BPP to trump CoL with launch of three regional branches
BPP Law School is on course to overtake arch-rival the College of Law (CoL) as the biggest Legal Practice Course (LPC) provider as it gears up to launch three new branches.
Peter Crisp
BPP is planning to open in Cambridge, Liverpool and Newcastle next year, a move that will give the law school nine branches compared to CoL’s eight. The move follows BPP’s expansion into Birmingham and Bristol earlier last month.
BPP dean Peter Crisp said: “Our vision is to have our programmes available all over the country to expand our geographical footprint. These cities have very thriving legal communities so it’s great that we can serve all those committed to law.”
Each new centre is validated to house between 40 to 60 LPC students meaning that BPP will still be playing catch-up with the CoL in terms of student numbers.
Elsewhere, BPP has also recently signed up a further five clients to its now 24-strong LPC client roster, which includes the City LPC consortium comprising Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith, Hogan Lovells, Norton Rose and Slaughter and May.
The rapid expansion follows BPP becoming the first privately owned institution to be awarded university status in over 30 years, as reported in on TheLawyer.com (26 July).
The launches are subject to authorisation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority vaildation.
View results 10 per page | 20 per page | 50 per page
Readers' comments (22)
Anonymous | 22-Oct-2010 12:06 pm
Great.
Now there will be even more redundant LPC students.
Madness.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Lawyer Not2B | 22-Oct-2010 12:31 pm
I agree - the last thing the market needs is yet more law schools trying to suck in students who have no realistic hope of breaking into the legal profession...
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
IHateBPP | 22-Oct-2010 1:08 pm
There's absolutely no need for more places on the LPC and more colleges and won't be for the forseeable future.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 22-Oct-2010 1:32 pm
This speaks volumes about the market for such providers: (1) happy to take the fees without explaining the risks to the hopeful youth (2) charging too much and making buckets of money.
Something needs to change in regulation of the provision of the LPC. Perhaps a mandatory requirement that students have a training contract in place.
Having so many LPC students with debt but no entrance to the profession does nothing for the popularity of solicitors.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 22-Oct-2010 3:29 pm
Quite apart from the BPP v Col scenario, this is all about the big commercial providers trying to kill off the smaller university providers. And the students think they are better because they charge more! Doh. Ask questions. Don't just follow the crowd.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 22-Oct-2010 11:23 pm
At what point will law students stop and think?
I really have trouble accepting that law students are intelligent human beings.
Can someone explain why they flock to the LPC like lemmings? Why is this happening? What is the reason for the irrationality?
I genuinely don't understand it.
If someone asked me to spend £10,000 on a course with only a very slim chance of getting a job, I would take the rational step and avoid the course.
What makes law students the exception? Lawyers are not even that well paid these days.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
David | 24-Oct-2010 8:50 am
I have met numerous legally trained people in other professions, performing to extremely high levels, I don't believe any sort professional training goes to waste.
Skills, knowledge and expertise are transferable and that helps us differentiate as we look to carve out our individual careers. It is a big world out there and it doesn't mean the profession is closed to us in the future after possibly gaining experience elsewhere.
I agree with anonymous above - ask questions, what do I receive in return and how is it going to help me.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Savage Nigel | 25-Oct-2010 9:48 am
Why should the LPC providers explain the risks to potential students? Grow up and take responsibility for your own decisions. Do your own due diligence and research before embarking on a career in law - it's amazing what you might discover - like the odds are stacked against you. No I don’t work for an LPC provider, just someone who is bored with the continuous whining of people who think the world owes them a living! God that rant felt good!
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 25-Oct-2010 12:32 pm
There are a lot of law students who have had their expectations hugely inflated and who, frankly, would not get a training contract in 5 years of applying.
These people form a large proportion of those who go on to take the LPC.
They have indifferent academic qualifications for no good reason, they have done nothing of particular interest, and they are often not terribly good at expressing themselves either orally or on paper.
Quite often they have no legal work experience, yet they are always terribly enthusiastic and genuinely believe that they will get a training contract.
Before you go on to the LPC, put your ambition aside and take a long, hard look at your abilities. Have you got really good results, if not why not?
Can you name one single achievement that you make you stand out from the other 150 or so applicants going for the same training contract?
When you measure yourself against those who already have training contracts, are you up there with them?
If not think hard, you are about to spend a lot of money and it may be without prospect of return.
Alternatively, find a solicitor, do several weeks work experience, and ask them for a totally honest view on your prospects of whether they can see you succeeding in finding a training contract.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Katie | 25-Oct-2010 1:30 pm
I agree that CoL and BPP charge a lot but the quality of the courses are great. I am looking for a training contract and chose the CoL as they best suited my needs for trying to break into the profession but I am totally realistic of my prospects. However, I have never wanted to do anything else and am completely dedicated to becoming a solicitor. Yes, some students do just take the LPC just because it seems like a good career path and that is where these big institutions make their money. I like to think I am a law student who realises the reality but I am determined to get there eventually!
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment