than learning - I’ve forgotten nearly everything of what I learned for the LPC which was property or business. I did well in my exams, I memorised it for a week and now it’s completely gone, it’s a complete waste of time. I think you should be able to - there should be maybe two routes on the LPC. I think the GDL works quite well but I think the LPC should be either a legal aid LPC, maybe a public and a private law one, I don’t know. Where you still learn the basics of everything but you go into detail more so in one aspect, either the private law or public law.
C: It goes back to the LPC that it is - it’s forcing you to take variety that you may have little to no interest in ever taking.
2008) acknowledged that the Bar had not been effectively brought into understanding and engaging with the BVC, and this effect may still be visible. It is too soon to say whether the BPTC has effectively escaped from any limitations of its past. As with the LPC, qualitative views varied widely from the very positive, through to ‘not completely useless’ and to
‘positively sclerotic and completely inadequate’. Institutional responses tended to the view that any significant problems (except cost) had been addressed by the Wood Review.
2.62 By contrast, attitudes to the training contract and pupillage were markedly different, with 38% of solicitors ‘completely disagreeing’ with the abolition of the training contract. An emphatic 58% of barristers similarly ‘completely’ disagreed with the abolition of pupillage.35 2.63 However, those who may have been unable to find a training contract or pupillage, or who face the prospect of attempting to find one, have unsurprisingly negative views about how the current system works. The quantitative data do not show whether this view is driven by a fear of exclusion from the profession, or a more sophisticated perception that paralegal or other forms of work experience should be equally permissible as a route to qualification.
Elements of the latter view do emerge from the qualitative material.
35 Weighted data.
rent Sy stem of Le g al Ser vices Educa tion and T raining
Table 2.3: Removing the training contract and pupillage: responses of law students/
paralegals
Unweighted data.
‘The training contract should be abolished.’
‘Pupillage should be abolished.’
Attitudes towards CILEx education and training
2.64 Finally, it is notable that CILEx members and their employers for the most part emerge as well-satisfied with their training process. LETR qualitative data indicate that respondents were better informed about the CILEx route than about paralegal options and perceived it to be of utility, particularly by providing more tailored training for smaller firms (which might not be able to offer training contracts). The CILEx route also found some favour among some of the respondents from both in-house practice and local government.
2.65 CILEx members were also positive about their route in terms of accessibility, particularly for mature students - a view that was also advanced by employers. The pathway from Fellowship/Chartered status to the solicitors’ qualification was viewed by some employers as a valuable way of increasing the diversity of the solicitors’ profession (see, eg, CLLS response to Discussion Paper 01/2012). There were some doubts about the suitability of
COMPLETEL
the CILEx route (as noted above) for those who were not already in legal employment.36 The majority of trainee legal executives appear to progress from secretarial or paralegal work and thus have a familiarity with the firm culture and office practice, which gives them some advantage relative to new trainee solicitors. Although a number commented on the challenges of an ‘earn while you learn’ approach, in terms of the difficulties of distance learning and juggling studying with other commitments, most respondents felt the system worked well for them, and were keen that it be strengthened and retained.
2.66 Positive views about the effectiveness of work-based approaches to education and training were expressed by the smaller professions which adopted them. The integration of workplace and classroom learning will be considered further in Chapter 5.