Legal education must be more flexible, says LSB

Legal regulators have been told to urgently review their education and training framework in new statutory guidance published by the Legal Services Board in the wake of LETR.

Setting their draft guidance and a short consultation, chair David Edmonds said that while the LSB wasn't imposing a timetable on regulators, "they should have one".

The guidance sets out five outcomes:

i. Education and training requirements focus on what an individual must know, understand and be able to do at the point of authorisation

ii. Providers of education and training have flexibility to determine how best to deliver the outcomes required

iii. Standards are set that find the right balance between what is required at entry and what can be fulfilled through ongoing competency requirements

iv. Obligations in respect of education and training are balanced appropriately between the individual and entity, both at the point of entry and ongoing

v. Regulations place no direct or indirect restrictions on the numbers entering the profession

The Legal Education and Training Review reported in June, recommending in particular that regulators should consider regulating paralegals.

The LSB dismissed the idea as unnecessary, saying paralegals already operated within organisation regulated by authorised bodies, but it supported recommendations for a more flexible CPD based on learning outcomes.

It also disagreed with the suggestion that the number of entrants should be capped, highlighting the levels of unmet legal need identified in research.

A lack of consumer input was a general criticism levelled at the review when it was initially released.

In a consultation document released by the board, Edmonds warned of a risk that regulators could go down different, "conflicting" paths and said a "more detailed blue print for change" in the long term should be a priority.

Edmonds warned against a slowing down of momentum, adding that the report "does not exist in a vacuum" and further thinking demands a reassessment of current approaches informed by recent evidence given to the Ministry of Justice on legal services regulation.

"While LETR is a significant milestone, it is only one piece of evidence and the report itself acknowledges the relative lack of consumer input as compared to the views of the profession."

The board continues that it is therefore drawing its views not only from LETR itself but from wider developments in regulatory practice.

"A liberalised legal services market can only function effectively for consumers if there is a significantly more flexible labour market."

"We consider that greater flexibility can be achieved through more effective targeting of regulation according to the risks posed. We suspect that there are areas where existing regulation may not be proportionate and is having an impact on access, cost and flexibility."