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The Solicitors Qualifying Exam will destroy the business model of the UoL and BPP when the LPC will no longer be compulsory. It is little wonder that they were among the most vocal critics of the new approach. The preparation of the SQE can be added on to the tail end of a degree although there will be a host of providers, both face-to-face and distance learning.

It is highly likely that firms will not send their prospective lawyers on a fully-fledged LPC or LPC-equivalent. There is no reason why the larger firms cannot run their own versions of the commercial and corporate Electives in-house, to be delivered when the trainees (or whatever they will be called) start working in a particular department. The cost will be in maintaining a small in-house team of trainers who can devise training that meets the firm's specific needs.

As for the smaller firms, there is no reason why their lawyers cannot be trained on short courses or by taking e-learning modules - which will comprise "just in time" training when the lawyers are about to embark on a transaction for the first time.