Law Society urges students to stay away from law
31 July 2009
The Law Society is doing its job of promoting the profession by, err, encouraging students to steer well clear of it.

Last year there were only 6,000 training contracts on offer for the 7,000 students who completed the LPC. And given the huge number of training contracts that have been deferred over the last few months, this situation bound to get worse in the short term at least. So the Society is launching a campaign to warn university and secondary school students of the risks of trying to become a solicitor. Which is probably the first time anyone has called the law a "risky" profession.

Less risky than becoming a solicitor

LPC course fees are around £10,000, and taking on that sort of cost is certainly quite a gamble given the worsening odds of getting a training contract at the end of it. But is launching a campaign specifically to put students off the profession such a good idea? How about requiring students to get a training contract before starting the LPC?

A spokesman for the Society said that "the Society cannot control the market in legal studies and does not wish to do so. We are looking at a wide range of options for addressing the significant and increasing levels of competition faced by new lawyers, but any measures will need to be compatible with the objective of attracting the best talent from every part of society and all backgrounds and not erect unfair barriers to entry."