Voluntary code of recruitment lives on as SRA backs out

Signatories to the voluntary code to good practice in the recruitment of trainee solicitors have agreed to remain so and reiterated their support of the code after the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) announced its withdrawal two months ago.

The Junior Lawyers Division of the Law Society (JLD), the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), and the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) agreed to remain signatories to the code, which encourages law firms to wait until a student's final year of undergraduate study before making training contract offers to them.

In addition, it advises students to hold a maximum of two offers at any one time, and to reject surplus offers so other students can fill those positions.

In March, the SRA announced it was withdrawing as a signatory, with the regulator's executive director of policy, Crispin Passmore, saying: 'We have taken the decision to withdraw from the code on the basis that it is not appropriate for [the SRA] to be involved in recruitment practices and procedures.'

The announcement by the JLD, AGCAS, and the AGR means the code will remain in place in its current form for those students who may be made training contract offers and who will be commencing their training contracts in 2017.

The survey of students and careers advisers recently commissioned by AGCAS found that 89 per cent of students were in favour of retaining the code. In addition, almost all careers advisers stated they would not be comfortable if the current signatories removed themselves from the code.

The chair of the AGCAS legal profession task group, Chris Wilkinson, remarked: 'On behalf of AGCAS, I am very pleased that the code will be remaining for the current round of recruitment and that it will continue for the 2018 recruitment phase, albeit in an updated form.

'The survey which AGCAS undertook showed that students and careers advisers across the UK are very much in favour of the code remaining, not least because it provides students with time to make evaluated career decisions.'

A cross-group working party is currently being agreed by the AGR, AGCAS and the JLD, with the purpose of reviewing the code and making recommendations to update it in line with current recruitment practices. The aim of the working party is to have any changes in place and publicised in time for next year's recruitment cycle.

The chair of the JLD, Max Harris, said: 'The principles of the code remain valuable for both firms and students. The JLD are proud to be a signatory to this code, and we are incredibly pleased by the results of the AGR and AGCAS surveys. These show that firms and students retain their trust in the code, despite the SRA's recent withdrawal.'

After consulting with its members, the AGR declared its full support for the code in its current state for this year and a redrafting of the code for future years.

The AGR's chief executive, Stephen Isherwood, commented: 'The code provides students with the time and security to make considered decisions at this crucial point in their legal careers. The AGR and its members are keen to see that this recruitment season runs smoothly and that students aren't subjected to unnecessary uncertainty.'