Practitioner perspectives on legal education and training

UKCLE PDF project

Project leader: Andy Boon, University of Westminster (e-mail: boona@wmin.ac.uk)
Project summary: a study of the perceptions of newly qualified solicitors concerning their education and training
Completion date: December 2002
UKCLE funding: £5,000

This project developed from research undertaken by the University of Westminster for the Law Society’s Sixth Cohort Study on Entry to the Legal Profession. The research produced some interesting data, which this project sought to extend and enhance by exploring the experiences in legal education and training of newly qualified solicitors.

Download a copy of the final report from the project, Legal education as vocational preparation at the bottom of the page (RTF file, 84 pages, 688 KB).

Methodology

The research adopted a qualitative methodology, with participants sampled from the Law Society cohort. 22 unstructured interviews were conducted, with recipients asked to reflect and give their opinions on each stage of their legal education. Particular emphasis was given to finding out about what the interviewees actually did in their traineeships, in order to ascertain how well the Legal Practice Course prepared them for ‘life in the office’.

The sample was selected so as to reflect the demography of the solicitors profession. 10 males and 12 females were interviewed. The majority of recipients were in their 30s, with the remainder in their 20s and four in their 40s. In terms of qualifications, most recipients studied for the LLB, while a third took the CPE route.

The interviewees came from a wide variety of firms, from a practice established in the 1700s to one set up only two years ago, from large commercial to sole practitioner and from specialist litigation to general high street practice. They were fairly evenly spread in terms of geographical location.

Main findings

• qualified solicitors have a deep and nuanced understanding, and often, genuine appreciation, of the processes of professional education
• they are highly critical of some aspects of the process of vocational preparation for their roles
• the participants confirm the importance of a range of issues for legal education, concerning the challenges posed by employment specialisation, the nature of an educational continuum, preparation for being a lawyer, the importance of careers and the absence of ethics

Outcomes

• Legal education as vocational preparation – final report (RTF file, 84 pages, 688 KB)

Last Modified: 4 June 2010