Practice makes perfect

The problem of law degrees that are insufficiently grounded in legal practice has long been recognised. While the LPC was intended to address this very issue, there remain worries that law degrees '“ both LLBs (and their equivalents) and postgraduate programmes '“ do not prepare students in a meaningful way for professional practice.

One consequence is that law graduates often find the LPC a difficult experience, requiring them to acquire a new set of attitudes and skills in the space of nine months. Another consequence is that many recruiters and those within firms with responsibility for selecting new trainees see little advantage in a candidate who has a higher degree in law (with the possible exception of specialist masters degrees in technical areas).

Of course, undergraduate and postgraduate law degrees are studied for a variety of purposes, not all of which are connected with legal practice.

Greater relevance

Some degree providers recognise that degrees need to be more relevant to practice, and are offering programmes that aim to be of practical benefit to students and address the concerns of employers '“ in other words, what may be called 'practice-based programmes'. If this approach proves successful, then not only will LLB graduates be better prepared for the LPC and subsequent practice, but a practice-based masters degree will genuinely be regarded as a meaningful addition to a candidate's qualifications.

Before traditionalists throw their hands up in horror, it would be as well to explain what is meant by practice-based degrees. What is not being suggested is a retreat from academic rigour '“ not only would that be self-defeating, but in any event such programmes must meet accepted standards to achieve degree status.

The student's requirement is to gain expertise, and not simply (in the case of postgraduate degrees) play 'catch up' (the reason why many busy practitioners attend CPD courses). A balance needs to be struck in the design of a practice-based degree. For example, although not theoretical or purely academic in content, such a programme can not and should not eschew relevant social and policy considerations where relevant to the area of study. Outcomes are what is important: on completion of the programme, the student should have the knowledge and skills to become an effective practitioner.

In addition, there seems little point in offering advanced programmes that are 'like the LPC, only more so'. At present, the LPC performs a specific purpose for new entrants to the profession: this provides its rationale, but also its limitations. There would be little real value in designing a masters course in, say, commercial real estate or intellectual property, which purported to focus only on the procedural, transactional aspects of those areas of practice. Although transactional expertise in these areas can be refined in the classroom, exposure to live matters in the office remains the best method of improvement.

However, it is possible to distinguish between purely transactional courses and those that make effective use of authentic legal documentation to illustrate and contextualise legal principles. The LPC exemplifies the former, whereas practice-based degrees would be examples of the latter. Even undergraduate programmes can usefully introduce students early on to such documentation and other realistic elements of legal practice. If students regard this as an essential component of their course materials '“ along with law reports, journal articles and commentaries '“ from day one, then skills of advice, interpretation and drafting will not seem so alien to them at subsequent stages in their careers. Such an approach may also make it easier for consultative links to be made between firms and course providers: hitherto separate worlds of legal education and legal practice could enjoy a higher degree of co-operation; after all, it is to the advantage of both to ensure that law students are properly resourced.

Practical assignments

One way of designing practice-based degrees to ensure that students focus on law in a practical context is to replace the requirement that they write dissertations or extended essays with a more practical assignment, such as a practice note or other know-how on a topic that has the potential to be of value to a practitioner.

Part of the rationale of such courses is to enable students to understand the connection between primary sources of law and their practical application. One of the key criteria against which such a project should be judged is whether it articulates clear 'practice outcomes' '“ that is what is produced should be useful to a lawyer practising in that field. This approach also assists in understanding the key role that know-how now plays in the effectiveness of practitioners, and the success of law firms overall.

These suggestions for law degrees must be set against the concerns of various stakeholders. As noted, recruiters are worried that insufficient attention is paid to law in practice. Prospective students '“ now often from non-traditional backgrounds, and worried about the financial implications of study '“ are increasingly keen to ensure that the degrees they choose make them attractive to prospective employers. Add to that the concerns of regulatory bodies that access be widened, and the development of 'practice-based' law degrees becomes a more realistic prospect.