A heavyweight City of London Law Society (CLLS) committee is to warn the Law Society that proposed changes to the current training contract could harm the profession's international standing.

The committee, led by Clifford Chance head of training Tony King, is preparing its response to radical proposals by the Law Society that would make it possible for people with relevant experience to qualify without securing a training contract.

The CLLS committee, which will submit its response later this month, will warn that a key proposal to reduce the length of the training period from two years to a minimum of 16 months will lead to 16 months becoming the norm, and could be harmful to the status of UK solicitors abroad.