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22/11/2016 by Ian Roberts

The number of ‘Equivalent Means’ qualifiers has hit 100, is this route ‘the future’ for Trainee Solicitors?

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Solicitor and scales

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has recently revealed that 105 Legal Practice Course graduates have successfully applied to qualify as solicitors through ‘equivalent means’ since the scheme was launched in summer 2014, enabling them to bypass the traditional training contract (source: Legal Cheek).

This has led to some speculation that equivalent means could be the way forward for the legal sector.

While the scheme has gained some traction, and we should certainly congratulate those solicitors that have qualified via equivalent means, I personally cannot see any reason why the introduction of an alternative route to qualification alone will lead to large-scale change within the sector.

This is mainly because the existence of an alternative route, by itself, gives medium and large-scale law firms, with well-established training programmes, absolutely no reason to change.

Such organisations invest a huge amount in building highly-effective training programmes that are designed to attract the ‘brightest and best’ trainee solicitors, and an essential part of their offering is that, essentially, they guarantee that their trainee solicitors will qualify. The equivalent means route, crucially, offers no such guarantee.

Without being discourteous, I can see nothing about the equivalent means route that looks attractive from the point of view of an aspiring solicitor that is confident that he/she will secure a training contract.

Having said that, I think that the existence of an alternative route to qualification is a hugely positive development of the sector, and a boon for aspiring solicitors who, for one reason or another, have been unable to secure a training contract.

It is certainly the case that lots of extremely bright and capable individuals are lost to the sector for no other reason than they hit the legal market at the wrong time. During difficult economic times, many firms cut back on the number of training contracts they offer, and you can’t help but feel sorry for anyone who happens to be seeking a training contract in that environment.

Many of those who do miss out generally look to build on their legal experience and essentially ‘stay in the game’ by taking on paralegal work.

Those that take on paralegal work with large law firms have virtually zero chance that this engagement will lead to anything else.

However, the existence of an alternative route to qualification may well persuade smaller law firms, who have often been deterred from taking on paralegals who are clearly motivated to secure a training contract, to consider equivalent means as a viable option, as the burden falls primarily on the individual looking to qualify.

While it is encouraging that 105 aspiring solicitors have successfully qualified through equivalent means, I would like to know what percentage of applications are actually successful.

The continued growth in the number of solicitors qualifying via equivalent means will surely depend on this figure.

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