Introduction
The
current training system used for lawyers, that being barristers and solicitors
are defiantly onerous but whether they provide the lawyers that this country
needs will be discussed along with the different criticisms and suggestions
made by professional bodies relating to the education and training process.
This essay will then ultimately come up with a conclusion that determines
whether the current system of legal education and training can provide the
lawyers this country needs. However my main argument is that the country is
producing lawyers, but they may not be the ones this country needs.
The
education and training of a solicitor
There
are around 100,000 solicitors in England and Wales. Within the education and
training process of becoming a solicitor there are three stages known as the Academic Stage, the Vocational Stage and the Professional Stage. Along with
these three stages there are also three ways of becoming a solicitor which will
be discussed below.
Academic Stage
This
is the first, quickest and easiest of ways to becoming a solicitor. During the
academic stage a student will firstly obtain a minimum of three A levels and
then go on to gain a law degree which in itself can be very expensive with an
average of £3,000 per year, this could easily put a student in debt
before even gaining there qualifications. During gaining a Law Degree the
student will be taught within three years the areas of Criminal Law,
Contract Law, Constitutional Law, Property Law, Trust Law and Tort Law;
along with the addition of chosen subjectÕs which could be in any area such as
Family Law. Overall from this part of the stage we can see that the current
system is trying to provide solicitors with teaching them important areas of
law, however the cost is expensive, meaning that only people who are willing to
put themselves in debt or who come from a wealthy background are able to go
ahead with obtaining a Law Degree. This makes it hard for other students who
have a genuine talent for law but cannot become a solicitor, only for a small
matter of money.
Vocational Stage
Within
the vocational stage the next step is a one year Legal Practice Course (LPC);
this is a much more practical course that includes training in skills such as client
interviewing, negotiation, advocacy, drafting documents and legal research.
The LPC was set up in 1990 and took over the Law Societies Finales Course,
although it was set up to stop the criticism that students with good law
degrees were unable to find a place for the next stage of training it is still
often hard to gain a place within the LPC since there are a vast amount of
students who wish to have a place making the area of law very competitive. Also
the cost of an LPC is £7,000 this is massively expensive and can put a
student into even further debt. Overall from this stage we can see that the
current system is making it hard for students to become potential solicitors
because of the number of places available and also the cost, as stated before
this discloses talented students from becoming solicitors only for a small
matter of money and space.
Professional Stage
Once
the student has passed the exam for the Legal Practice Course they are
still not yet qualified as a solicitor, they will have to complete a two
year training contract. During the two year contract the student will work
in a solicitors firm or company gaining particle experience; however they can
also work in other legal organisations such as the Crown Prosecution Service or
in a legal department of a local authority such as a super-market or housing
company; they will be paid a small wage often half of what a solicitor would
make so on average they may be earning around £15,000. Also within the
two years the student will have to complete a 20 day Professional Skills course
which builds on the skills learnt in the LPC; once the contract is complete the
student is now a qualified solicitor and will be added to the role of
solicitors by the Master of the Rolls. A training contract is exceptionally
hard to obtain and many students even passing their LPC will not gain a
contract which leaves them in debt without a job. Overall we can see that the
education and training in the current system we have is indeed creating
solicitors for this country. However many potentially great solicitors are
being left behind for small matters of money or space, showing that although
the country is providing solicitors they are not providing solicitors this
country needs.
Along
with this process there is also two other ways of becoming a solicitor as
stated before. The second way is to have your three A levels, but not have a
degree in Law, the student will then have to take the Common Professional
Examination and go ahead with the LPC and two year training contract. The other
way to become a solicitor is to have four GCSEÕs, and then take part in a
Institute of Legal Executives part 1 and 2; after this they will then be
admitted into the Institute of Legal Executives but must be 25 or over and
worked in a solicitors office for at least five years. After this the Executive
will take the LCP or training contract and will then be a qualified solicitor.
