November 2020
Price: £95 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
***Full-scale policy conference taking place online***
This conference will assess the future of legal education and training in England and Wales.
The discussion is bringing stakeholders together with legal regulators, and key policy officials who are due to attend from the MoJ; the Government Legal Department; BEIS; and HMRC.
The discussion and key developments at a glance:
It takes place with the Solicitor Regulation Authority’s (SRA) final SQE design and introduction date approved by the Legal Services Board (LSB) - which will be assessed through a single, broad exam rather than permitting student electives, and require a minimum of two years qualifying work experience (QWE).
Delegates will also examine significant wider issues relating to the pathways to qualification for solicitors and barristers:
- new courses and qualifications, and their introduction and implementation
- what they mean for law as an attractive and accessible profession
- how they support the development of new skills and use of technology that will be needed by lawyers of the future
We also expect discussion on concerns that the absence of course loans and the possibility that employers continuing to recruit directly from highly selective universities - rather than focusing on SQE performance - could undermine the objective of improving access to legal education.
The agenda:
- The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) and next steps for implementation
- Introducing the new barrister training courses - progress and remaining concerns
- The challenges of implementing the SQE and the changes to barrister training so far - knowledge and skills development, and opportunities offered by the new qualifications
- Improving training and access to the legal profession - addressing costs, promoting the law as a career option, and expanding routes to becoming a lawyer
- Legal education in England and Wales in an international context: preparing students for work at international law firms
- Modernising education for new sectors and the future role of technology - legal services for new business models, utilising innovative technology, and improving digital and remote learning
The background to the discussion:
- the new SQE system:
- introduction - with implementation in September 2021 to replace the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and the Legal Practice Course (LPC)
- aims:
- consistent evaluation across all academic solicitor training routes, increasing competition and innovation in universities, and widening access to the legal profession
- a positive impact on regulatory objectives set out in the 2007 Legal Services Act
- structure - with SQE1 testing legal principles via multiple choice assessments, and SQE2 assessing practical legal skills such as advocacy and interviewing
- identified concerns - which the SRA is required to address, including through:
- monitoring the impact of the SQE and conduct a review within two years of its implementation
- investigating underlying reasons why candidates from some protected minority backgrounds underperformed in SQE pilots
- publishing guidance for students on different choices of SQE training available and performance data for SQE assessments, to demonstrate transparency
- developing additional safeguards around QWE to prevent poor treatment of candidates, and further details regarding enforcement for candidates and firms
- bar training courses:
- introduction - a new range approved by the BSB, replacing the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) - expected this September with an option to pause studies and take on paid work
- concerns - from some in the sector that stringent application processes for some new bar training courses - and their limiting of places - could lead to a two-tier system
- participation, retention and progression:
- reports that many chambers may need to withdraw pupillages for aspiring barristers, due to financial pressures exacerbated by COVID-19
- SRA findings that 40% of students on the LPC do not go on to complete training contracts
- COVID-19 and university participation - students concerns in this year’s BPTC cohort regarding home exams discriminating against those who require reasonable adjustments and breaks
- COVID-19 and university participation:
- the BSB commissioning an independent review into this summer’s BPTC exams, as students call for the regulator to scrap exams and waive the requirement for exams to be passed before being called to the bar, following software crashes and other issues impacting results
- students from this year’s BPTC cohort raising concerns regarding home exams discriminating against those who require reasonable adjustments and breaks
The discussion in detail:
- the new qualification route for solicitors:
- challenges - regarding the qualification’s design with multiple choice assessments and practical legal skills tests covering client interviews, advocacy, case analysis and legal research
- opportunities - potential for course providers to adapt to the new qualification more easily, and to increase remote learning and the number of online education providers offering on-demand and fast-track courses
- assessment - reform to the system for solicitor training, and its implications for modernising examination methods and improving access for prospective lawyers
- fees - cost effectiveness, with exam fees set at £3,980 before adding provider training costs
- new barrister training courses:
- early indications - how the courses are operating
- potential - whether changes will succeed in making courses more flexible, accessible and affordable to a wider range of people
- benefits and uptake - of the newly approved pathways to becoming a barrister, including integrated academic and vocational, and through apprenticeship
- expanding routes to professional engagement:
- solicitor apprenticeships - and supporting legal education at sixth form and secondary school level - and improving the attractiveness of the legal profession as a career option
- accommodating changing learning habits
- industry training - growth and improvement during studies
- promoting diversity - and supporting the inclusion of disadvantaged groups
- supporting progression:
- preparing aspiring barristers and solicitors for competitive appraisal and selection processes - and supporting the provision of fair trainee salaries
- the international context - the impact of changes to legal training on preparing students for work at international law firms
- innovative technology - looking at next steps for:
- adopting digital platforms to prepare for legal practice
- expanding virtual learning to support education during COVID-19 and beyond
- utilising AI and data science
- preparing students for new business models
- what can be learnt from international approaches
Policy officials attending:
Our forums are known for attracting strong interest from policymakers and stakeholders. Places have been reserved by officials from the Ministry of Justice; the Government Legal Department; BEIS; and HM Revenue and Customs.
This is a full-scale conference taking place online***
- full, four-hour programme including comfort breaks - you’ll also get a full recording to refer back to
- information-rich discussion involving key policymakers and stakeholders
- conference materials provided in advance, including speaker biographies
- speakers presenting via webcam, accompanied by slides if they wish, using the Cisco WebEx professional online conference platform (easy for delegates - we’ll provide full details)
- opportunities for live delegate questions and comments with all speakers
- a recording of the addresses, all slides cleared by speakers, and further materials, is made available to all delegates afterwards as a permanent record of the proceedings
- delegates are able to add their own written comments and articles following the conference, to be distributed to all attendees and more widely
- networking too - there will be opportunities for delegates to e-meet and interact - we’ll tell you how!
Full information and guidance on how to take part will be sent to delegates before the conference
