Over half of law students wouldn't choose to work for an ABS

More than half of law students would not seek work with an ABS, a recent survey has reported.

According to the University of Law's 'ABS Survey', 58 per cent of students said they would not want to work for ABS.

However, 41 per cent said they would be happy to work for an ABS, although only 1 per cent said they would prefer to work for an ABS over a traditional law firm.

Director of family law and head of professional practice at the Co-operative Legal Services Jenny Beck (pictured) said: "ABS is a very significant development for the legal industry and law students need to be aware of the opportunities it brings."

Within larger ABSs, said Beck, trainee solicitors have the opportunity to develop not only their core legal skills, but also complementary business skills to further their professional development.

Sixty-three per cent of respondents to the survey did agree that the introduction of ABSs creates wider employment opportunities, a 9 per cent increase on 2012's survey.

Forty-seven per cent felt that ABS also provided lawyers with more options for developing skills and progressing in their careers.

President and provost of the University of Law Professor Nigel Savage said it was promising to see students becoming more aware of ABS, "but more work needs to be done to show students that ABSs are here to stay and that they will ultimately offer an abundance of career opportunities alongside the traditional law firms for students in the coming years."

The current tally of ABSs stands at 152.

The University of Law survey canvassed almost 2,000 students across LPC, BPTC, GDL and LLB courses.

Sixty per cent of students were studying the LPC, 31 per cent the GDL, 6 per cent the BPTC and 2 per cent the LLB.