LPC: tailored courses to open floodgates for other firms

City firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) launched its own bespoke legal practice course (LPC) in conjunction with the College of Law last week, in a move that the college claimed will 'open the floodgates' to tailored LPC courses for medium-sized firms.


Chris Stoakes, director of the College of Law's new Moorgate branch, said he was already talking to 'quite a number' of other medium-sized firms about creating similar courses, provided they would be taking on at least 20 trainees per firm.


Under the bespoke LPC+ course, which was provided at no extra cost to BLP, all the firm's future trainees will be taught together. The three elective modules on the course, which relate to debt finance, equity finance, and mergers and acquisitions, will be based on BLP's own precedents and will be tailored to the range of work BLP undertakes. The timetable will be arranged to enable BLP partners to speak to the students.


The College of Law already provides bespoke courses for magic circle firms Linklaters, Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance. Mr Stoakes said: 'Linklaters, Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance have a separate LPC, and have their own design teams.


'Those firms have put a lot of effort into the design of their [courses], with input from their many professional support lawyers.


'Medium-sized firms such as BLP do not have that degree of [input from their] professional support lawyers, but they want an LPC that reflects their strategy. We said to the firm that we could give them the standard core subjects, but customise the electives by using their precedents.


'Teaching all the students together means the cohort gets consistency of experience. Students traditionally have the attitude that the firm is paying for the course provider to get them through. But as soon as the firm itself gets more involved, it motivates them a lot more.'