Legal Practice Course

The Legal Practice Course (LPC) – also known as the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice – is the final vocational stage for becoming a solicitor in England and Wales. The course is designed to provide a bridge between academic study and training in a law firm. It is a one-year, full-time (or two-year, part-time) course, and tuition fees range from £8,000-£14,550 a year. A small proportion of students may have their fees and some living expenses paid for by future employers under a training contract.

The course is usually taken after a law degree, but a large minority take the course after studying a different subject at university and taking a conversion course called the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL/CPE). The LPC is regulated through the Law Society of England and Wales and replaced the Law Society’s Final Examination (LSF) in 1993.^[1] Like the GDL/CPE, the LPC can be applied to through the Central Applications Board.

The LPC is also offered to LLB graduates at some Australian universities, as an alternative to an articled clerkship.

In Scotland, the equivalent is the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice.

Course content

The course content can be broadly classified into three phases of learning. These are (a) "Core" compulsory modules, (b) "Elective" modules and (c) practical skills. Skills comprise advocacy, interviewing and advising, writing, drafting and research, solicitors' accounts, wills and administration and taxation.

Generally taught in the first (and longest) part of the course, the compulsory modules are generally Criminal Litigation, Business Law and Practice, Property Law and Practice, and Civil litigation. In the shorter second part of the course, students select their "Elective" modules from a list chosen by the providing institution.

Topics vary from institution to institution, but those widely available include advanced courses in the compulsory modules, along with: personal injury, family law, employment law, housing law, immigration law, probate and private client, commercial law, welfare law and commercial property law. Some topics recur throughout the teaching of all course topics and can come up in all examinations. These include: professional conduct, restricted activities under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, business accounts and taxation.

Eligibility and length

Different institutions require different grades before accepting candidates onto their course. Institutions will often interview students with third class degrees before accepting them while only some will interview before accepting a candidate with a lower second. The course generally lasts nine months and has substantially less holiday than an undergraduate course. Emphasis is placed on class room teaching alongside independent study.

Prestige of different institutions

LPC providers are rigorously inspected by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, commonly referred to as the SRA with the intention of maintaining high standards throughout the sector. Some providers are notably more expensive than others^[2] and will often be able to spend more money on both staff and facilities.

University providers (on average considered to be the less expensive providers) generally allow their students access to university libraries, IT resources as well as societies, fitness facilities and the student union.

Pass rates

In 2005, a total of 6,554 people passed the LPC, an overall rate of 84%, representing a 3% rise from the previous year. It is possible to sit all LPC exams three times before failing the course. It is necessary to pass all subjects.

9,337 students enrolled on the LPC in 2008/09. Quite a few deferred their exams or dropped out altogether, leaving 7,759 to take the exam; 5,824 of those passed the exams that year (75% of those who entered), just over the number of training contracts on offer (5,809).^[3] It should also be noted that training contracts with big firms tend to start recruitment 2 years in advance i.e. 2 years before completion of the LPC.

Funding

The Law Society has a bursary scheme, this is available for some candidates who have already taken the LPC. Upon securing and commencing a training contract the recipient individual gets their fees paid through Law Society funds.

It is not uncommon for law firms to provide sponsorship to LPC students^[4] as part of a job offer. Generally sponsorship is only offered by wealthy commercial practices, although a limited number of legal aid sponsorship packages (funded by the Law Society of England and Wales) do exist.

Banks do offer preferential bank loans to post-graduate students in employment. This is an expensive option with loans of up to £25,000 being available. Alternatively, information on professional career development loans run by the National Careers Service^[5] can be found on the National Careers Service website,^[6] or in Job Centres.

Negative criticism

• Relevancy: The LPC has been criticised by some professionals as being too broad. All students have to take the compulsory subjects detailed above; regardless of whether they want a 'high street' career, or a 'commercial' one. The broad basis of the course could be seen as bringing increased legal awareness to future professionals.^[7]
• Redundant Components: Certain components, such as the Interviewing and Advising skill assessment, have been criticised as being redundant. The Interviewing and Advising skill assessment creates a highly artificial scenario in which a trainee solicitor interviews a client and then proceeds to render impromptu legal advice. This is highly unlikely to occur in practice, if at all, but remains a compulsory component of the course due to antiquated SRA requirements.
• Length: The process of becoming a solicitor has been described as, 'lengthy, demanding and academically difficult.^[8] The LPC adds an extra year (or 7 months, if one is on an "Accelerated" course) onto the process of qualifying.
• Commercial bias: A further controversy surrounds the fact that commercial legal practices are far more likely to be able to provide financial sponsorship for the LPC, this means that students from disadvantaged backgrounds have a strong financial incentive not to go into legal aid work such as crime, family and civil liberties - as legal aid firms cannot afford to sponsor the LPC. Commentators such as Clare Dyer (journalist at The Guardian) have spoken of a legal aid 'crisis' in regard to trainees.^[9]
• Elective element: The elective element of the LPC has been criticised as 'unnecessary' - as it lengthens the course and burdens students with extra costs.^[10] The elective element is the part of the course that allows students to specialise in line with their future career.
• Number of places: There have been criticisms that the number of places offered each year by LPC Providers massively outstrips the number of vacancies for training contracts (According to the latest Law Society Annual Statistical report there were 5,411 new training contracts registered and just over 8,000 students sitting the LPC). Taking the LPC results for many students in massive debt and no return on investment whatsoever.^[11][12]

