Oxford Institute of Legal Practice faces more unrest as chief leaves

The OILP scored a coup two years ago, when it was selected over big names - including the College of Law - by a consortium of eight City firms to provide its City-focused Legal Practice Course.

However, in recent years the joint venture between Oxford and Oxford Brookes Universities has been described as "troubled" by sources close to the consortium of City firms, with some describing OILP as the weakest of the three providers selected to run the new course.

The source confirmed that last year's concerns over some aspects of teaching had led to unrest and, finally, a petition from students. However, he added that the problems had been resolved and that there had been no complaints since.

Johnson, who has been at OILP since its foundation in 1993, is keeping his plans for the future under wraps and will remain in the post until the end of July.

He said: "My time at the institute has been the most exciting of my career. After 10 years it's time for fresh challenges for me and for someone else to bring in fresh ideas."