There have been laudable initiatives to lower the barriers to entry to the profession while maintaining standards, such as the Open University/College of Law LLB for which I am studying as a second-year student.

I wonder whether things could be progressed further by having separate qualifying degrees for civil and criminal law after an initial foundation year of constitutional law, reflecting the fact that most lawyers specialise in one area or another after qualification.

While the option to study both sides of the law could remain with the current LLB structure, students would have the choice of opting for, say, the LB(crim) or LB(civ) and pursue vocational training in the relevant area after graduation.

They would be better grounded in the area in which they wish to practise and, probably, find their exams less of a hurdle.

Adrian Lithgow, West Hoathly, West Sussex