Would you have taken the LPC if you'd known how few training contracts there are?

I am an Associate Solicitor and responsible in part for interviewing/recruiting paralegals. It saddens me how many of those applying for the positions have completed the LPC but then cannot get training contracts (and not because they are not good enough). Time and time again they are explaining that they are not warned at the outset (when handing over their lpc fees no doubt) of the realties of trying to gain a training contract and go on to qualify. They are disheartened by the whole thing and in some instances it is completely soul destroying for them. It is also interesting how few know of the ILEX route to qualifying (when the training contract can sometimes be dispensed with). Surely ILEX and the College of Law would be better off working together on this so there are more opprtunities, more people gaining qualifications and happier individuals. ILEX are doing a sterling job, the College of Law seem more interested in making money from the LPC.

I think that most people embarking on the LPC know that the legal sector is competitive and that jobs are scarce, particularly at the present time. While undoubtedly in some cases alternative career options could (and should) have been better highlighted; both to undergraduate law students and LPC students, I feel that the current problem is not caused by a failure of the academic institutions per se, but is a result of the current system as ran by the Law Society and the SRA. There seems to have been a failure on their part to consider the implications of allowing LPC student's, to embark on a course whereby the end outcome is likely to see many graduates being forced into alternative career paths, with huge debts for a course [and thus qualification] they may never see the benefit of.

While there is a clear contention in what I am about to say; namely the question of restricting access v freedom of access etc, I feel that it raises a pertinent point. I am from Northern Ireland, however, did my LPC under the English and Welsh system with a reputable provider, as I want to practise in England. In Northern Ireland enrolling on the equivalent course requires that a student has a principal solicitor who will train them (i.e. a training contract with a firm), as a pre-requisite for admission on to the course. This is a logical approach. You both study and work over two years, and are qualified to practise at the end of the course, in a job which you are actually already doing. While I recognise that this system prevents those students without a principal from taking the course, it also prevents them from taking out a loan or spending often borrowed money, on a course which they could conclude without the prospect of a legal career at the end. Instead, the system under which I graduated unfortunately left me (and undoubtedly many others) in exactly this position. I can only conclude that the current system is in place to keep LPC providers financially afloat, as well as providing the SRA with some money, whilst unfortunately giving little consideration to the future of the LPC students.

One fact remains, when I was studying for my LL.B at the University of Westminster, we were given the full statistics regarding the number of those waiting and hunting for Training Contract,we were also told that it is possible to switch to another area or work rather than thinking that the only possible way is by becoming a Solicitor. Perhaps, aspiring Solicitors should start considering another way of getting into law.

One such way could be by taking up employment as a Caseworker in Asylum and Immigration matters, even after the LPC, one can progress to take the CLT examinations and become accreditted.

Level II Caseworkers are highly desirable and could secure employment with firms of Solicitors with franchise in Immigration thereby moving one step closer to securing a training contract.

I am of the opinion that the best thing is to keep on trying, Solicitors are needed out there, but considering the present economy of United Kingdom, it could prove very difficult to secure, directly, training contract. I am almost completing my LPC and I am equally accredited at Level II. I enjoy what I do, even though I do not make much money right now, I study full time and pick up advocacy work when it comes along. Good luck out there - we all need it.

I did my LPC at Demontfort University and they, like everyone else, treated it as nothing more than a business. My chances of getting a TC are minimal and I'm very bitter that I have £250 to pay for the next 8 years in loans for something that I doubt I'll ever use.

Also, it's in good point made by the other commentator - ILEX was never mentioned during any careers event at undergraduate level which is interesting given that if I'd gone down that route I might have a job just now!

Something's got to give. Thousands of students are pouring through at undergraduate level and uni's are taking everyone and anyone for the LPC (DMU allow 3rd class students on the LPC) because it's about money. As uni's will continue doing anything to meet its targets it's time for students to wise up. Help from an organisation like this would be vital.

I have my LPC but don't have a training contract yet and was looking at paralegal jobs when I saw an advert for paralegals in a large Leeds firm, in their advert they required applicants to have AAB, a 2.1 and a commendation at LPC - I was stunned that they could ask for this for a paralegal post.

