Dissecting the LETR: views from the profession – part one

I had the pleasure of attending the Westminster Legal Policy Forum's half-day seminar on the Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) a few weeks' ago. It brought together key legal figures involved directly with the review, as well as representatives from law firms, the Bar, universities, postgrad providers and others. There were so many interesting points of view that I'll be splitting my summary into two - look out for the second instalment which will cover opinions from, among others, Christina Blacklaws, director of policy at the Co-operative Legal Services, Chris Rushworth of the Financial & Legal Skills Partnership, and Allen Murray-Jones, partner and training principal at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom.

Kicking off the conference was Baroness Deech, chair of the Bar Standards Board. She noted in her opening remarks that the review stemmed from a comment from the Legal Services Board some years ago, wondering whether the current system is fit for purpose. Deech emphasised that the good news was that the LETR established broadly that it is, but that is not the end of the enquiry. She went on to highlight two big problems - first, the oversupply of very bright graduates who can't find a job, and second, the need to maintain equality and diversity in an era of austerity and at a time when the government is ruthlessly cutting back on legal aid. These are complicated times for would-be lawyers.

Deech then handed over to Professor Julian Webb, professor at Warwick University and one of the architects of LETR. He spoke of a number of headline messages that people should take from the review:

• The current system is fit for purpose, but there is a need to build on its strengths and address its weaknesses.
• It is important to enhance the quality, accessibility and flexibility of legal services education and training.
• There should be a shift from the current system of regulation to one which is governed by design, with an emphasis on getting the structures and the systems right, rather than focusing on a lot of content and process-based detail.
• Outcomes and learning process are important; people should have the space to innovate.
• In terms of content, the areas that require work are professional ethics, legal research and communication skills.

Andrew Chadwick, deputy dean and CEO of BPP Law School, then spoke about: what consumers want from their lawyers; the influence IT is having on professional practice; the importance of the rise of alternative business structures; and the expense (in terms of financial constraints) of legal education. He welcomed the strong message of a need for flexibility in the report, as well as the importance of keeping the quality of legal education high.

Then it was over to Craig Robinson, founder of the Ultimate Law Guide, who talked about how students need to have an ever greater awareness of employability skills, such as communication and people skills, and professionalism, in order to make them work ready. He identified that more is needed to ensure that specialist advice on these skills at universities and postgrad providers is available. But he also made the point that students need to take ownership over their careers, and develop the resilience, tenacity, self-discipline and enthusiasm to take advantage of the opportunities in front of them.

Next, we heard from Leonora Onaran, senior lecturer and undergraduate admissions tutor at the University of Southampton. She said that the fact that students were now facing fees of £9,000 per year meant that they were choosing their degree courses with much greater focus. And the LETR helped her own law school to focus its efforts on what constitutes a well-rounded legal education - ie, not just the law, but also employer-friendly skills such as drafting and client handling. She also made the point that although 60% of her students go into some kind of law-related role, 40% do not, which means that law undergrad skills need to be transferable - "we are not a lawyer factory", she pointed out.

Finally, chair of the UK Law Students' Association (UKLSA) Sahar Hariri put forward the students' view. The two points she wanted to get across were that students do not feel they are well enough informed, at early enough stage, about the reality of pursuing a legal career. Second, that they are not made aware of the qualification options, other than by way of the traditional route of training contracts and pupillages. For a greater exposition of the UKLSA's view on the changing profession, Sahar will be submitting a guest blog for us soon, so keep an eye out for that.

So, there is a lot to digest. The LETR was a long time coming, with many delays along the way, and even having been released in all its 335-page of glory, there is much to be done to unpick how to make its recommendations work in practice. Just this past week, the regulators have jointly announced that they will not be forming a single Legal Education Council - they're happy to collaborate, but will still each be interpreting the recommendations in their own way….  Keep your eyes on this one, because it's going to run and run.