An
overall judgement on the current system used for the education and training of
solicitors
Overall
it seems that the current system is producing solicitors/lawyers; however
because of the expenses and space the system is not allowing talented students
through to become great solicitors/ lawyers, meaning that the current system is
not producing the lawyers this country needs. This can be seen through the case
of Griffiths v Dawson (1993), in
this case solicitors failed to make the correct application in divorce
proceedings to the plaintiffsÕ husband as a result the plaintiff lost
financially and the solicitors were ordered to pay their client £21,000 in
compensation. This highlights the fact that lawyers are not doing their job
properly and therefore the system is not providing the lawyers this country
needs. Another case that also highlights this issue is White v Jones (1995); in this case a father (the client)
wanted to leave his two daughters £9,000 each and wrote a letter to his
solicitor instructing him to do this. The solicitor received the letter on 17th
July 1986 but nothing had been done and the father died the 14th
September 1986; as a consequence to this the daughters did not receive their
inheritance and successfully sued the solicitor for £9,000 each. This shows us
that the solicitors in this country are not doing what this country and the
people within the country need, presenting the idea that the current system of
education and training is not providing the solicitors/lawyers this country
needs.
The
Education and Training of a Barrister
There
are around 12,000 barristers in England and Wales. As with becoming a
solicitor, becoming a barrister is set into three stages the Academic Stage the Vocational Stage and the Professional Stage. As with becoming a solicitor, barristers
also have to be begin with a minimum of three A-levels and a law degree,
although there are three routes to becoming a barrister which will be discussed
below.
Academic Stage
As
stated before barristers will usually have a minimum of three A-levels and a
law degree in which they learn exactly the same information as solicitors, that
being Criminal Law, Contract Law, Constitutional Law, Property Law, Trust
Law and Tort Law. Once this is complete within the three years the student
will then instead of doing an LPC they will do a Bar Vocational Course (BVC)
which is the next stage. Once again this is very costly with an average of
£3,000 per year which does not include housing and general living bills
payments
Vocational Stage
As
stated above, in the Vocational Stage a BVC will be taken which is a one year
course in which the student will learn more practical skills of drafting
pleading for use in court, negotiation, advocacy, interviewing, legal research,
litigation and evidence. This does show us that during the education of a
barrister they are taught all the needed skills. However the BVC is a very
expensive course being £7,000 this is a colossal amount of money and will put a
student into an enormous amount of debt. Along with taking the BVC the student
will also have to join an Inn there are four named the Inner Temple, Middle
Temple, Greys Inn and LincolnÕs Inn. In joining one of these Inns the
student will have to attend 12 dinners; the purpose behind these dinners is so
that the student Barristers can network and get to know other Barristers and
also to understand the traditions of the profession. Although this has the
benefit of gaining knowledge it has the disadvantage of using up more money
since someone who does not live near London will have to pay for transport to
get there each time. So as we can see it is made very hard for someone to
become a barrister they will firstly need to have the right amount of money or
put themselves in a very large amount of debt; understandably many people would
not want to put themselves in a large amount of debt even if they have a
passion and talent for Law. This emphasises that although this country may be
producing barristers/lawyers they are not producing the barristers this country
needs since just because someone may have the money to become a barrister it
does not necessarily mean that they will be of a high-quality or one that this
country needs. Once the BVC is complete the student will be called to the Bar,
meaning that they are now a qualified barrister, however they will still need
to go through a 1 year pupillage.
Professional Stage
During
the professional stage the barrister will have to take on a pupillage in which
they will work in a fully qualified barristerÕs chamber for a duration of 2x6
months and would earn a salary usually about half the amount paid to a trainee
solicitor. This would make it very hard for the barrister to pay back any debt
and according to studies conducted for the Bar by barristers, including Nigel
Lickley, the debt for young barristers under the age of 25 is averaged at £20,000
and since they are not paid well during their pupillage and have to wait at
least 18 months to be paid when they are qualified, they are unable to quickly
pay off their debts. This shows us that not only will barristers have to put
themselves in debt, they will also have to wait a very long time until they can
pay of the debt this results in barristers who are to concerned and pressured
with not being able to have the money to pay off their debts rather than
performing well for their client. Once the student has completed their
pupillage they are now a fully qualified barrister but will have to find
his/her own chambers to work in which is often hard to do and many people fail
doing.
