Neuberger: LETR is unbalanced and treats law as mere commodity

The focus of the Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) has been criticised as "unbalanced or worse" by the President of the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger.

Delivering a lecture at the annual meeting of the Association of Law Teachers, Neuberger questioned the wisdom of sweeping changes and "grand gestures", and made the case for smaller, targeted reforms, such as adding mandatory skills requirements to LLBs. He also asserted that the LETR has incorrectly prioritised its focus on only two of the eight regulatory objectives set out in the Legal Services Act 2007; to protect and promote the interests of consumers and to ensure an independent, diverse and effective legal profession.

Neuberger argued that the LETR was in danger of ignoring the fundamental need to support the constitutional principle of the rule of law, as well as matters in the public interest, which he differentiated from purely commercial concerns. Finally, he condemned any move to use the LETR to unify the training of solicitors and barristers, and called for more to be done to improve career paths and entry routes for chartered legal executives.

Neuberger's conclusion summed up his concerns about the current direction of the legal profession: "A vibrant, independent legal profession is an essential element of any democratic society committed to the rule of law. It is not merely another form of business, solely aimed at maximising profit while providing a competitive service to consumers. I am far from suggesting that lawyers ought not to seek to maximise their profits, or ought not provide a competitive service. What I am saying is that lawyers also owe overriding specific duties to the court and to society; duties which go beyond the maximisation of profit and which may require lawyers to act to their own detriment, and to that of their clients."