Is Legal Education Changing for the Better?

While it might not initially be obvious, there is a direct link between education and the legal sector. After all, how we educate our children and young people eventually translates into the next generation of lawyers and solicitors. And, with news of 50 top law firms joining forces to offer double the number of apprenticeship places coming at the same time as the UK government announcing a brand-new T-Level course for legal services, it’s clear that there’s a new shift in how we want the next generation of legal professionals to be educated. But how might these changes affect both prospective students and future employers?

Let’s look at these apprenticeship places first. Apprenticeships might not be seen as the traditional way into the legal industry: I would imagine the first image most people have of apprenticeships is based around professions like builders, mechanics, and engineers. However, in recent years, skills-based apprenticeships have really taken off, with sectors like data analysis, accounting and even digital marketing offering up an alternative to traditional degree education. Legal apprenticeships may be new, but top firms like Allen & Overy, Hogan Lovells and Linklaters are part of this huge group of firms looking to find 100 new solicitor apprentices. The programme will last for six years and combines work with study (namely for a degree and the Solicitors Qualifying Exam) for Sixth Form leavers who feel like a degree is not for them. Considering the cost of higher-level education is now prohibitive for many students from disadvantaged backgrounds, or even those who could have managed with previous levels of support, a legal apprenticeship will allow potential solicitors to earn while they learn, and not be put off from a career in this sector due to high costs and potentially high levels of debt they could accrue trying to get there. For many, apprenticeships are a realistic route to go down to get into law, and they offer an opportunity for law firms to plug gaps in their workforce, as well as training potential future partners and senior leaders.

Another new route that could change the process of legal education and recruitment is the government’s new T-Level qualification. Introduced in 2020, these courses combine classroom-based learning with industry placements and have the same equivalent value as three A-Levels. The new legal qualification will cover core content that is relevant to all legal professionals, regardless of sector, with more specific modules focusing on ‘occupation specifics’ such as business or criminal law. Having been built from the same standards as the degree apprenticeships, the T-Level has been developed in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, and have identified the core knowledge, skills and behaviours students need to pass the qualification. The government have released a breakdown of all the areas the T-Level will cover, so it’s well worth looking if you want a breakdown of all the areas that the two-year course will cover. Several leading industry experts have been involved in the creation of the course, and, when launched, it may act as a foundation for law degrees and legal apprenticeships and help to build up a better basis for young solicitors, as well as gaining nine weeks of hands-on placement experience. And, in today’s competitive workplace, that might make all the difference between getting a job and being rejected.

Up till now, the traditional route into law may have been an academic one, but it seems like times are changing. There are now a wider range of options available for people, and they are designed to help a wide variety of people access law, especially those from non-traditional law backgrounds. Of course, any course or apprenticeship is as only as good as the teaching, which won’t become clear until it is put into practice, but any training that brings in good quality candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds can surely only be a good thing.