The Law Society Council last week agreed to send out to consultation controversial proposed changes to the training regime - but stopped short of approving the plans.

Drawn up by the Society's training framework review group over the past four years, the proposals focus on the assessment of skills - the so-called 'day-one outcomes' - rather than a prescribed route to qualification. If adopted, they could see an end to the compulsory nature of the legal practice course (LPC).


The plans have received the backing of organisations such as the Trainee Solicitors Group, which argues that the changes will improve the quality of traineeships.


But they have also been criticised by LPC providers and the Legal Education and Training Group - the body representing training professionals in more than 150 larger law firms - which maintains that the plans would be a 'major disincentive' for firms to take on trainees.


Andrew Holroyd, chairman of the Society's standards board, told council that 'there is nothing [in the plans] that should come as a surprise, nor is it proposed that the current scheme should be dismantled'.


He warned that the costs of entering the profession continue to escalate and that this needed to be tackled. 'The gateway to the profession should not be determined by the ability to pay fees,' he said.


The consultation of the profession and other stakeholders will run for a period of at least 12 weeks. Further work will also be carried out on the proposals, including an analysis of the financial implications and measures to assure standards in the future, after council members expressed concerns that the changes would lead to a lowering of standards.


Simon Davis, council member for the City of London and a partner at Clifford Chance, said: 'What is proposed is radical reform. We need the profession to buy in to what is proposed and the best way to do that is to spell out what is intended.'


Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said the proposed changes did not rule out the option of structured courses towards qualification, such as the LPC.


'But they do suggest other ways for candidates to demonstrate that they have the competence and qualities to be a solicitor,' she added. 'We need to be able to take into account people's previous experience and the new framework under discussion would remove many of the obstacles that at present stand in the way of would-be solicitors.'


The standards board will report to council in autumn 2005.