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U.K. Law Society Warns Students Away From a Legal Career
Concerned about the shrinking number of available jobs in the legal profession, the Law Society of England and Wales is warning potential law students to proceed with caution before signing up for law school, advising that they may want to consider alternative careers. As The Lawyer reports, 7,000 people completed the U.K.'s Legal Practice Course in 2008, but there are only 6,000 training contracts available. In addition, taking the LPC costs 10,000 pounds ($16,400).
Eleanor Pallot, a law student quoted in the article, says that she would have welcomed the Law Society's campaign before matriculating. Pallot recently completed the LPC at the University of Plymouth and so far the best law-related position she's been offered is that of a receptionist at a firm.
But one commenter on the article asserted that the Law Society's program shouldn't be necessary:
What a complete waste of money - if a student can't figure out these risks on their own then you have to question whether they will ever cut it as a solicitor. This problem needs a much more radical solution similar to the BSB's BVC aptitude test.
It's hard to imagine the American Bar Association advising students to think twice about a career in the law. And I'm not so sure it would make a difference. As I posted here a few months ago, even in the midst of the layoffs, college students were considering law school as a way to ride out the economic downturn. And just today, Mississippi's Clarion-Ledger confirms that law school applications are on the rise despite declining job opportunities. If layoffs aren't deterring students from law school, I'm not sure what would.
Posted by Carolyn Elefant on July 28, 2009 at 02:16 PM | Permalink
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