The Law's Too Elitist – Let's Raise the Bar
A week after our social mobility czar claimed the professions were too elitist , the legal headlines are filled with news of a compulsory aptitude test for the Bar and Law Society warnings to students about pursuing a career in law. Keeping access exclusive or managing expectations? As it happens the OFT report on Bar Standards Board’s (BSB) plan to bring in a compulsory aptitude test for entry to the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) has concluded that the test would have …
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A week after our social mobility czar claimed the professions were too elitist , the legal headlines are filled with news of a compulsory aptitude test for the Bar and Law Society warnings to students about pursuing a career in law.
Keeping access exclusive or managing expectations?
As it happens the OFT report on Bar Standards Board’s (BSB) plan to bring in a compulsory aptitude test for entry to the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) has concluded that the test would have "the potential to have a significant effect on competition through unnecessary restriction of entry into the profession." So keeping things exclusive then? Not necessarily…
The test was one of a number of recommendations made last year by a BVC working party chaired by Derek Wood QC. The aim of the test was to filter out students who do not have a realistic chance of passing the BVC and to close the gap between the number of students undertaking the course and the number of pupillages. Between 2003 and 2007 the number of students enrolling on the BVC rose from 1,332 to 1,932, while during the same period the number of pupillages steadily fell to around 500.
Meanwhile, the Lawyer reports that the Law Society intends to launch a campaign targeting university and secondary school students, warning them of the risks involved in pursuing a legal career. The campaign is to include information on the cost of legal training as well as the dwindling number of training contracts out there. According to the Law Society, 7,000 people completed the Legal Practice Course in 2008, but there are only 6,000 training contracts available this year – the average cost of the LPC is £10,000.
The timing of these announcements is not ideal but how will they be viewed? Depends on who you are; here’s our synopsis…
BSB/Law Society – we’re just trying to keep expectations in the realms of reality. Sigh.
Alan Milburn – they’re attempting to keep it exclusive; outrageous.
Law Schools – they are putting off our customers; outrageous.
Barristers – sensible but we’ll have less potential pupils to choose from.
Law Firms – sensible but the cream floats to the top and we only pay for the ones we take – why limit our potential choice of candidates.
Students – thanks for saving me the debt, no thanks for putting me off.
July 29, 2009
There`s nothing elitist about selecting the best people to do a job, but there are just too many lawyers doing work non-essential to the security and stability of society; a product of “the more you have, the more you get” financial structure of Capitalism. And if anyone gets into this career as a non-commercial lawyer in order to get rich, 99% are in for a shock. Sadly there is not “a level playing field” for many aspiring lawyers who have the talent and social committment, but not the means.
July 29, 2009
I agree that there is nothing elitist about selecting the best people to do a job. It also seems the LS and BSB are attempting to be more responsible/fairer by weeding out the no-hopers early. The attractiveness of the legal profession combined with the limited places makes students look like lambs to the slaughter. The trouble is there are a number of vested interestswith competing priorities. Law Schools want to entice as many hopefulls in as possible for the fee income as they are now businesses. Law firms wish to do the same – there is no cost to them but more competition for places means a larger pool from which to choose the best trainees; a trip to the law fairs shows the lengths they will go to encourage applicants.
This is difficult to filter at the bottom end without running into accusations of unfairness or creating barriers to entry but giving students the heads up early seems to me a humane action.
July 29, 2009
Aptitude tests and warnings about the ‘risks’ of pursuing a legal career – how can this do anything but reduce the number of people from non-privileged backgrounds entering the legal profession. The financial implications are far more likely to put off those whose don’t have parents willing to pick up the tab.
July 29, 2009
Wow the legal profession is oversubscribed and students who never had a prayer end up with lots of debt. Labour’s policy of 50% going to higher education has reduced the value of the education and increased the false hopes of the educated. This aim for educational equality is fine in theory but the net result is that is has probably impoverished more of the people that could least afford it. Without free higher education there can be no equality and misguided policies will continue to have unintended consequences. As for the law school racket…
July 29, 2009
The flogging of false hopes to the gullible reminds me of the sub-prime crisis.