The society has raised concerns that SRA guidance issued last week on the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test (QLTT) has still not addressed all of the criticisms levelled at it when it was first published in December 2007.
The SRA is currently conducting a wholesale review of the regulations, but last week delayed making any significant changes until the Legal Services Act has come into force.
Law Society president Andrew Holroyd said, "We still have misgivings about this guidance but have decided to focus our energies on the much-needed full review of the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations, which has already begun. In the short term, however, we will be asking the SRA to make sure that they have arrangements in place to ensure test providers advise applicants on the need to consider how they will fulfil the experience requirement if they intend to sit the written tests.
Under the changes announced last week the SRA has put a temporary hold on organisations that can set and mark the QLTT with immediate effect, pending the introduction of stricter standards.
The SRA, which estimates around one fifth of lawyers in the UK qualify via the QLTT route, has come under criticism for making the QLTT a far easier route to qualification and not ensuring consistent standards across QLTT assessors.
