Recruitment code changes: part one - your handy guide
updated on 16 September 2015
The Voluntary Code of Practice for the Recruitment of Trainee Solicitors, recently agreed and ratified by the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD), the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS), the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) and the Law Society, on first sight looks like a radical departure from the status quo, but is it?
The major changes hinge on when firms can set their training contract deadlines and offer training contracts, and how many offers an applicant can hold and for how long. The changes at a glance are:
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Old system |
New System |
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Earliest permitted deadline for training contract applications: |
31 July |
After start of the penultimate year of a law degree |
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Earliest permitted deadline for vacation scheme applications: |
None |
None |
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Earliest permitted date offers can be made: |
1 September |
After start of the penultimate year of a law degree |
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Candidates must decide on training contract offers by: |
Four weeks after an offer is made |
15 September or four weeks after offer, whichever is later |
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Number of offers an applicant can hold: |
Two maximum |
Unlimited |
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Notes: |
The code remains voluntary and cannot be enforced by regulation, only by peer pressure. Firms claiming to adhere to the code are likely to advertise this fact via their website and promotional materials. |
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In part two, I will offer an analysis of what the changes might mean and how they might affect the way in which firms behave and you think about - and behave in relation to - the application process.
