Kaplan has sealed an exclusive deal with Trowers to be its sole provider of the LPC and GDL.

Kaplan, which is based in Borough Market, London teaches the Nottingham Law School LPC and has Bird & Bird, Bates Wells & Braithwaite, Mayer Brown and Nabarro signed up on exclusive deals.

The idealistic notion that the legal profession should become something of a pure meritocracy hasn’t always appealed to everyone. Conservative and slow to adopt change, the profession was long dominated by privately educated, predominantly white, middle-class men. The last decade or so has seen a marked change on this front and equality has improved greatly. However, does this mean unfair advantages can’t be sought elsewhere?

Que: Oxbridge Training Contracts , a company providing model essays and training contract and pupillage …

A new survey, conducted in February by Legal Week Intelligence has found that Clifford Chance was named by 61% of students as the most prestigious law firm. 2,500 students at Russell Group Universities and GDL course providers were asked to name the five firms they regarded as the most prestigious. Allen & Overy came second, one percentage point behind CC with Linklaters, Slaughter and May and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer filling the other top spots. According to the survey, …

BPP Law School, The College of Law and Kaplan Law School are all coming in for a bit of flack for hiking their prices in the midst of this rather fearsome recession. The schools have made significant increases to their fees, at a time when rest of the profession (and most other businesses) are looking to cut costs in every nook and cranny of their operations. Some observers have suggested that this might affect diversity by reducing opportunity for …

The competition to fill their LPC courses has been pretty hot between the law schools over the last year or two. Providers have been keen to sign up exclusive deals with firms and have got creative in a bid to attract students. More flexible courses have been introduced enabling individuals to do it as a part time course and BPP have even introduced a fastrack LPC. The latest move by BPP in response to the College of Law opening …

In the battle between the law schools to sign up firms to exclusive deals, BPP Law School has managed to bag City law firm Travers Smith. According to The Lawyer it will be the sole provider of the Legal Practice Course to all of the firm’s future trainee solicitors. Travers will send all its trainees to BPP’s Holborn, London, branch and students will study an LPC tailor-made especially for the firm. Suits you sir.

Continuing the student theme, one wannabe …

Distilling some droplets from the legal ether, here are some points of interest for the week.

One law firm ends up in hot water after it moves to dismiss a trainee for gross miscunduct – a Sheffield Employment Tribunal last week ruled that a Manchester firm, Express Solicitors, was in breach of the terms of a training contract when it dismissed trainee solicitor Iain Montgomery for ‘gross misconduct’ last year. See the Gazette for more.

Bernie Ecclestone has a change of …