Only just today, I got yet another e-mail from the College asking that I spend even MORE money with them to obtain a Masters. They over subscribed my LPC course, created additional weekend, evening and full-time courses with the full knowledge that, even without the recession, there are were not enough jobs for a fraction of LPC graduates. The College of Law is a self interested business with a bottom line and they are using the glut of LPC students they created to profit even more by creating additional courses like the Masters. Shame on them. This is the behaviour of crooks running a scam as opposed to moral and ethical professionals adhering to the SRA code of conduct.

In response to the above comment - I am currently doing a full time LPC at College of Law and am not aware of the alterantive ILEX route. This has not been mentioned to me at all.

I am a Trainee Solicitor at a magic circle law firm. A great blessing. I would have not have commenced the LPC had I not secured a training contract including payment of the fees first. I do not believe in putting all ones savings and parents money and perhaps a bank loan into the LPC, and then not to get a training contract.

In fact, even if you do get a training contract, not all solicitor firms pay city firm level salaries. The SRA has set a minimum wage of around 19,000 pounds per annum. But this is not enough. If you end up with a local firm your earning prospects will not be very high. You will still be stuck with some debt and try to make ends meet.

I would have preferred to do the BVC and join the bar, but chambers never (there are exceptions) recruit in advance including payment of BVC fees and pupillage. Access to the bar is another whole story for itself.

If it were not for the few city firms around that make such generous offers me and most others would have not even considered becoming a lawyer after the LLB. The legal profession is not easy to enter.

Solution? Yup the LLB+. One could simply create a universal law degree that in terms of content would run in the 1st year the GdL, the 2nd year the BVC and the 3rd year the LPC and the 4th year some of that academic theoretical stuff (yup an LLB+). Afterwards there would be no need for the LPC/BVC. The uni fees you paid covered your undergraduate degree (although for 4 years) and you have access to the practical stage immediately.

As an LPC graduate without a training contract I am angry at the legal profession. I think students should only be allowed to take the LPC if they have a training contract. I realise this will never be adopted as a policy because, as has already been said, LPC providers are more interested in making money than in responsible recruitment into the profession.

I graduated from the LPC in July '09 with a distinction, a 2:1 at degree level and all A's at A level. I have been applying for a training contract for over 2 years now. I have a long work experience list on my CV and despite many interviews and careers advice I am at a complete loss as to why I have been unsuccessful. I agree with the previous comment that it is soul destroying and I am seriously considering changing my career plans altogether.

Either ensure students have a training contract before they start the LPC or be prepared to give honest, useful feedback after interviews. Until then I shall be advising anyone who is considering going into law to pick another profession.

I am a trainee solicitor and it has taken me ages to get a training contract after completing the LPC, working up from legal secretary to paralegal to trainee over several law firms and several years. I had all but given up on getting a training contract and was starting down the ILEX route as I had the necessary work experience, only to find that if you have done the LPC already you cannot then qualify using the ILEX route as you have to be a legal executive before completing the LPC. This anomoly in the system is yet another barrier to getting qualified and as far as I can see serves no purpose whatsoever. It is not publicised at all and it was only after numerous emails to both the Law Society and ILEX that I found this out. In the course of my investigations both the Law Society and ILEX were saying they didn't know the answer and referring me to the each other and it was very hard to get a straight answer although I think it was the Law Society who finally confirmed that it was no point me doing ILEX. If I had known about the ILEX route before I started the LPC I would probably have done that instead of doing the LPC. I was lucky to be offered a training contract but if I hadn't I was set to give up. I really think this is an area that needs looking at by both the Law Society and ILEX to come up with a sensible solution.

