The Law Society Regulation Board's consultation on abolishing minimum salaries for trainee solicitors is astounding (see [2006] Gazette, 26 October, 18). Abolition could have a far more serious impact in the future than simply increasing debt levels for trainees.

The Law Society spends a lot of time worrying about elite students who are opting not to enter the profession. If a minimum salary is not maintained, there is a chance that some firms will exploit trainees as mere cheap labour rather than viewing them as an asset to the firm.


Besides preventing people from wanting a career in law, abolition of the training contract could also mean that the trainees of the future simply would neither get the quality of training they need for a lifelong career in the law nor would they experience the commercial realities of fee-earning. This would affect the quality of solicitors and the advice given to their clients, and would tarnish the reputation of the profession in the UK.


Paul Green, King's Lynn