The effect of deregulation on students and trainees

Some of the SRA’s proposals to its education and training regulations will have an immediate impact – either directly or indirectly – on all trainees, all firms that employ trainees, GDL/LPC students and their education providers.

The aim is to remove unnecessary regulations and simplify processes, which is all part of the “bonfire of regulations” that was announced in October 2013.

The proposals remove the requirement that trainees must complete their training under the terms of a contract specified by the SRA. While concern was submitted about the adequacy of safeguards for trainees during their contract, the SRA considers that there is appropriate protection under existing employment law. Firms will potentially be able to review the terms and conditions of their current training contracts.

The requirement that trainees must have experience of contentious and non-contentious work is to be removed, while the requirement to gain experience in three areas of law will be amended to “at least three distinct areas of English law and practice”. It could be argued that these changes will limit training, to the detriment of future employability.

However, this does reflect the changes in the legal services sector, with an increasing number of practitioners choosing a specialism. The proposed changes do not reflect any change to the practice skills standards, so, in effect, a trainee may actually need to work in both contentious and non-contentious areas of practice.

Student enrolment of the SRA is also to be removed, saving students £80 prior to starting their legal practice course. Instead, the application must be made prior to commencement of any work-based learning. Careful guidance will therefore be needed concerning character and suitability to ensure students have not embarked on courses and training without awareness that their SRA membership could be refused. As a result, firms may consider making job offers conditional on a successful application for SRA membership.

Finally, the restrictions on the number of trainees a firm may train is to be removed.

Other proposals may have a more indirect impact on firms and trainees, but will have an immediate effect on education providers and students. For example, removing the requirement for the certificate of completion of the academic stage, changing the role of the SRA in the quality assurance of the LPC, and amending the exemption arrangements in the academic stage of training.

The proposals are to be presented to the Legal Services Board and, if approved, will be implemented on 1 July. However, there is some concern as to the level of engagement in the consultation process, which only received 41 responses. This is hardly reflective of the number of stakeholders affected by the changes.

The SRA said that these changes are the first stage of its Training for Tomorrow programme and are consistent with its red tape initiative. The announcement, on 7 May, of its major programme of regulatory reform further illustrates the strategy of deregulation and a shift in its role as the regulatory authority for the profession.

Jackie Panter is associate head of Manchester Law School, Manchester Metropolitan University