Manchester-based Cobbetts and Halliwells are the first firms in the North West to sign up to bespoke LPCs with the College of Law.
As revealed on www. thelawyer.com (11 October), the move means future Halliwells and Cobbetts trainees will have to study the LPC+ at the College of Law. The bespoke courses start in September 2007.
The move is a snub to rival BPP Law School, which also has a base in Manchester, and places further pressure on Nottingham Law School, which is battling to regain its premier status after having lost out to BPP and the College of Law in recent years.
As part of that strategy, Nottingham Law School is soon to launch a London branch with US professional services company Kaplan, but was rocked by the recent loss of dean Michael Gunn (www.thelawyer. com, 21 September).
In 2004, magic circle firms Allen & Overy (A&O), Clifford Chance and Linklaters split from the City LPC consortium to sign with bespoke courses with the College of Law.
A string of other City firms, including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith, Lovells, Norton Rose and Slaughter and May, signed up exclusively to BPP ‘s City LPC.
The College of Law’s LPC+ is a hybrid of the bespoke courses designed by A&O, Clifford Chance and Linklaters.
