Solicitors

People in law cases

There are about 66,000 solicitors practicing in England and Wales and they are controlled by their own professional body called the Law Society. To become a solicitor it is usual to have a law degree and then to take a one-year Legal Practice Course. This is followed by two-year training period, previously called “articles”, where the trainee solicitor works in a firm of solicitors or for an organisation such as the Crown Prosecution Service or local or central government. During this two-year period he will be paid, though not at the same rate as a fully qualified solicitor. He will also have to complete a Professional Skills Course, which gives training in interviewing clients and witnesses, negotiating, advocacy and business management including dealing with accounts. Finally the trainee will be admitted as a solicitor by the Law Society and his name will be added to the list or roll of solicitors. Those who have a degree in another subject must take an extra year’s course on law, called the Common Professional Examination, before going on to take the Legal Practice Course. There is also a possible entry route which does not involve taking a degree first, but this is only available to mature students and it takes longer to qualify by this route.

The main criticisms of the training process are that, first, many people with good degrees cannot get a place on the Legal Practice Course; secondly, students have to pay the fees for this course and also support themselves during the year it lasts. This problem has occurred because most Local Authorities refuse to give a grant for the Legal Practice Course if the student has already had a grant to do a degree. The result of this is that students from poor families cannot afford to take the course and are therefore prevented from becoming solicitors. Many students from lower-and middle-income backgrounds take out bank loans and by the time they qualify, they may owe thousands of pounds. In order to overcome this problem some universities have started offering a four-year course combining a law degree and a practical course which allows the student to receive a grant for the four-year period. The University of Northumberland was the first to offer this course in 1993, so that the first students to use this route will qualify in 1997. The third criticism is that even after passing the Legal Practice Course students are not qualified as solicitors but must find a training place with a firm of solicitors or other suitable organisation. Not all students will be able to find training places and may be prevented from qualifying as solicitors as a result. In 1993 it was estimated that there were 6,000 applicants and only 3,000 training places available.

Дата добавления: 2015-01-03