On Wednesday, Law Society chief Lucy Scott-Moncrieff revealed to Kevin Poulter that the Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) is "almost certain" to identify non-graduate routes to qualification as a lawyer. With skills minister Matthew Hancock last month announcing a plan to develop a qualifying-apprenticeship for solicitors (in addition to the school-leaver route already open for legal executives), Scott-Moncrieff's words are the latest sign that entry to the legal profession will soon get more flexible. There is concern among some, however, that this could lead to the title of solicitor being cheapened...
Journalist Hannah Gannagé-Stewart, who edits Young Lawyer magazine, joins Legal Cheek duo Kevin Poulter and Alex Aldridge to discuss this thorny issue – and give her advice to wannabe lawyers weighing up which training route to take – in the cosy confines of Hoxton's Rosemary Branch pub.
This podcast is also available on iTunes.
Absolutely nothing new in a non-graduate route to a professional qualification. I never went anywhere near a university before qualifying and know several very successful lawyers who qualified through dint of experience of long years working in a solicitors office
This is, I believe, correct. There were many great practitioners in my early years who had some things in common: a love of whiskey, trips to Italy in the fall, and five year apprenticeships - when I was lounging around Oxford.
Who got better training?
What were you doing in Oxford, working for the Council?