Long-awaited legal education review addresses key issues for reform
The long-awaited report into standards of legal education and training in England and Wales has been published today (25 June). The Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) was commissioned in June 2011 to consider reform of the current system amid "unprecedented change" in the legal services market.
June 25, 2013 at 08:03 AM
4 minute read
The long-awaited report into standards of legal education and training in England and Wales has been published today (25 June).
The Legal Education and Training Review (LETR), billed as the most fundamental examination of legal education and training since the Ormrod report of 1971, was commissioned in June 2011 to consider reform of the current system amid "unprecedented change" in the legal services market.
Key findings in the report include the recommendation that the Legal Practice Course (LPC) should be modified to more closely focus on commercial awareness in the context of new market developments such as alternative business structures (ABS).
Other recommendations include the establishment of professional standards for internships and work experience, as well as support for the development of higher apprenticeship qualifications at levels 5-7 as part of an additional non-graduate pathway into law.
The report, which suggests there is "too great a reliance on initial qualification as a foundation for continuing competence", also proposes the establishment of a 'Legal Education Council' to provide a forum for the coordination of the continuing review of legal services education and training, while also recommending that legal education providers should be required to publish diversity data.
On the much-touted subject of professional ethics, the report concludes: "The centrality of professional ethics and legal values to practice across the regulated workforce is one of the clearest conclusions to be drawn from the LETR research data, and yet the treatment of professional conduct, ethics and 'professionalism' is of variable quality across the regulated professions."
In response, Peter Crisp, dean and CEO of BPP Law School, tweeted: "Not radical but thoughtful response to challenges. Big headline is endorsement of apprenticeships & alternative routes."
University of Law president Nigel Savage added: "The way we buy and sell legal services is undergoing radical change and it's important therefore that those emerging from law schools are properly prepared to respond to the challenges. The growth in popularity of ABS means that consumers are now buying legal services in different ways. Therefore it is vital that legal training supports this growth and is relevant to these changing needs."
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Bar Standards Board (BSB) and ILEX Professional Standards (IPS) all broadly welcomed the report. "The report identifies plenty of challenges for the future," said BSB director Dr Vanessa Davies, who singled out the report's recommendation that professional ethics are at the core of legal education.
"This extensive report provides us with some invaluable insights on which to base our decision-making as to how we carry out our regulatory duties in the public interest in the future," she added.
"It is an important milestone, rather than the last word on the subject," said David Edmonds, chairman of the Legal Services Board. "This report underlines the need for greater variety and flexibility of approach to ensure that both new and existing lawyers attain and retain the necessary practical and intellectual skills to serve the public effectively."
Chairman of the Bar Maura McGowan QC acknowledged the challenges of addressing the shrinking number of places at the Bar, and the rising costs of entering the profession.
"A number of the proposals relating to training for the Bar appear to be sensible and rational developments of legal training, in keeping with the emerging legal services infrastructure," she said. Indeed, much of this work was already underway, either preceding the LETR or in tandem with it. We will take time to examine carefully the full impact of the recommendations and provide our own suggestions for improving the system in due course to ensure that our collective objectives can be met."
The report was produced by the UKCLE Research Consortium, led by Professor Julian Webb of the University of Warwick. The group's research team began its work in June 2011, tasked with a complete review of education and training in all regulated and non-regulated legal services.
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