Government plans to support an apprenticeship route to qualification as a solicitor – in conjunction with BPP Law School – have made headline news in recent weeks, with many lauding the move as a key step forward for social mobility in the legal profession. Legal Week's recent Big Question survey on the subject found lawyers split on whether such a move would be positive for diversity or instead create a two-tier profession. Here are some of the best responses:

"Clients expect providers of legal advice to have a high level of intellect. I don't see how school leavers, not having been academically challenged in a university environment or similar, can attain this purely by work-based training. I suspect they will be treated like office juniors for much of the early part of their careers." Anon

"This kind of idea has been discussed in different guises for many years and inevitably raises the spectre of a two-tier profession, which is not good for any individuals or firms." Anon

"I welcome this new scheme. I always thought it was unhelpful to close off the non-uni route. I suspect this will initially be more attractive to firms which carry out a large amount of commoditised, process-driven work. Although I wouldn't close the door on us taking part in this in the future, due to the nature of our work, I think we'll continue to look to graduates with a strong academic background for the overwhelming majority of our future lawyers." Graham White, executive partner, Slaughter and May (pictured)

"I'm old enough to remember managing clerks, generally unqualified lawyers without a university degree. Some were excellent and treated as partners. I don't see why apprentices can't enjoy the same opportunities." Anon

"Work-based training is essential, but so is legal knowledge that can be gained at university. We need good technical lawyers as well as good practical lawyers. We already have the legal executive course as a route to qualification as a solicitor. How will the BPP qualification as a lawyer differ from a qualification as a paralegal?" Anon

"It was always historically possible to become a solicitor either by becoming a legal executive first or by doing five-year articles. Aren't we just going back to these routes? A lot of the lawyers I came across who qualified as legal executives or did five-year articles were very good and it meant the profession was more socially diverse than it is now." Anon

"There are policy issues here. The notion of an apprenticeship was not designed primarily as an alternative route to professional qualification, but to address the commoditisation of legal services and create a qualifications framework for paralegals in a range of legal service sectors. I find it surprising that there is talk about creating an alternative route to qualification as a solicitor before we have even received the report of the training review." Nigel Savage, chief executive, College of Law (pictured)

"There are plenty of lawyers who had not done degrees and came up through the legal executive route and made partner in great firms. As long as the A-level or equivalent academic points route for entrants is maintained, so will standards – but don't be under any illusion that all apprentices will be entitled to become magic circle partners." Anon

"Modern legal practice increasingly demands a wider set of skills; apprenticeships have the potential to grow a more diverse skills base for any firm willing to invest the time." Andrew Coates, partner, Kennedys

"The apprenticeship route will mean working class kids going into law factories and smaller high street practices; the bigger law firms will continue to recruit from the middle class university-educated group. This Government recognises the price of everything and the value of nothing." Anon

"Apprenticeships generally are a good idea (work-based learning is superior to degree teaching). But in our experience, university candidates are more rounded and mature than apprentices." Anon

"We already have six apprentices working with us, and this number is about to increase to 10. We already have a number of senior lawyers who progressed through the same route so are confident the work-based route has equal value." Susan Mabbott,