Behind closed doors UK law firms should be gearing up for what could be a training revolution. The news that firms have been steadily scaling back their UK trainee intakes is nothing new. As the post-Lehman crisis gave rise to a wave of redundancies across UK law firms, it became painfully apparent that scores of lawyers hired years in advance were a pretty big liability. Particularly when the budding lawyers in question were all coming – initially at least – into the local market at a time when most firms were trying to chase growth in global currencies rather than in the pound.

Even so, the extent to which leading UK firms have decreased their trainee numbers is impressive. A steady drip of downward projections for future intakes has seen all of the magic circle – bar Freshfields – cut trainee numbers by more than 15% since 2010.

But this reduction is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the training of the next generation of lawyers. Buried in the August holiday period was a government announcement of new guidelines for legal apprenticeships, which a host of firms helped draft. The proposals would potentially open up a career as a qualified lawyer to those without degrees and certainly without formal training contracts.

Every bit as important as the announcement itself is the fact that firms look like they may actually get on board should the scheme come into effect in 2017. Addleshaw Goddard has already said it will give some of its existing legal executive apprentices the new options and others are also looking at their training choices.

The ramifications could be huge – as demonstrated by the accounting profession, where apprenticeships have transformed entry routes into the industry at the same time as university fees have soared.

It may also mean firms would not have to recruit so far ahead of time – meaning they would have better visibility of actual market conditions when they hire and bring people into the firm.

Should the industry get on board with the plans – and I think it should – an overhaul of legal training, complete with apprenticeships leading to full qualification, would go a long way to addressing the profession's perpetual social mobility problem. While no scheme is ever likely to create full equality across all educational and social boundaries, this looks like it stands the best chance since the days of the articled clerk.

• For more, see Magic circle continues to cut trainee intakes as firms rethink recruitment