Ringing the changes

The revamped LPC will afford students a much greater degree of flexibility in how they study. Gillian Woodworth takes a look at the changes

The effects of the Solicitors Regulation Authority's (SRA's) latest overhaul of the Legal Practice Course (LPC) will begin to be felt by students and legal service providers during the next two years.

Although some LPC providers will implement the new LPC in 2009, most will adopt them in 2010 - the SRA's intended implementation date.

The changes that are to be made to the LPC are designed to widen entry into the legal profession by enabling providers to potentially offer students a more flexible way of studying. However, this myriad of new possibilities may have left students - and legal service providers - feeling confused.

They need not fear, though. Essentially, the new LPC will simply mirror the current course by assessing students on compulsory core practice areas, key skills and professional conduct (stage one), as well as elective modules (stage two).

Differences between the current LPC and the new LPC occur in the delivery of stage one and stage two modules. This is where students will have to decide which route is right for them.

The new guidelines have been created in order to widen diversity and take a student's personal circumstances into consideration.

If a student has already secured a training contact with a law firm that uses a specific LPC provider, the firm may dictate the electives a student should take and the time in which a trainee is required to complete the LPC.

Firms may give guidance about which LPC route to take to those who already have a training contract, but do not have to attend any specific LPC provider. Most are expected to encourage their trainees to follow a more traditional LPC route, whereby trainees take one year to complete both stages of the new course.

Part-time or full-time

The first thing that many students will need to decide is whether to take both stages of the LPC part-time, full-time, or a mix of the two. Most institutions will still offer students the option to study both stages one and two in a single academic year, but the new guidelines mean that students will now also be able to take stage one full-time and stage two part-time or vice-versa.

During stage one, all LPC providers will have to offer the 'irreducible minimum' teaching and assessment of core practice modules. Students are still advised to compare what providers are offering - and whether it meets their individual requirements. How do they learn? Do they like to learn in large groups of students, very small groups, by being taught face-to-face or online? And how long does a provider take to deliver stage one training before the stage one assessment is taken?

Another consideration is the level of award a student wishes to achieve from an LPC provider. It might be surprising to learn that some LPCs will be awarded at an undergraduate degree level, while others will be awarded at masters level. Some LPC providers go one step further and offer students the opportunity to convert their LPC into an LLM.

Stage two of the new LPC gives students the option of staying with the same provider they were with for stage one, changing to a different provider to do all three electives, or doing each of the three electives at separate providers.

When deciding how to study stage two, students need to think about the SRA's requirement that each module taken in stage two of the LPC should be different and taken from prescribed groups. Potential timetable clashes which could occur if a student studies each module in stage two at different institutions should also be considered, as should how a student's choices will affect their employment prospects (a strange combination of electives may show that they are unfocused, while a narrow combination of electives may restrict which employers will be interested in them).

Matchmaking

Students will need to consider carefully what approach will suit their aspirations. Do they want to work in a 'high street' environment or a more corporate environment? Does their chosen provider offer electives geared to the type of work they would prefer, or a sensible mix of the two?

The great thing about the new LPC is that it opens up the legal profession to students who would not have considered it in the past due to time restraints or cost. By allowing stage two of the LPC to be taken and passed (including any resits) within a five-year period, students are now able to work to support themselves, attend to family commitments and start their training contracts when it is right for them.

Gillian Woodworth is director of LPC programmes at The City Law School.

Changes to the LPC

Current LPC

• Compulsory modules taken
• Elective modules taken
• Students required to take the whole LPC with one provider
• LPC must be completed in one year (full-time) or two years (part-time)

New LPC

• Stage one consists of compulsory core practice areas, key skills and professional conduct
• Stage two consists of three elective modules
• Stage one and stage two can be taken at different institutions
• Students have the option to take each of the stage two elective modules at different institutions
• Students have up to five years from sitting their first stage one assessment to complete stage two of the LPC.

Part-time legal study - the new norm?

For years, the obvious route to qualification has been the one-year full-time LPC (and the one-year full-time GDL for non-law graduates). Not any more. In the last 18 months there has been a significant upturn in the demand for the part-time GDL and LPC. Previously, the part-time route was the preserve of mature applicants, notably career changers. Now more applicants coming straight from university are opting for part-time courses.

The two main drivers towards part-time study are cost and job uncertainty. There is an understandable reluctance to take on substantial additional debt right now. There is no getting away from it, the LPC is expensive. Full-time course fees range from £6,500 to £12,500 plus living costs. For some students already carrying significant levels of debt from their undergraduate studies, this cost is prohibitive. In the past, many have calculated that the additional cost is worth the risk as a well-paid and fulfilling career lay ahead. That is not necessarily the case now. As the recession deepens, prospective solicitors are seeing the number of available training contracts (TCs) dwindle. As uncertainty around finding a training contract grows, studying the LPC part-time becomes more attractive. It allows the cost to be spread over two years and for students to work while studying. This combination brings the LPC back within reach.

The benefits of combining work and study are not solely financial. The workplace experience gained during the two years of part-time study scores strongly with law firms that value the maturity of outlook and commercial understanding it brings. Someone who has been sufficiently motivated, organised and hard working to do the LPC while holding down a 'day job' has demonstrated commitment to a legal career, as well as gaining valuable skills.

Training contract shortage

The widespread deferral by firms of already-promised TCs has been well publicised. The knock-on effect is that few TCs will be available for at least the next two years - and longer, possibly permanently, if the economy continues its decline. Trainees are expensive and cannot be expected to bring in large amounts of revenue for a firm. Some firms will consider the two-year TC commitment too great an investment and will instead turn to paralegals to carry out the kind of work traditionally given to trainees.

Against this backdrop the SRA is piloting work-based learning to replace the traditional training contract. If the pilot is adopted, then LPC graduates will no longer have to find a traditional TC in order to qualify, mitigating the effect of the current reduction in availability.

Those wishing to qualify will have to demonstrate by documentary evidence that they have reached the standard set by the SRA in a testing range of prescribed outcomes. Because the focus is on achieving the outcomes it is not necessary to find a firm willing to enter a traditional two-year training contract. Instead, candidates can find employment in any legal environment (in-house with a company or local authority, for example) that will allow them to develop their skills. Although many will achieve the outcomes by moving seats in a single law firm, it will be possible to achieve qualification in a series of jobs and voluntary work. All candidates, regardless of how they gain their skills and knowledge, will have to achieve the same benchmark.

Fiona Cunningham is head of strategic development at Nottingham Law School.

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