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Legal education’s oversupply is unethical

Perhaps the ILEX legal executive qualification should be looked at - especially for those who haven't yet done their LPC? A law grad would be exempt from most of the ILEX exams (they'd still have to do the short Graduate Fast-track Diploma course) plus five years work of a paralegal nature (which most people are doing anyway just to pay the bills! If you qualify as a legal executive - you become a specialist lawyer capable of being a partner of a law firm, district judge - it's no small qualification. If the student is still wanting to go on and become a solicitor, well, they can. So long as their law degree is still within the 7 years deadline, they can take their LPC and so long as they are a legal executive before the end of the LPC, they will be in a position to apply to the SRA for exemption against the training contract. (The SRA recognise legal executives training as they have already 'done their time' in the office already without having to do another 2 years training contract). For those unfortunate LPC graduates who can't get training contracts - use your academic qualifications to be exempt from the ILEX exams, satisfy ILEX you've done their required five years qualifying employment (paralegal work) and at least get yourselves professionally qualfied!!!!! It doesn't stop you still looking for a training contract but it may help if you've got a legal executive qualification on your CV and your firm can use you to charge out more for your services. This may seem a long way around but if you got your timings/exemptions right, you'd be able to qualify as a solicitor via the ILEX route in just over 3 years (if you've already satisfied at least 2 of the 5 years of qualifying employment). Even if a law grad went on to doing the LPC now, and assuming they got the precious training contract, they wouldn't get qualified as a solicitor for 4 years!! Speak to ILEX and find out for yourselves??!! www.ilex.org.uk ....

27-Apr-2011

3:44 pm