1. Reviewing Legal Education The Academic Stage of Education: Is it fit for purpose? Baroness Ruth Deech Thanks to Valerie Shrimplin of the BSB SLS Conference 12 June 2012

2. Key themes What does “fit for purpose” mean in education? Should the LLB/Qualifying Law Degree have as its primary focus an academic liberal arts study discipline or professional training? 59% study it for career purposes Where do the Legal Services Act, the LSB and the LETR fit in? Regulatory objectives include protection of the consumer, rule of law, professional principles, effective profession, ie highest standards Is there evidence of defects? Need for accessibility, flexibility and mobility of students and professionals Status quo, evolution or revolution?

3. Issues to be addressed What specific regulatory problems need to be fixed and what is the evidence for this? Changing situation/context means changes to provision (and standards?) Different ways of delivery? Greater trend towards practical skills and ‘on- job’ learning? Will new business models require different competences, as early as the academic stage?

4. What is higher education about? In general, not a means to an end, and cannot guarantee higher income HEIs need independence, not instrumentalisation Students are not consumers but participants Is preparation for citizenship, employment and leadership, independence of thought, cultivation of critical thought, intelligence & intelligibility, stake in the future, control over one’s destiny, interest in politics, reaching ever higher level

5. Standards are more important than ever Set – according to need/purpose, by universities and professional courses Control entry by merit alone Delivered – by suitable staff (but recognising student role in their own learning) Resourced – as appropriate by institutions Assessed – by staff, & by external accreditors Developed and improved – by all?

6. Standards must be improved Academic Stage – Compensation, need for 2 nd class degree, use of English Vocational Stage – review of Bar Course by Derek Wood QC Pupillage stage – review (focus on access) Common ground or a case for separate courses? Fusion/overlap? Or need for highly qualified specialists?

7. Undergraduate law degrees Legal academics will always be passionate about academic freedom, and the value of a liberal arts degree But the Academic Stage (by definition) is about the foundations of training for the professions The Joint Statement (1999), based on the seven foundation subjects, totalling 180 credits in law, needs revisiting

8. It’s important to consider: Numbers studying law degrees, conversion courses and professional training Admission and recruitment (access, equality and diversity, applicants and their intentions) Courses, places, numbers of pupillages and training contracts (‘the bottlenecks’) Numbers of tenancies/professional positions The whole range of legal practice

9. Legal degrees and pathways to law About 19,000 law graduates each year (QLD) About 4,800 do CPE/GDL each year About 1,700 do BPTC [446 pupillages] About 9,300 do LPC pa [4784 contracts] So... from a potential of more than 20,000, about 9,000 do not apply to progress to professional postgraduate training (BPTC/LPC) each year Aims or intentions may change during study

10. Issues raised for discussion by the LETR regarding the Academic Stage Do we still need the QLD at all? - It would be very difficult to deal with the next stage of professional training if experiences varied too much (GDL tutors have spoken of the difficulties of humanities’ students who haven’t done an examination since school!) Are the Foundations still a sufficient knowledge base? Or should new areas be added or substituted? (Ethics, interpersonal skills, client care, international law, management?) Is there scope for combining different stages? (eg exempting degrees that combine the academic and professional stage) Does regulation stifle innovation in teaching and assessment? (the use of IT and Visual Learning Environments has facilitated access, stimulated learning, and led to new ways of using contact time and assessing students) Be wary of overregulating HEIs Downside? Plagiarism, academic offences?

11. Comparisons with other jurisdictions and other professions Comparisons are important but there is a need to decide what is right for England & Wales Legal training the envy of the world –34% BPTC non UK domiciled; –17% undergrad law non UK domiciled –78.7% postgrad law non UK domiciled (HESA) But no complacency

12. How do others do? Other common law countries offer courses that are common to all lawyers with later specialisation, or demand postgrad studies, or do courses combined with other subjects NY Bar and US LLM not good comparators. NY popular because few formal prerequisites but students probably have at least 7 university years behind them; 34% failure rate not good. Standing of US lawyers and affordability no better than here, possibly worse e.g. $700 per hour DC

13. LETR – more academic issues raised for discussion Aptitude test Greater activity-based authorisation/regulation? Greater common training and standards for regulated occupations? Common core? Fusion or specialist? Are the LPC and BPTC suitable and desirable?

14. Can we see into the future? Nature of future legal services: consumer/ client demand, structures and entities; technological change Effects of change on the knowledge and skills demanded of lawyers/providers of legal services Need for high quality education and training, and education providers Need for high ethical standards for lawyers and legal services entities Access, social mobility and diversity (HE changes) Flexibility, mobility, transferability, specialist training

15. Some comparisons - need for pathways, mobility and flexibility BPTC Advocacy (25%) Civil Litigation Criminal Litigation Ethics Opinion Writing Drafting Conference Skills Resolution of Disputes Options LPC Professional Conduct Wills, Administration of Estates Taxation Business Law/Practice Property Law/Practice Litigation Course Skills QLD Public Law (Admin, Constitutional, HR) EU Law Crime Contract and Tort Property Equity & Trusts Legal Research

16. Babies and bathwater (1512) Good should not be discarded along with the bad due to inattention or haste No need to reject an entire concept or practice if it is not all ‘good’