Tightening up on training

Michael Mathews delves in to the Law Society's proposed training frameworkHow does the Law Society establish a training regime that satisfies the needs of a sole practitioner in Carlisle and a global practice in the City? This question is urgent as eight City firms have challenged the legal practice course (LPC) as unsatisfactory for their needs.

The answer will require two elements: language or framework in which similarities and differences can be identified; agreement on the essential core knowledge and skills of all solicitors, wherever they practice.The Society needs to develop a policy that satisfies the needs of a still unified, though increasingly diverse, profession.

Enter the Society's proposed training framework, the subject of a recent consultation paper.

The Society is consulting on the idea that a suitable framework can be identified under three headings: knowledge, skills, and ethics.

The framework has been produced by a review group and it is hoped that final advice will go to the standards board and council by the end of the year.What do all solicitors have to know? Keeping to the abstract, we might specify the minimum knowledge as:l Fundamental principles of law;l Law and procedure that all solicitors will need;l The context of clients' affairs;l Specialist knowledge in fields where they practise.The interesting part is the application of these principles.

For example, is an in-depth knowledge of conveyancing or litigation necessary for all solicitors, wherever they practise? This is a question decidedly for the next phase.

For now, we want to establish the framework, by reference to which outcomes can be specified in relation to the training contract, LPC or the academic stage.

As to skills, the training framework review group came up with seven: legal analysis, communication, drafting, advocacy, negotiation, management and numeracy.One advantage of this process is that the opportunity can be taken to tighten up requirements.

At a training conference last year, practitioners from all sectors of law identified deficiencies in trainees' legal research and analysis skills.

This exercise will allow the specification of clearer outcomes.What do we expect of an entrant to the profession in terms of legal analysis? We need to specify this so that it can be tested as an outcome of appropriate stages of the training process.

Our initial statement of the outcome required on qualification is: 'applies knowledge to difficult situations of significant legal complexity; analyses facts and produces well-supported conclusions in relation to them; recognises sophisticated legal and related non-legal issues and advises clients on a clear and coherent strategy; uses a range of research sources to produce up-to-date advice; produces clear and accurate presentations of the law from primary sources where appropriate; uses techniques of legal interpretation to complex issues arising from them'.

Finally, ethics - we have specified ethical requirements to take account of the likely result of the current regulation review so as to indicate: the manifestation of integrity; the application of core professional duties; the application of detailed professional rules; and a client focused approach.l The training framework review consultation paper is available from jo.welsh@lawsociety.org.uk or from the Society's Web site: www.lawsociety.org.uk A conference to discuss its ideas will be held at the School of Oriental and Africa Studies in London on 5 October (price 45 and counting for 4 hours 45 minutes CPD).Michael Mathews is a former Law Society President and is currently chairman of the Society's training framework review