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This is a terrible idea. It is already hard enough as it is for aspiring lawyers to obtain work experience, and it will only become harder if you force firms to pay for it.

When I was first starting out I sent off numerous applications for brief unpaid placements as I was keen to get hands on experience of working in the law. Only a handful of firms even replied. I can't imagine any replying if they'd had to pay me.

While I agree that people undertaking work experience for months on end is a different matter, most work experience outside of the large city firms consists of shadowing a solicitor for 2-3 weeks to see how things work in practice. It is a valuable experience for any aspiring lawyer, but why would firms pay for that? It is the person gaining the experience who benefits most, and that is why we are prepared to do it for free. I don't agree that the Law Society should stop people from being able to gain experience in this way.

I am fairly new to the profession so forgive my ignorance, but why would the Law Society, who are supposed to represent their members' interests, go off on a frolic of their own without checking whether their members actually want this?