Legal Practice Course Totally Explained

Everything about The Legal Practice Course totally explained

The Legal Practice Course (LPC) is the vocational stage for becoming a solicitor in England and Wales. 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-£11,000. A small proportion of students may have their fees and some living expenses paid for by future employers under a training contract.
The course is usually taken after a law degree, but a large minority take the course after a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL/CPE). The LPC is regulated through the Law Society of England and Wales. Like the GDL/CPE, the LPC can be applied to through the Central Applications Board.
The LPC is also offered to LLB graduates at some Australian universities, as an alternative to an articled clerkship.

Course content

The course is made up of, skills, compulsory subjects, optional subjects and pervasive topics.

Skills

Skills comprise advocacy, interviewing and advising, writing, and research, accounting, taxation, trusts and tax planning.

Compulsory 'core' subjects

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

Optional 'elective' subjects

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 instition, but widely available are: further criminal, further personal injury, family law, employment law, further probate and private client, commercial law, welfare law and Commercial property law.

Pervasive topics

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, European Community Law, Revenue Law, Business Accounts, Solicitor's Accounts, European Law and Human Rights Law.

Length of course

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.

Eligibility

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.
It is common to find students with a lower second on the LPC, however as typical recruitment policies for most (commercial) firms specify an upper second as the minimum required degree mark, students with lower second class degrees often have trouble securing funding for the LPC or employment afterwards.

Prestige of different institutions

LPC providers are rigorously inspected by 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 cheaper 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've regional links - and are unlikely to move away after completing the 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.

Timing of applications

Law students generally apply in the Autumn term of their last year, whereas CPE students apply early in the CPE course.

How to apply

All applications are controlled by the Central Applications Board, PO Box 84, Guildford, Surrey, GU3 1YX (telephone 01483 301282). They will provide you with an application form. Generally academic references will be needed. Alternatively, you can apply online.(External Link

) Before you start the LPC you must become a student member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority. This must be done by 1 August - and it costs £80.

Funding the LPC

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 isn't 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) 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.

Controversy surrounding LPC

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. (External Link

) Length The process of becoming a solicitor has been described as, 'lengthy, demanding and academically difficult.(External Link

). 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' (External Link

) 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 work such as crime, family and civil liberties - as legal aid firms can't afford to sponsor the LPC. Commentators such as Clare Dyer (journalist at The Guardian) have spoken of a legal aid 'crisis' in regard to trainees. (External Link

) Elective Element The elective element of the LPC has been criticised as 'unnecessary' - as it lengthens the course and burdens students with extra costs. (External Link

). The elective element is the part of the course that allows students to specialise in line with their future career.

The future of the LPC

The Law Society has consistently rejected the suggestion that the course be scrapped. Many students have complained that the course combines such a slow pace with boring and irrelevant subject-matter with the result that they're driven to distraction through boredom. One such student was Philip Womack who wrote The Other Book whilst he was "miserable" at BPP(External Link

List of LPC providers

Anglia Ruskin University (External Link

) Bournemouth University (External Link

) BPP's Law School, London (Holborn and Waterloo) Holborn (External Link

) BPP's Law School, Leeds (External Link

) BPP's Law School, Manchester (External Link

) Cardiff Law School (External Link

) University of Central England in Birmingham (External Link

) The College of Law, Birmingham (External Link

) The College of Law, Chester (External Link

) The College of Law, Guildford (External Link

) The College of Law, London (Bloomsbury and Moorgate) (External Link

) The College of Law, York (External Link

) De Montfort University (External Link

) University of Exeter (will run at the University of Plymouth from September 2006) (External Link

) University of Glamorgan (External Link

) University of Hertfordshire (External Link

) University of Huddersfield (External Link

) Inns of Court School of Law (External Link

) University of Central Lancashire (External Link

) Leeds Metropolitan University (External Link

) Liverpool John Moores University (External Link

) London Metropolitan University (External Link

) Manchester Metropolitan University (External Link

) Northumbria University (External Link

) Nottingham Law School (External Link

) Oxford Institute of Legal Practice (External Link

) University of Plymouth (External Link

) University of Sheffield (External Link

) Staffordshire University (External Link

) Swansea University (External Link

) Thames Valley University (External Link

) University of Wales, Aberystwyth (External Link

) University of the West of England, Bristol (External Link

) University of Westminster (External Link

) University of Wolverhampton (External Link

)Further Information

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