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August 22, 2008

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LPC to Training Contract - Making it Pay

Law student debt can reach £40,000 by the time you start a Training Contract (TC). The fees for the postgraduate, pre-training "bridge" Legal Practice Course (LPC), which should ensure that you are ready to take on the challenges of working as a trainee solicitor, can cost around £14,000 alone. There are several ways to fund the LPC, most of which will land you in further debt. But for most people the biggest challenge is not just the money. It's making your LPC a real bridge to a training contract and your career as a qualified lawyer.

Although a training contract includes the cost of your studies for the Professional Skills Course, funding from firms to do the LPC is the exception rather than the norm. A list of firms offering sponsorship can be found in The Training Contract and Pupilage Handbook 2008 published by The Law Society. The double-edged sword of sponsorship is that funding for your LPC usually guarantees a training contract with the firm and you are then bound to the firm for a certain period of time - for most, this is a good thing; for others, not always. And, of course, competition is ferocious.

There are also several bursaries and scholarships on offer from The Law Society. Again, competition is tough, and there isn't the guarantee of a training contract afterwards.

It's important to note that the LPC does not come under government/education authority funding or student loans. What you can get is a Professional Studies Loan from a commercial high street bank or, if you haven't anywhere else to turn to, a Career Development Loan (see the Department for Children, Schools and Families website). As a potential high-earner, commercial banks won't be too worried about lending to you. However, remember they are much stricter than a normal student loan, as you do have to start paying it back soon after you finish studying. This is regardless of how much or whether or not you're earning. Career Development Loans from the government (up to a maximum of £8,000) are only available to those who can't get anything else, including a commercial loan, and are particularly useful for part-time students.

Apart from the financial question, however, it's important to do some research while you're applying for your LPC to give you the best chance of getting a training contract and making all the money you've spent on your studies pay off.

Think ahead.

Get as much legal experience as possible. Easter, summer, anything and any time you can. You should start applying for contracts two years ahead - even before you start your LPC - though some firms do recruit the year before. Send out applications to as many firms as possible. Many people send out around 200 applications before they get an offer. However, don't just apply wildly to every firm in the City. Try to work out what you want to do and where you want to do it. The big names may be important and may have more places (though they will also have many, many more applicants) - that goes for the LPC as well. But if you're interested in regional or local work, you may be better to apply for an LPC in the area. This may also prove to be a better source for local contacts. It goes without saying that your application should also be geared to the needs of the firm. Fifty carefully targeted applications are much more likely to be successful than a hundred bog-standard sausage-factory CVs. Keep it personal. Make as much direct contact as possible without overstepping the mark - you want people to remember you, but not as crazy/pushy/weird/annoying.

And network. Any time, any place. You never know who you're going to meet.

By Miya Komori

This is very true - most law students and graduates fail to grasp the importance of legal experience until it is too late. You cannot start early enough. Obviously academics assist if going for City law firms, but for the smaller players experience is king. [...]

Jonathan Fagan, London, UK