Voluntary code for trainee recruitment will be upheld despite SRA’s withdrawal, say other bodies

Despite the Solicitors Regulation Authority's (SRA) withdrawal from the Voluntary Code to Good Practice in the Recruitment of Trainee Solicitors, it has been announced that the code will continue to be upheld by its other signatories.

The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) and the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) have all said that they will remain signatories of the code.

AGCAS surveyed the opinions of students and careers advisers before making its decision, and found that 89% of the students it asked are still in favour of the code, while some 98% of careers advisers indicated that they would be uncomfortable about AGCAS, the AGR and the JLD also removing themselves from the code. The AGR also consulted its members and found overwhelming support for both the code in its current form and for redrafting the code for the coming years in which it will not be supported by the SRA.

The AGR, the JLD and AGCAS are now working together to review the code and update it according to current practices in time for the next recruitment cycle.

Stephen Isherwood, chief executive of the AGR, said: "The code provides students with the time and security to make considered decisions at this crucial point in their legal careers. The AGR and its members are keen to see that this recruitment season runs smoothly and that students aren’t subjected to unnecessary uncertainty."

Chris Wilkinson, chair of the AGCAS legal profession task group, said: "On behalf of AGCAS, I am very pleased that the code will be remaining for the current round of recruitment and that it will continue for the 2018 recruitment phase, albeit in an updated form. The survey which AGCAS undertook showed that students and careers advisors across the United Kingdom are very much in favour of the code remaining, not least because it provides students with time to make evaluated career decisions."

Max Harris, chair of the Law Society’s Junior Lawyers Division, commented: "The principles of the code remain valuable for both firms and students. The JLD are proud to be a signatory to this code and we are incredibly pleased by the results of the AGR and AGCAS surveys. These show that firms and students retain their trust in the code, despite the SRA's recent withdrawal."