Nearly all students at the College of Law believe that some form of compulsory training must be retained following the Law Society's training framework review (TFR), amid fears that the plans could lead to a drop in the number of training contracts.

The TFR proposals focus on the assessment of skills - or 'day-one outcomes' - rather than a prescribed route to qualification, and could see an end to the compulsory nature of the legal practice course. A Law Society consultation ends on 8 July, with the standards board expected to report to the council in the autumn.


Of the more than 1,000 College of Law students who responded to an on-line poll, some 94% said the Society should retain some of the prescriptive elements of the existing system to retain public confidence. More than four-fifths (84%) saw the academic stage of training as the most essential element to be kept.


Just under two-thirds (63%) of respondents suggested that firms would take on fewer trainees if the plans are implemented.


Professor Nigel Savage, chief executive of the College of Law and an outspoken critic of the review, said: 'These students are worried that the proposals are not going to have the desired effect - far from opening up opportunities, they will close them down.'


Meanwhile, the Legal Education and Training Group, which represents training professionals at leading firms responsible for 2,000 trainees per year, has argued that 'there is no need or indeed justification for dismantling the existing legal education framework as proposed.'


In its submission, the group claimed that the review's aims could be achieved by a limited reform of the present system.


The Trainee Solicitors Group (TSG) is conducting an on-line survey of its members to gauge their views on the review. The TSG is also asking them to sign a petition calling for the retention of the minimum salary for trainees, which could be axed under the review.


Link: www.tsg.org