Mick Woodley reports on the new model LPC
As a new academic year starts, many of the law schools and other providers which run the legal practice course (LPC) for prospective solicitors will be admitting students for the last time onto their present programmes. From September 2009 a new model is due to be launched and is set to revolutionise the vocational stage of solicitors' education and training and provide a platform for the work-based learning that is presently constituted by the training contract. All these changes are being championed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) as the independent body responsible for regulating the solicitors' profession in England and Wales.
The new model
So how will the new LPC differ from its predecessor? Flexibility seems to be the key factor. The new LPC is to be offered generally in two separate stages which may be taken with different providers, but it seems that the delivery of these two stages may also exceptionally be combined. The existing written standards are to be replaced by a statement of outcomes, enabling individuals to choose courses to suit
