Lawyers' training needs to improve, says survey

EIGHT per cent of law firms have no interest in legal training and rely on "reading and experience" to keep staff up to date, a survey claims.

The survey, carried out by Legal Network Television (LNTV), shows the highest number of firms - 31 per cent of the 100 practices surveyed - are "keen but disorganised" and take training further than the Law Society's Continuous Professional Development (CPD) scheme.

Those firms are largely located outside major legal centres, and many report supplying in-house training to counterbalance the difficulties of attending commercial courses.

Thirteen per cent of large firms claim to be organised about training, with many employing professional administrators and introducing formal budgeting.

However, 29 per cent of firms are reluctant to train, and "resentfully" comply with CPD regulations. None of the firms in that category have training budgets, and many believe training is the responsibility of the individual.

"The message seems to be 'take training seriously'," says the survey. "Choose your suppliers well and organise internally."