There
are also two other routes to becoming a barrister the first being, is taking a
non-law degree, they will then have to take a Common Professional Examination
(CPE) after this they will then take a BVC and go down the same path as any
other barrister. The other route is to be a non-graduate, then take a two year
CPE, and then take the normal route of becoming a barrister.
An
overall judgement on the current system used for the education and training of
a barrister
Overall
this demonstrates to us that the current system of education and training is
not providing the lawyers this country needs since the system is more adapt to
individuals that are more financially able rather than those with an
intellectual talent for Law. A case that highlights the point that the current
system is not producing the lawyers this country needs is Saif Ali v Sydney Mitchell and Co (1980) in this case a
barrister had given wrong advice about who to sue, this resulted in the
claimant being too late to start proceeding against the right person, because
of this it was held that negligence in respect of written advice and opinions
from a barrister could be sued. This shows us that the education and training
system is not producing lawyers this country needs. Another case that also
highlights this is Hall (a firm) v
Simons (2000) in this case the House of Lords held that lawyers could
also be liable for negligence in the conduct of advocacy in court. This
judgement overruled the past decision in the case of Rondel v Worsley (1969) in which it was held that barristers
were not held liable since their first duty was to the courts and they must be
free to do their duty fearlessly and independently. However the Law Lords felt
that modern conditions had changed and it was no longer in the public interest
that advocates should have immunity from being sued for negligence. They stated
that doctors have a duty to live up to their ethical code and if they do not
then they will get sued so why should lawyers be any different?
Criticisms
Apart
from the obvious criticism that the education and training process leads to
enormous debts there is also prejudice running through the system, that being
with women and ethnic minorities. Although there are now many more women in the
profession only 30% are females out of 12,000 barristers and only 42% are
female solicitors out of 100,000. This shows us that the system is not going by
personal talent but by physicality. Also womenÕs pay is a lot lower than what a
maleÕs wage is, on average men earn around £15,000 more than what a woman would
get. This is completely unacceptable since it is not your sex that determines
whether you are a good lawyer it is your skills and knowledge that should
override everything!
Suggestions
There
are many bodies that have suggestions about making the current education and
training system used better here are some of the suggestions.
The
first is from charter 88 this is a pressure group who believes that the
government should fund all universities; I completely agree with this since it
takes away the debt from students. Also since the funding of the government
would come from the peopleÕs taxes they could feel as though their taxes are
going towards a worthy cause. Also this would let students who may be
intellectually gifted but not financially able to go to university; this would
allow not just the financially able but the gifted law students to gain
qualifications without putting themselves in major debt.
A
report written by Sir Robin Mountfeild, a former permanent secretary at
the Cabinet Office recommended that barristers could contribute 0.25% of their
gross income if they earn between £100.000 and £250.000 and if they earn
amounts above that, they could contribute 0.5% of their gross income towards a
scholarship scheme. I also agree with this view since it shows students who
have successfully become barristers are giving back to there future co-workers
in the profession.
Another
suggestion was made by the OMROD Committee
Report (1971); this
report expressed that the main entry route should be via a Law degree. I
completely agree with this since it is the quickest route and also shows a
commitment towards the profession since they picked it. I also believe that
when applying to universities all students wanting to do a law degree should
have only an A and nothing below, although this is harsh it would ensure that
the best of the students were put through rather than those who are struggling.
Michael Zander argues that the academic and vocational stages of training should
include special attention in areas such as drafting documents and interviewing
within the Law degree and also, that there should be better links between the
two. Although there are some sufficient advantages to this I still do not agree
with his argument since the students will be learning about drafting documents
and interviewing within the LPC or BVC so there is really no point to combining
it into the law degree since there is already an immense amount pushed into the
three year degree.
Overall
from these suggestions we can see that there are faults within the education
and training system, and that they need to be changed to ensure that the
country is gaining lawyers that this country really needs.
Conclusion