Law students have lambasted BPP Law School for creating a fast-track Legal Practice Course (LPC) specifically designed for trainee solicitors joining member firms of the City LPC consortium.
In a radical move the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has given BPP the green light to accelerate its specially tailored course for the City LPC consortium from 10 months to just seven-and-a-half months, as first reported by this site last Friday (9 January).
But would-be lawyers have labeled the move as elitist and think the changes are unfair.
President of Birmingham University law society Chris Snell said: Why should people who dont want to work for top City firms be penalised for making that decision? Letting a select few finish much earlier is elitist.
Warwick University student Chrissy Vassiliou concurred: The current LPC is fine as it is so I dont think you should change something thats working already. But if theyre making it shorter for some they should make it shorter for everyone because every student should have the choice to take a fast-track option if they want to.
But not everyone is unhappy about the shake-up. George Igler, who hopes to start his Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) at City University in September, is now keen to apply to firms in the consortium in a bid to speed up his studies.
The 32-year-old said: In light of the current climate anything which makes the transition from studying to starting work and putting money in your pocket faster can only be a good thing.
Dean of BPP Peter Crisp defended the new-look course and insisted that there will be minimal change to the content of the course but there will be more face-to-face contact with tutors with both lectures and small group sessions run exclusively for the consortium trainees.
He said: Weve always run a specially tailored course for the City LPC consortium and have responded to the needs of the particular firms involved.
The City LPC consortium comprises Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith, Lovells, Norton Rose and Slaughter and May.
Do you think the BPP’s fast-track LPC is a good idea? Vote on the Lawyer2B.com poll.
Pilot Scheme
This is not elitist in nature at all – students must remeber that this is being carried out as a pilot scheme. I would imagine that the 400-500 students from consortium firms make for an ideal number when testing something like this. It would be folly to launch this scheme to every eligible applicant without a year of testing.
And whilst these students (myself included) are somewhat lucky to have their studies cut short, it will not be entirely convenient for this first group of consortium students. I cannot speak for every firm, but my firm is not allowing students to commence their training contract upon the earlier Febrary finish of the course – they must wait until the agreed September 2010 date. Essentially, we now have six months with nothing to do. Perhaps there’s the chance to get temporary work somewhere, but it won’t be the easiest thing to do if the recession lasts into next year. Travelling doesn’t make sense if it’s an option which wasn’t previous planned; indeed, many students decided to start in March 2011 with the very intention of pre-training travelling. Yet these students now effectively have a spare year before commencing their training!
As such, I assure you that, the way things stand, this initial consortium LPC intake will not all be able to start work sooner.
Also, let’s not forget that this is effectively private education. Thus if the fee payers (in this case the consortium firms) want to do something one way or the law school wants to offer certain courses to a select group of customers (subject to SRA approval), then they have a right to do so.
Pilot Scheme
I disagree wih anyone claiming this is not an elitist scheme. It is hard enough already for students to join the consortium firms mentioned as trainees while they are undergraduates let alone once they have embarked on the LPC. Now what chance do they have if they can’t even get onto the same fast track LPC that these firms have devised for themselves.
Also, recruitment firms and HR Managers will now be asking candidates which LPC they took, almost as if one implies that you are a better candidate than another because you were accepted onto the fast track scheme. I fear over the next 10 years with these increasingly ridiculous barriers being place in front of would be lawyers, firms will be asking candidates for their performance appraisals, grades and commercial awareness while they were still in playschool. The English route to qualification in so archaic, expensive and unmeritoratic. And now it’s returning to being as elitist as it would have been half a century ago but it’s being done by the law firms rather than the law society instead now.
Surely someone should call up a European Directive and have the situation reviewed as a restriction of ones trade. The simple idea of a training contract being required and not necessarily available after so many years of study, so much money injected into the education system and course providers such as the BPP is immoral in itself while our counterparts in the US can be admitted to the bar after learning the law and passing the exams. For anyone studying law in England, here are the cons: lengthy, expensive, elitist, you are not guaranteed to become a lawyer o matter how smart you are or how good your grades are (I know people with 1st class degrees, 1st class masters and the BVC/LPC from top ten universities who can not land a tenancy with chambers or a training contract – and then I know some with second class degrees who are much better off for some unexplained reason). All I can think of is wanting to leave the country and retrain in another, fairer and modern jurisdiction. So I am going to Pluto for there is nothing of the sort anywhere on Earth.
fast track LPC
I wish I could’ve done the LPC a bit faster. It’s dead dull and getting started a few months earlier would make all the difference in motivating me to get through it. They should offer the option to all LPC students though, not just the consortium few.
Elitist?
Amazed at how much talk of “unfairness” goes on and the idea that there should be a level playing field. There never is a level playing field and never will be; those not on the scheme will face the same challenges as everyone else: standing out head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to interview. How? By developing relationships with professionals, trainers and peers at every stage of training, remaining as productive as possible during the training contract and delivering, demonstrating clear future profitability to the firm at the end of the contract. A good lawyer is in demand regardless of the economic conditions. Flexibility and a can-do attitude is key; moaning that your chances have been compromised because you didn’t get on the right course will not win you respect. A positive attitude and the motivation to succeed regardless of circumstance will. Obviously, the assumption is that you have the aptitude.