Law Society: assessment plan

Trainee solicitors will be required to sit a pre-admission exam at the end of their training contract from September 2006 – with the possibility that law firms will have to bear the costs if the trainee fails – the Law Society said at the BPP graduate recruitment conference last month.

As part of its training framework review, the Society will assess trainees’ ability to evaluate and communicate information from day one of their entry into the profession.


Education and training officer Melissa Askew said: ‘Our focus will be shifting from the process of training and the standard of training courses to the outcomes of the training received. The Law Society will conduct research between now and the autumn on how these outcomes should be assessed. It has not yet been decided what format the assessment will take, or how much it will cost, although the test is likely to involve some degree of externality.’


> She added: ‘Other professions have a point at which students can pass or fail. We are looking into the issue of who would bear the burden if a student fails, although resits would be available.’


Ms Askew said the Clementi review of the legal profession meant the Society would have to show there were no barriers to entry into the profession. She said: ‘The Law Society has a keen equality and diversity agenda and we are hopeful that we will be able to attract a diverse range of students to all areas of the law. We also want to ensure the pathway into the profession is accessible for mature students.’


> She added: ‘It is envisaged that the majority of people entering the profession will still take the staged route of a law degree, the legal practice course (LPC) and work-based learning. But it is hoped there will also be more flexible routes to qualification, with more innovation’.


BPP chief executive Peter Crisp said: ‘We welcome the training framework review – but the profession needs to think about how these changes can be resourced.’