Drowning in debt

Margaret Bailey warns that the cost of qualifying needs to be addressed or the profession could find many of its young lawyers stifled by bills

Following the Dearing Enquiry in July 1997, the system for the funding of higher education has changed drastically.

Remaining maintenance grants have been discontinued and tuition fees directly payable by students have increased to 1,000 per annum.

Those entering the legal profession are beginning to feel the result of those recommendations.

The Trainee Solicitors' Group (TSG) has put the cost of qualifying as a solicitor at 15,000 to 30,000 depending on the degree subject, number of years at law school and other criteria.

The cost now falls entirely on students, and some young lawyers start their professional lives with levels of debt similar to that of first-time mortgage buyers.

Student debt is an escalating problem for all entrants.

But it will undoubtedly have a greater impact where qualification requires extra time spent on vocational training.

For students faced with mounting debt on completion of an undergraduate degree, the need to incur further debt to complete the common professional examination or the legal practice course can become a real barrier to entry.

Inevitably, this means that the ability to qualify as a solicitor may not come down to drive and determination, but to socio-economic background, penalising those reliant on self-funding.

As well as material hardship, the TSG maintains that financial pressures directly affect how a student or trainee performs.

Debt levels will affect the number and standard of candidates entering the legal profession.

One major concern is that the choice of fields within the profession will be restricted by financial rather than vocational choices, potentially forcing young lawyers away from areas such as criminal and high street practice.

City and larger regional firms will undoubtedly continue to sponsor and fund candidates through Law School and requisite higher salaries will be an inducement.

But where will that leave the high street and small to medium sized firms? It is the law students who wish to pursue careers in non-commercial areas for whom such barriers may be formidable.

Firms offering early contracts are most likely to be offering the most lucrative deals, such as professional sponsorship, work-related and childcare benefits.

These firms often target students at the traditional universities - where they consider the 'best candidates' are based - before the end of their final year of undergraduate study.

There has been a lot of debate about the Legal Services Commission's proposal of sponsoring the tuition fees of students on the LPC and grants to support the provision of training contracts for successful LPC students.

The success of this scheme remains to be seen, but increasing access to the profession and relieving the financial burden on students and trainees can only be a step in the right direction.

The TSG welcomes the Law Society Council's decision to raise the minimum salary for trainee solicitors to 13,000 outside London and to 14,600 for central London, and to review it annually.

But the group recognises that this still falls far behind the commercial salaries of many law firms.

Inequality and indirect discrimination have prevailed in the legal profession for too long and are at their worst at entry level.

Such issues, along with the exorbitant cost of the CPE/LPC, need to be addressed for the sake of the future of the profession and the delivery of legal services.

Margaret Bailey is the Law Society Council member for LPC students and trainee solicitors and a solicitor at Berrymans Lace Mawer in Liverpool