Am I the only one frustrated by the Law Society's arrangements for admitting newly qualified solicitors to the roll?


The Society only admits solicitors on two dates each month. This means that there is a gap of up to a couple of weeks between trainees completing their training contract, and their admission. During this time, they are in limbo. They must describe themselves to clients and in affidavits as 'paralegals' (according to advice one of our newly qualifieds recently received from the Law Society). More importantly, they cannot exercise a solicitor's rights of audience, and there is difficulty in charging their work at an appropriate rate.



This is surely absurd. The solution would be to admit solicitors on a day-to-day basis, as they complete their training contracts. I recently wrote to the Society on the subject, and was sent an explanation of the paperwork that must be done before a solicitor can be admitted. However, that paperwork is normally done during the final weeks of the training contract. It does not prevent solicitors being admitted on the day they qualify for admission.



Bernard George, director of training, Dechert, London





Law Society response: The Law Society has a duty to ensure that the applicant has both complied with the training regulations and that we are satisfied as to their character and suitability for admission. This process takes time but once approved a certificate is issued to that effect.



The procedure starts with the name of the applicant being entered on to a petition list, which is sent to the Master of the Rolls not less than two days before the date of admission. The main reason why there are two separate dates each month is that it would not be feasible to expect the Master of the Rolls to process a daily workload from the Law Society, owing to the administrative burden involved.