In 1997-98, 52% of solicitors admitted were women.

But modern science has not yet been able to alter the fact that it is women who bear children.

While many women solicitors embrace motherhood and take time out of practice to devote to their families, the task of later returning to work in an exacting profession and gaining suitable employment is not easy.When Eva Crawley wanted to return to practice as a solicitor after having a family more than 20 years ago, she found there were no retraining courses available.

So what did she do? 'I started one,' she says simply.

Begun in 1977, the Association of Women Solicitors' returner course is now run annually in September at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge.

Ms Crawley is still actively involved and has just been rewarded with an OBE for her efforts.Though open to both sexes, the course mainly attracts women.

Not surprisingly, many of those who attend have interrupted their careers because of family commitments.

A study of women solicitors five years ago by Bristol University confirmed that maternity leave and child-rearing accounted for 85% of women solicitors' first break from a career.'The most basic need to fill is to help those women who have had children and who want to return to work.

But we also get divorced and widowed women, some who have been travelling overseas with their husbands and some whose husbands have been made redundant,' says Geraldine Cotton, a solicitor and the course administrator.

'The course is always filled to its capacity of 40.'The course is intense.

Being residential, lectures run from Friday to the following Friday, for six hours a day.

'The central aim of the course is to get women up-to-date in a range of subjects,' says Ms Cotton.

'Many women want to return to high street practices so we cover as wide a range of work as is useful, including personal injury, land law, employment law, trust and probate law.'Catherine Leech, a course lecturer, is a partner in personal injury law at Pannone & Partners in Manchester.

A mother who works part-time herself, she strives to ensure her courses are comprehensive.

'My approach is to look at how I would train anyone to handle a personal injury matter from start to finish,' she says.

'I focus particularly on changes in the law over the last five or six years.

I also cover the office systems and support functions relevant to personal injury work and illustrate the points with as many cases as possible.'Support in other areas is offered as well, says Ms Crawley.

She explains: 'We show people how to compile a good CV and how to look for part-time work and we try to get them to make career plans.

The lecturers are a good source of information on practice opportunities and since they come from all over the country, there is a good spread of geographical information.'There is real enthusiasm on the course, organisers say.

'Women often worry about their families for the first few days, then they realise they are not starving and enjoy it,' Ms Crawley notes.

One who did enjoy the course was Vicky Maltby, a solicitor working in commercial law in a City practice before leaving the country for a time and having two children.Returning to the UK she undertook pro bono work and some paid part-time work on a professional tribunal.

In 1997 she attended the returner course.

'It was great fun -- you got away from the world and it was like being in university.

But it was very intense and was tremendously useful.

A lot of land law, which is my field, had changed and that was important,' she says.All tuition, accommodation and meals are included in the course fee of £475.

The administrators try to contain costs and the course is partly funded by the Association of Women Solicitors (AWS) with the aid of a grant from the Law Society.

However, in cases of hardship, the AWS is sometimes able partly to sponsor fees, and in cases of real need, the Solicitors Benevolent Association may also provide funds.Angela Morgan, chairwoman of the 8000-strong Association of Women Solicitors and a partner at Theodore Goddard, confirms that the course has real advantages apart from the technical knowledge building.

'It boosts womens' confidence,' she says.

'Most of the women going on the course are those who've had more than the normal maternity leave and they've been out of touch for a while.

They discover that they know more than they thought.'Moira O'Donnell was a solicitor with a London firm doing a mixture of residential and commercial work before taking 11 years out to have three children.

She undertook the course in 1997 after her husband was made redundant.

'It was a trauma going back but the course was well designed and very useful,' she says.

Leonora Babb-Benjamin of London took a break of two years to have children and was expecting her second child when she undertook the course but was planning to return to work some months after the birth.

She explains: 'The course is run once a year and I wanted to go straight back to work.' She found the calibre of lecturers high and the collegiate atmosphere of the course useful.

'At home with children you are very isolated,' she says.

'It takes a long time to qualify but you can easily lose confidence.

On the course you realised that everyone was in the same position and you didn't feel stupid.

Also I had been out of work for only two years and met people who had not been working for much longer periods, so I didn't feel so bad.'For Vicky Maltby, the course reaffirmed her commitment to the profession.

She says: 'The course made you recall how much you liked law.

You remembered that it was an interesting and worthwhile profession'.

Course lecturer Catherine Leech has seen that the course can also stimulate interest in different areas of practice for attendees.

She says: 'Last year most wanted to work in the commer cial field but after coming to the lecture, some decided they may be interested in personal injury work after all'.

If women are not sure of getting a job, the course acts as a motivater, she maintains, and the role of lecturer can help in that process.Since the course covers the main areas of law, notes Ms Morgan, it is of most use to women returning to general practice.

'Those who were formerly in larger or more niche practices may need more specialised retraining,' observes Ms Morgan who says the AWS is looking into the demand for more specialised courses.

As to job prospects she says: 'Part-time work is still difficult to obtain but it sometimes depends on the area of law in which you aim to practice.

Firms regard certain areas as easier for part time work'.

In the larger City firms, availability may also be aimed at those who have already achieved partnership level.

Opportunities for others may be limited and women need to tailor their job hunting to areas where there is more potential for flexible working conditions and hours.'We believe a lot of women get work after the course,' says Ms Crawley.

Many obtain part-time work with local firms.

'Local solicitors may be happy to have a part-timer and may not be able to employ someone full time.

'Other women opt for sole practice,' she says.

'They may start a practice in a niche area like family or employment law.' Work may also be available in organisations like local authorities and tribunals.Some course attendees, notes Catherine Leech, have had promises of jobs based on their attendance at the course.

Others use it as a springboard to look for work.Vicky Maltby gained a part-time position with Alexanders, a small London firm specialising in high-quality private client, professional indemnity and legal aid work.

As a rule, she works for 15 hours a week spread over three days.

But the firm is, she says, very flexible in allowing her to change days and working times if necessary.

Ms Babb-Benjamin gained work in a small practice in south London for ten months in residential law but would like to move into another field and is now looking for other work.Moira O'Donnell found full-time work within four weeks of completing the course and worked for 15 months full-time.

Now her husband has another job, she is working part-time in a firm as a conveyancing specialist.'The course is highly regarded,' says Geraldine Cotton, a fact which has an important bearing on the re-issue of a practising certificate by the Law Society.

This is discretionary, each case is determined on its own merits and the Society may impose conditions, including retraining.

However, course organisers maintain that attendance on the course stands solicitors in good stead in re-gaining practising certificates.-- The AWS Returner Course; telephone Judith McDermott on 0171 320 5793.