Legal Practice Course - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Legal Practice Course (LPC)also known as the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practiceis the vocational stage for becoming a solicitor

Solicitor

Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

in England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...

. The course is the successor to Law Society Finals and is more vocational in its syllabus. The LPC can be taken in many different formats including full-time and part-time, on week days, evenings, and weekends. 7,076 students enrolled on the full-time LPC in September 2004, and 1,728 on the part-time course. The full-time course lasts a year, and fees range from £6,000-£12,500. A small proportion of students may have their fees and some living expenses paid for by future employers under a training contract

Training contract

A training contract is a compulsory period of practical training in a law firm for law graduates before they can qualify as a solicitor in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia or Hong Kong...

.

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

Common Professional Examination

The Common Professional Examination is a postgraduate law course in England and Wales that is taken by non-law graduates wishing to become either a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales...

(GDL/CPE). The LPC is regulated through the Law Society of England and Wales

Law Society of England and Wales

The Law Society is the professional association that represents the solicitors' profession in England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors as well as serving as a sounding board for law reform. Members of the Society are often consulted when important...

. Like the GDL/CPE

Common Professional Examination

The Common Professional Examination is a postgraduate law course in England and Wales that is taken by non-law graduates wishing to become either a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales...

, the LPC can be applied to through the Central Applications Board

Central Applications Board

The Central Applications Board provides a single point of registry for those wishing to undertake the Common Professional Examination/Graduate Diploma in Law and Legal Practice Course in England & Wales. It is administered by the Law Society of England and Wales...

.

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

Articled clerk

An articled clerk, also known as an articling student, is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a...

ship.

Course content

The course content can be broadly classified into four phases of learning. These are (a) core foundational subjects; (b) compulsory subjects; (c) optional subjects and (d) practical skills. Skills comprise advocacy, interviewing and advising, writing, drafting and research, accounting, taxation, trusts and tax planning.

Generally taught in the first (and longest) part of the course, the compulsory modules are generally Criminal Litigation, Business Law and Practice, Property Law

Property law

Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...

and Practice, and Civil litigation. In the shorter second part of the course, students choose optional subjects 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

Family law

Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...

, employment law, housing law, immigration law, probate

Probate

Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...

and private client, commercial law

Commercial law

Commercial law is the body of law that governs business and commercial transactions...

, welfare law and commercial property law

Property law

. Some topics recur throughout the teaching of all course topics and can come up in all examinations. These include: professional conduct, investment business under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Financial Services Authority as a regulator for insurance, investment business and banking.-Outline:...

, European Union law

European Union law

European Union law is a body of treaties and legislation, such as Regulations and Directives, which have direct effect or indirect effect on the laws of European Union member states. The three sources of European Union law are primary law, secondary law and supplementary law...

, revenue law, business accounts, solicitors' accounts, and human rights law.

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 (formerly the Law Society) with the intention of maintaining high standards throughout the sector. Some providers are notably more expensive than others 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.

It is believed that local solicitors are marginally more likely to employ students who have studied the LPC locally as they can show that they have regional links - and are unlikely to move away after completing the training contract

Training contract

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).

Applications

Law students generally apply in the Autumn term of their last year, whereas CPE students apply early in the CPE course. All applications are controlled by the Central Applications Board

Central Applications Board

, Generally academic references will be needed. Alternatively, one can apply online. Before starting the LPC, one must become a student member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

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 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

Law Society of England and Wales

) do exist.

Banks do offer preferential bank loans to post-graduate students. This is an expensive option with loans of up to £25,000 being available. Information on career development loans run by the Department for Education can be found 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.

Length: The process of becoming a solicitor has been described as, 'lengthy, demanding and academically difficult. The LPC adds an extra year onto the process of qualifying.

Discrimination: It has been argued that the legal profession is too 'white, male and middle class' The relatively high cost of the course makes becoming a solicitor difficult for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, many students incur further debts on top of their undergraduate loans.

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
Legal aid
Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.A number of...

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
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

) have spoken of a legal aid 'crisis' in regard to trainees.

Elective element: The elective element of the LPC has been criticised as 'unnecessary' - as it lengthens the course and burdens students with extra costs. 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 (10,000 LPC students leave every year against only 4,000 training contracts). Taking the LPC results for many students in massive debt and no return on investment whatsoever.

List of course providers

Aberystwyth University (formerly part of the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...

