Changes ahead for solicitor training
28 May 07
Results announced of Society’s consultation on education and training for the profession
Legal education is set for change following the results of the largest consultation ever conducted by the Law Society of Scotland.
About 900 people responded to the Society’s consultation on education and training for the profession, carried out earlier this year. The responses came from individual solicitors, law students and academics, and organisations including the Office of Fair Trading, the Scottish Consumer Council, Scottish Women’s Aid and the Scottish Refugee Council.
One of the central themes to emerge from the survey is the need to ensure that future solicitors continue to provide the very best advice and service for their clients whatever their route to qualification.
The Society is now working to refine a rigorous set of standards, assessment criteria and accreditation systems which will create more flexibility for individual students and allow different methods of qualifying, while meeting set requirements.
Following academic study, students could focus on client skills and practical legal knowledge – which might include taking part in mock trials and interviewing "simulated" clients, with visual feedback on their performances and input from members of the public.
There will still be a period of in-office training, and although this currently varies greatly depending on the organisation and area of law someone trains in, the focus for everyone will be to provide quality advice to clients efficiently and effectively, while being sensitive to challenges they may face.
Liz Campbell, Director of Education and Training at the Society, said: “There has been an excellent response with many insightful comments from across the spectrum of those involved in legal education – from first year students to those who have been in practice for many years – and other interested parties which will fully inform our work.
“I think we are the only jurisdiction in the world to have undertaken a review of legal education on this scale. Of course there have been changes made to particular areas over the years both in Scotland and elsewhere, but none has taken such a holistic approach, with the potential for radical change across the whole of a solicitor’s training.”
At present the standard six or seven-year route to becoming a solicitor involves three or four years' study at university for a law degree, followed by a 26-week vocational course and a two-year in-office training period. Debate has increased over the last few years as to how well the training prepares those starting out in law for the demands of the modern profession.