Older students could fill the void of new legal aid lawyers, says Joyce Glasser, but firms seem reluctant and the starting salaries are too low

It was recently reported that a Law Society survey indicated that 'nine out of ten new entrants to the profession are shunning legal aid' (see [2004] Gazette, 25 March, 1).

The headline read: 'Young lawyers shunning legal aid.' That 'young lawyers' and 'new entrants' are synonymous in the legal profession could be a cause - and a possible solution - to the alleged crisis.

I know of three capable older students who would have welcomed the opportunity to use their academic achievements, people skills, and work experience in trying to make a difference in the area of legal aid work.

But all three were unsuccessful in obtaining legal aid training contracts.

If the survey was confined to trainees and undergraduate students, it is doubtful any older students would have participated.

In a profession where a 'mature student' is aged 26, there are few trainees older than 40, despite the fact that half the UK population is aged 40 years or older.

Older students are more likely to be found beyond the reach of the survey team, tucked away in evening classes earning a post-graduate diploma in law, or already graduated from a legal practice course and working (if at all) outside of the profession.

The Young Solicitors Group has 'lobbied hard all MPs and the minister for lifelong learning...

Alan Johnston, to gain grants and students loans for those seeking to undertake legal aid when they qualify' (see [2004] 1 April, Gazette, 16).

If anyone should lobby the minister, it should be the non-existent 'Older Solicitors Group'.

In Douglas v North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council [19/12/2003], the Court of Appeal held that under current legislation, the refusal by a local education authority of a loan to a mature student was not discriminatory.

While the survey cites debt as a factor discouraging young students from entering legal aid work, the debts of older students are frequently greater.

This fact was recognised by the Bar Council in its 1998 report on ageism at the bar.

Older students who can obtain loans pay higher interest, and might have mortgages and children or even elderly parents to support.

When older people train for a second career, they are more inclined happily to take what is offered than risk not practising.

Although the government's crippling legal aid cuts are making it an unattractive career for all lawyers, one must question whether the real deterrent is the starting salary after qualification or rather the training contract salary, which is set by the Law Society at a derisory 13,500 to 14,500.

Only younger people still living with their parents or sharing student-type accommodation could afford to live on that salary.

If it is the legal aid law firms themselves that are rejecting older applicants, the crisis might be mitigated by amending the Law Society's new anti-discrimination rule to include a prohibition on age discrimination in the recruitment of trainee solicitors in advance of the 2006 age regulations.

However, even with a prohibition, it is unlikely that firms will recruit older trainees while still encouraging or requiring early retirement.

With the recent reduction in the number of legal aid firms, there are not many training slots available.

Those that remain might well be filled by a growing minority of students and former students who were not even considered, let alone consulted, on this issue.

Joyce Glasser completed the legal practice course with commendation at the College of Law in 2002.

She is now a senior legal research assistant at Veritas Chambers, London