Increases to LPC grants at magic circle firms to match SQE funding

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In March, magic circle firm Clifford Chance increased its maintenance grant for the Legal Practice Course (LPC) by 25% to £12,500 to match the funding being offered to its Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) trainees.

The monetary support is believed to apply to the firm’s current trainee cohort, with a top-up payment expected in May, according to Legal Cheek.

More recently, fellow magic circle firms Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Slaughter and May followed suit; both firms have also upped the financial support for their  LPC trainees by 25% to £12,500. Current trainees will receive a top-up payment in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, Linklaters LLP is already offering its trainees a grant of £12,500, while Allen & Overy LLP’s grant remains at £10,000, according to the firm’s graduate recruitment website.  

Clifford Chance is due to switch education providers from BPP University Law School to The University of Law for future lawyers taking the LPC and SQE.  

The SQE will eventually replace the current route to qualifying as a solicitor (ie, the LPC), with several firms revealing their plans to offer SQE maintenance grants of between £12,500 to £17,000.

For more information on the SQE and how you can fund it, head to LawCareers.Net’s SQE hub and read this Oracle.