Nottingham Law School splits LPC in two

Readers' comments (6)

• Zoe Ollerenshaw, Legal Practice Course, University of Sheffield | 14-Oct-2008 10:13 am

  Splitting LPC in two
  
  I think you will see a lot of LPC providers offering both flexibility (in terms of splitting the LPC) and choice (in terms of options and pathways within the LPC ) over the next few weeks.
  
  Here at Sheffield we have been offering the choice of splitting the LPC together with options wiithin it since the beginning of this month - subject obviously to the SRA validation process that all LPC providers are taking at the moment.
  
  It is now more important than ever that students wanting to take the LPC think carefully about what they want from their LPC and spends time looking at all the various LPCs to see if what is on offer meets their requirements.

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• Allmymoneygoes onlpcdebt | 14-Oct-2008 11:29 am

  Explotative
  
  In these time when it will be harder for LPC students to secure a training contract, it is vital that LPC providers top expoliting students who have thirds and are very unlikely to get anywhere in the legal profession. They are more than happy saddle these people with huge debts which aren't realistic if they don't secure a good job at the end of it. Students should become bankers and geta government bail out.

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• John Hodgson Nottingham law School (but not directly involved in the LPC or SRA pilot) | 14-Oct-2008 10:58 pm

  Exploitative?
  
  We have just had a proposal that LPC students receive remedial English tuition. Allmymoneygoesonlpcdebt would seem to be a prime candidate. I count six spelling mistakes or typos in a one-word title and four lines of text. If his/her CV and application letters are drafted with similar care and attention to detail, it is not surprising s/he is still waiting for the offer.
  
  More seriously, I am not aware that any student has ever been co-erced by an LPC (or BVC) provider into taking the course. They all believe that they are God's gift to the profession, and often the weakest candidates are the most hell-bent on taking the course, despite being warned off by careers advisers, and often by the providers themselves.
  
  Furthermore, it is also possible now to enter a training cantract while completing the LPC (or a degree or GDL) 'on a part time basis'. It will normally be two years elapsed time counting one year to the TC period.

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• Anon | 15-Oct-2008 9:49 am

  Split LPC
  
  To Allyour moneygoesonLPCdebt
  
  No one forced you or anyone else to take the LPC - how is any Law School exploiting anyone who elects to apply to that establishment and study there ?
  
  The competitive point for getting into law used to be getting an undergraduate place - now it has shifted to getting a traineeship.This generation wants a merit based system in theory but loathes it in practice and especially when applied to themselves. They do not want to compete.

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• Anonymous | 16-Oct-2008 12:35 pm

  LPC and training contract
  
  It is absolute nonsense to suggest or even imply that LPC providers coerce students with, for example, third class degrees into taking the course. No such thing happens!
  
  To my mind, anybody wanting to take the LPC should have done sufficient research before agree to spend such a large sum of money on top of university debt. They should know that most firms want to see 2:i degrees as a minimum, that it does matter what your A level grades are (even, in many cases, up to 5yrs PQE!) and that it matters what university you went to when you're securing a training contract.
  
  It's simple mathematics to work out that approximately 10000 students take the LPC each year whilst there are around 5000 training contracts on offer. Those students with less chance of securing a training contract at the end of the LPC should think carefully about how much they're willing to perservere, potentially spending years as a paralegal (an obvious alternative for LPC grads with no TC) or a legal assistant &c before they agree to take the course.
  
  At 20/21/22, I would hope these students would be more than capable of making an informed decision, rather than passing blame onto the LPC providers themselves.

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• Lisa | 17-Oct-2008 1:24 pm

  LPC & Training contract
  
  I completed my LPC last year and started my training contract (with a good mid-size commercial firm) in September. I knew well before I finished my undergraduate degree that where I studied and what my A-level grades were mattered, as well as what degree class I achieved.
  I attended a polytechnic university, had a "blip" in my A level results and still decided to go ahead with the LPC. I was never pressured to do so and I made every effort possible to balance out the less attractive parts of my CV with pro bono work and other work experience.
  
  So, apologies to ALLMYMONEYGOESONLPCDEBT, but if you weren't smart enough to figure out what firms want from a trainee and do your utmost to give it to them, that's nobody's fault but yours!
  

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