Legal training is too generalised, claims consumer panel

The Legal Services Consumer Panel, the law watchdog, has claimed in its submission to the Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) that legal training is failing because it is too generalised.

As reported in the Law Society Gazette, the panel told the LETR that the current training system tries to produce "typical" lawyers despite the diversity of the legal market meaning that there is no such thing. Among the panel's suggestions is regular re-accreditation for practitioners in practice areas associated with high risk, as well as the realignment of training to focus on the needs of consumers instead of students. The panel argues that training levels should correspond to the services that the future practitioner will provide to the public, instead of the current system which strives to impart general legal training to all aspiring lawyers. This method has been dubbed 'activity-based training', and would improve diversity in the profession by increasing the range of entry routes to qualification, according to the panel.

The panel concluded: "The current system is widely discredited [and reaccreditation should be seen] as a career-enhancing measure, not a career-threatening one. It would support further learning and enable lawyers to demonstrate their commitment to professionalism."