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I found that the most useful aspect of the "utterly worthless, time-wasting" (as Jacqueline Emmerson describes them below) PSC course, is not the course subject matter itself, but rather the opportunity to speak to different trainees from a wide range of firms and regions.

Having swapped war stories with a great number of trainees (ranging from trainees in regional Claimant PI firms, to those in the London office of US and 'Magic Circle' firms) it is abundantly clear that trainees' experiences are far from equal across the board. Whilst it is ubiquitous that as a trainee solicitor you expect to work hard and for long hours on occasion, you would hope that this hard work is rewarded not only by at least adequate pay, but also training of a high enough standard, and in varied and valuable areas of law, so that you aren't limited to a career of struggle and drudgery upon qualification.

Unfortunately, the current over-supply of high quality LPC graduates combined with the removal of a mandatory minimum pay level for trainees has provided a perfect opportunity for those less scrupulous firms to exploit trainees as a cheap resource. LPC graduates burdened with debt and desperate to qualify by any means necessary are easy pickings for firms looking for enthusiastic and hard working labour 'on the cheap'. I spoke to some trainees at a claimant PI firm who were each the head of a team of paralegals, and they were reprimanded if they did not close four files a week. The number of trainees actually kept on after qualification was only a small proportion of the intake, and they reported having spoken to their 'training partner' once over the prior two weeks.

The hands-off approach that the SRA takes in maintaining the standards of training may also be partly to blame. When I qualify this year, my first contact with the regulators will be to notify them that my training principal has signed me off. I will be astonished if there is any great level of interrogation of the work I have been carrying out over the prior two years.

I'm lucky enough to be training at a growing regional commercial firm that genuinely treats its trainees as an investment for the future, rather than a resource. There is a clear route of progression through the firm, and past trainees have moved up the ranks on merit. Incidentally, they also pay above the recommended pay levels despite not being based in a major city. Others are not so lucky, and perhaps it is time for greater involvement in training from the Law Society and/or the SRA- surely that would go some way towards maintaining the standards of the profession?

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