)
Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University is one of the largest universities in Eastern England, United Kingdom, with a total student population of around 30,000.-History:...
Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University is a British university in the city of Birmingham, England. It is the second largest of three universities in the city, the other two being the Aston University and University of Birmingham...
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University is a university in and around the large south coast town of Bournemouth, UK...
BPP Law School
BPP Law School
BPP Law School is a UK-based provider of professional legal education and is one of the largest in the country, with branches in Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds, Liverpool, London , Manchester and Newcastle. In 2007, BPP Law School became the first privately owned, publicly traded firm in the...

, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
BPP Law School, London (Holborn
Holborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...

and Waterloo
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...

)
BPP Law School, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
Bristol Law School
Bristol Law School
Bristol Law School , formerly known as the Faculty of Law, is a school at the University of the West of England. It is a member of the Faculty of Business and Law....
Cardiff Law School
Cardiff Law School
The Cardiff Law School is the law department of Cardiff University in Cardiff, Wales. It provides an LLB degree, in addition to postgraduate courses like the LLM and research degrees...
Central Law Training
City Law School
City Law School
The City Law School is one of the seven schools of City University in the City of London, and includes the former Inns of Court School of Law....

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
De Montfort University
De Montfort University
De Montfort University is a public research and teaching university situated in the medieval Old Town of Leicester, England, adjacent to the River Soar and the Leicester Castle Gardens...
Inns of Court School of Law
Inns of Court School of Law
The Inns of Court School of Law, often abbreviated to ICSL is a professional legal training institution based in London in Gray's Inn...
Kaplan Law School
Kaplan Law School
Kaplan Law School is a for-profit educational institution offering post-graduate legal training in London for those wishing to become a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales.-History:...
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University is a British University with three campuses. Two are situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England while the third is situated in Bhopal, India...
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...
London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
Northumbria University
Northumbria University
Northumbria University is an academic institution located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England. It is a member of the University Alliance.- History :...
Nottingham Law School
Nottingham Law School
Nottingham Law School is a law school in the UK with over 100 full-time lecturers and 400 students. It is an academic and professional institution, part of Nottingham Trent University, situated in the East Midlands....

Oxford Institute of Legal Practice
Oxford Institute of Legal Practice
The Oxford Institute of Legal Practice was established jointly by the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University in 1993 to specialise in the delivery of solicitor training and the Legal Practice Course...
Southampton Solent University
Southampton Solent University
Southampton Solent University is a university of 17,000 students based in Southampton, United Kingdom. Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near the city centre....
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...
Swansea University
Swansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
Thames Valley University
Thames Valley University
The University of West London is a public university based in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in Ealing and Brentford, London, and Reading, Berkshire....
The College of Law
The College of Law
The College of Law of England and Wales is a private educational institution in England and a registered charity which provides legal education for students and professionals.-20th century:...

, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
The College of Law, Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
The College of Law, Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
The College of Law, London (Bloomsbury and Moorgate
Moorgate
Moorgate was a postern in the London Wall originally built by the Romans. It was turned into a gate in the 15th century. Though the gate was demolished in 1762, the name survives as a major street in the City of London...

)
The College of Law, York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
University of Central Lancashire
University of Central Lancashire
The University of Central Lancashire is a university based in Preston, Lancashire, England.The university has its roots in The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge which was founded in 1828. In 1992 it was granted University status by the Privy Council...
University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....

(will run at the University of Plymouth
University of Plymouth
Plymouth University is the largest university in the South West of England, with over 30,000 students and is 9th largest in the United Kingdom by total number of students . It has almost 3,000 staff...

from September 2006)
University of Glamorgan
University of Glamorgan
The University of Glamorgan is a university based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales with campuses in Treforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern and Cardiff...
University of Hertfordshire
University of Hertfordshire
The University of Hertfordshire is a new university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, from which the university takes its name. It has more than 27,500 students, over 2500 staff, with a turnover of over £181m...
University of Huddersfield
University of Huddersfield
The University of Huddersfield is a university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.- History :The University traces its roots back to a Science and Mechanic Institute founded in 1825...
University of Plymouth
University of Plymouth
Plymouth University is the largest university in the South West of England, with over 30,000 students and is 9th largest in the United Kingdom by total number of students . It has almost 3,000 staff...
University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
University of Westminster
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
University of Wolverhampton
University of Wolverhampton
The University of Wolverhampton is a British university located on four campuses across the West Midlands and Shropshire. The city campus is located in Wolverhampton city centre with a second campus at Compton Park, Wolverhampton; a third in Walsall and a fourth in Telford...

External links

----

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.