Pathways in legal education: taking the right route?

In their paper at the Learning in Law Annual Conference 2010, Sonia Kalsi and Deborah Sharpley (College of Law) reviewed the focus of the Solicitors Regulation Authority on commercial/corporate practice and considered how vocational education could adapt to the current legal climate and provide students with specific skills for legal aid practice.

Sonia and Deborah’s slides are embedded below, and you can also download their full paper, at the bottom of this page.

The recent review of the way the Legal Practice Course (LPC) could be taught was “intended to allow and encourage LPC providers to be innovative in the design and delivery of courses and to understand and respond to the needs of key stakeholders, students and their future clients and employers, whilst safeguarding the standard of the solicitors’ qualification” (Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Information for providers of Legal Practice Courses, May 2009, PDF file). The change primarily gives students greater flexibility in their modes of study, however the context (in the revised learning outcomes and courses offered by providers) has remained commercial/corporate practice.

Over the past four years the College of Law has offered an additional programme to students studying the commercial and private LPC – the Legal Aid Route. This paper considered the challenges for institutions in providing alternative pathways of this nature, and, in particular, whether they are able to take up the challenge of offering a pathway fully focused on legal aid practice.

The new ‘LPC3’ flexibility offers the possibility of delivering something very practical, with additional features and opportunities for students to gain valuable experience and to determine whether this is the right career path for them – on the Legal Aid Route the experience led some students to realise this was not where they wanted to go!

In the context of flexible learning the provision of more specialised study programmes is become more necessary – should the Solicitors Regulation Authority and vocational institutions review their current learning outcomes to allow for this? It is vital that training for the legal profession continues to progress, and that curriculum and academic changes reflect the nature of the current legal and economic climate. For students it is important to view such routes to legal practice as a vehicle for access into the profession and their own career, as well as for their personal development.

Liz Polding (Oxford Institute of Legal Practice) reports:

A number of points were raised in discussion relating to the delivery of this type of course, for example, whether students were willing to undertake so much additional work (they were!), and whether the outcomes on which LPC3 is based would support an increased number of specialist LPCs.
The issue of professional ethics was also considered. Professional conduct as an outcome is assessed at the end of Stage 1, but in many cases (and perhaps particularly the Legal Aid Route, which raises so many unique ethical points), the importance of this area actually increases in Stage 2. LPC3 is still in its early stages, and it would be useful to review student attitudes and the profession’s views on their new trainees’ awareness of professional ethics.

Sonia and Deborah also set a number of short exercises for participants, giving us insights into legal aid practice and the difficulties facing those going into this area. There was a significant amount of collusion in completing these exercises!

About the presenters

Sonia Kalsi is a senior lecturer at the College of Law, Bloomsbury, London. She practised at the English Bar for more than six years and is currently a door tenant at the Chambers of Francis Oldham QC, 36 Bedford Row, London. Sonia teaches Litigation & Advocacy and Advanced Criminal Practice on the Legal Practice Course and Criminal Law on the Graduate Diploma in Law. She is currently responsible for a legal aid study programme for students at Bloomsbury.

Deborah Sharpley is a senior lecturer at the College of Law, Bloomsbury, London and a solicitor-advocate. She teaches criminal law on the Graduate Diploma in Law and Litigation and Advanced Criminal Practice on the Legal Practice Course. She is team leader of the Advanced Criminal Practice module. Deborah continues to practice as a criminal defence lawyer.

Last Modified: 9 July 2010