List of course providers

Anglia Ruskin University[13] Birmingham City University[14] Bournemouth University[15] BPP Law School, with 8 branches in Birmingham,[16][17] Bristol,[16][17] Cambridge,[16][17] Leeds,[16][17] Liverpool,[16][17] London (Holborn and Waterloo)[16][17] and Manchester[16] Bristol Law School[18] Cardiff Law School (formerly part of the University of Wales)[19] Central Law Training[20] City Law School, London[21] Derby, School of Law and Criminology, Derby[22] De Montfort University[23] Inns of Court School of Law[24] Kaplan Law School[25] Leeds Beckett University[26] Liverpool John Moores University[27] London Metropolitan University[28] Manchester Metropolitan University[29] Northumbria University[30] Nottingham Law School[31]

Oxford Institute of Legal Practice[32] Southampton Solent University[33] Staffordshire University[34] Swansea University (formerly part of the University of Wales)[35] The University of Law, Birmingham[36][37] The University of Law, Bristol[36][37] The University of Law, Chester[36][37] The University of Law, Manchester[36][37] The University of Law, Guildford[36][37] The University of Law, London (Bloomsbury and Moorgate)[36][37] The University of Law, Leeds[36][37] University of Central Lancashire[38] University of Exeter (will run at the University of Plymouth from September 2006)[39] University of Glamorgan[40] University of Hertfordshire[41] University of Huddersfield[42] University of Plymouth[43] University of Sheffield[44] University of West London[45] University of Westminster[46] University of Wolverhampton[47]

See also

• Articled clerk
• Law Society of England and Wales
• Legal education
  • Common Professional Examination (CPE) - conversion course for non-law graduates
  • Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) - equivalent course for intending barristers
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) - equivalent course in Hong Kong
  • Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS) is a series of tests for the license to practice as solicitor in England and Wales designed for foreign licensed attorneys.
• List of areas of law
• List of largest UK law firms
• Solicitor
• Trainee solicitor

References

1. The Independent Newspaper, 21 August 1992 Retrieved on 12 September 2015.
2. UK Law Schools: fee comparison table
3. The Job Market: Solicitors | The Art of Law
4. LPC Sponsorship Retrieved on 14 April 2013.
5. Professional Career Development loan on gov.uk Retrieved on 14 April 2013.
6. Professional Career Development loan on National Career Development Loan Retrieved on 14 April 2013.
7. http://www.spr-consilio.com/artlpc1.html Archived 11 April 2005 at the Wayback Machine.
8. Archived 22 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
9. Oops, Looks like we found a bad link | Brennan Center for Justice
10. Citysolicitors.org.uk
11. Trends affecting the legal recruitment market
12. Young Legal Aid Lawyers
13. Anglia Ruskin University
14. Birmingham City University Archived 13 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
15. Bournemouth University
16. BPP Law School
17. Report on BPP Law School
18. Bristol Law School at UWE
19. Cardiff Law School
20. Central Law Training
21. City Law School
22. Derby, School of Law and Criminology
23. De Montfort University
24. Inns of Court School of Law
25. Kaplan Law School
26. Leeds Beckett University
27. Liverpool John Moores University
28. London Metropolitan University
29. Manchester Metropolitan University
30. Northumbria University
31. Nottingham Law School
32. Oxford Institute of Legal Practice
33. Southampton Solent University
34. Staffordshire University
35. Swansea University
36. The College of Law
37. Report on College of Law
38. University of Central Lancashire
39. University of Exeter
40. University of Glamorgan Archived 30 July 2007 at WebCite
41. University of Hertfordshire
42. University of Huddersfield
43. University of Plymouth
44. University of Sheffield
45. University of West London
46. University of Westminster
47. University of Wolverhampton

External links

• Law Society of England and Wales- Solicitors' Professional Body
• Law Society Gazette - Jobs and Articles

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