Solicitors and Barristers: AS Law

Solicitors
1. 120,000 practising in England and Wales
  1. 87,000 in private practice
  2. Rest in: employed work, industry, local government or Crown Prosecution Service
  3. Represented by the Law Socitey
2. The Law Society
  1. Used to regulate profession but fuction is now given to the independent Solicitors' Regulation Authority
  2. Used to deal with complaints but = conflict of interest, could not be impartial in investigation, function now overseen by Office for Legal Complaints
  3. SRA now in charge of regulating profession: setting down education, training , qualifacation requirements and rules practised by
3. Training
  1. Degree in another subject = Common Professional Examination (CPE) or Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)
  2. One-year Legal Practice Course
    1. Can be taken as one-year full-time or two-year part-time course
    2. Practically based as it includes: Client-interviewing, negotiation, advocacy, drafting documents and legal research
  3. Training Contract
    1. Work in a solicitors firm 2 years
    2. Can be undertaken in legal organisations e.g. Crown Prosecution Service or legal department of a local authority
    3. During 2 year training contract, trainee is paid, do own work supervised by a solicitor
    4. Complete a 20-day Professional Skills Course builds skills learned on LPC
    5. At the end Trainee will be admitted as a solicitor by the Law Society, name added to list, keep attending education courses to keep up knowledge
  4. Non-Grad Route
    1. 1st become legal executives
    2. Only open to mature candidates
    3. Takes longer than normal route
  5. Criticsms
    1. Financial Problems
      1. Pay fees of LPC (£12,000)
      2. Degree in another subject (CPE/GDL) have to pay £10,000
      3. Poorer families not able to afford = prevented from becoming solicitors
      4. Bank loans = large debt
    2. Lack of Legal Knowledge
      1. Non-law Grads only do one year of law (CPE/GDL)
      2. 25% have not taken a law degree
    3. Over-Supply
      1. Students who have passed LPC unable to get training contract
4. Solicitors Work
  1. Some become legal advisers in commercial or industrial business, 30,000 employed
  2. In private practice, may work as sole practitioner or in a partnership
  3. 10,000 firms, small high-street pratcice to big city firms
  4. No. of partners not limited, some big firms have 100+ partners and employed assistant solicitors
  5. Type of Work
    1. Small high-street firm = a general practice, advising clients (consumer problems, housing, business matter and family problems)
      1. Normally dealing with paperwork: writing letters on behalf of clients, drafting contracts, leases
Barristers

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Solicitors and Barristers: AS Law

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