I am extremely fortunate in that I am now two years qualified in the small high street firm where I completed my training contract. I embarked on the LPC without even a sniff of a training contract and with the weight of a £10,000 loan looming over my head and possibly no job prospects at the end of it. When I finished my LPC I was even on Job Seeker's Allowance for a while - whilst I was perfectly willing to do even the most menial work on a temporary basis I was deemed over qualified and despite numerous letters to law firms only got two interviews for training contracts - one with the firm at which I'd undertaken work experience whilst doing my law degree and where I am now employed as an Associate Solicitor. My good luck in that regard only arose from that the fact that the firm handled my mum's divorce! Yet despite all that, I still think I made the right choice and am now happy in my work but I realise it could have been very different which is a scary thought...

It is not the responsibility of training institutions to ensure that prospective students are informed about the likelihood of getting a training contract. If you are looking to take up a career in any profession then it is your responsibility to do the groundwork and to decide whether the statistics, together with your personal attributes, make it look favourable or otherwise.

It is extremely naive and complacent to assume that, because you pay fees to a training institution, you somehow have the right to a training contract.

I only took the LPC because I didnt have to do a training contract as I had taken the ILEX route. More students should be told of this route knowing that with a few more exams (and a few exemptions) they could qualify as a Solicitor immediately after taking their LPC and PSC. I finished my LPC in June 2009, took the LPC in August and was qualified by October all in the same year. The background grounding that you are given as a Legal Executive gives you a better background to become a solicitor.

I think I am one of the few people who has experineced and can relate to all the posts here. Not being a UK resident, I had to pay for my LPC and LLB as well as funding my living expenses. After I succesfully sold everything my family had, I realised that despite having a 2.1, distinction and coming across rather well at interviews, I will not find a training contract (atleast not in a commercial firm) unless it reached a stage where the work involved in securing a TC overwhelmingly outweighs the reward. I tried the Ilex route but was told by the LawSociety that due to my cardinal sin of completing the LPC, I cannot qualify via that route. In the meantime 2 law firms duly took advantage of my situation. I worked for a year at each of them as a paralegal doing more work then a trainee, while they dangled teh TC. I had to change 3 firms and wait 4 years before I commenced my training contract. I am grateful to my employers for taking me on as a trainee but as I contemplate my future (commercial and job satisfaction aspect) I only feel guilt for wasting all that money for a qualification that does not pay very well outside the magic or silver circles. I feel drained and wasted and have zero motivation to try to enjoy my TC. I also know that on qualification my job prospects are very bad. Maybe, better in a way because on hindsight, I would rather be a bus driver than a solicitor.

I have empathy with all the above posters who have not been able to secure training contracts and have not had much support from their LPC providers. I am a graduate from a foreign country, married with children, who funded myself through the CPE/LPC without a training contract ("TC") in my late 30's. I secured a TC two years ago with a top 20 city firm and was reimbursed for all my fees and given a grant of £ 5,000. I never stopped doing applications during my two years at law college whilst some of my younger contemporaries didn't seem to understand how important it was to start the application process early. You need tenacity, drive and sheer determination in addition to strong academics to get a TC and my college pushed us to do these applications and explained the Ilex route and in some cases our tutors would proof our applications for us. You cannot use the market as an excuse and it is tough out there.

I am an Associate Prosecutor with the CPS and have been in this position before i started my LPC. In hindsight i am better off qualifying via ILEX as by virtue of my work i am already a CPS member of ILEX. I think the Law Society are a bit behind and should be making people aware at the point of taking the LPC of the difficulty in obtaining training contract especially if you are over 30 years of age. I am now in the process of obtaining my Fellow with ILEX and will wait to see if the Law Society will waive my training contract!!!!!!.

I was lucky that my parents funded my education so I have come out of university and the LPC debt free. However, I think I would still have taken the LPC if I had to take out a loan. I knew competition for TC was fierce and I took the LPC with this in mind.

While better career advice on different routes into law as well as other career paths altogether would no doubt have been great I do not think it would have changed my career route.

LPC providers are a business. However, I think that students should do the ground work into researching the career they wish to pursue.

I would not say that I am exceptional on paper however I worked really hard on my applications (making full use of the careers department) and practisied interviews throughly before every one I had. It was soul destroying applying for countless vacation places and TC's but I left the LPC with two TC offers - one of which I accepted.

If I can get a TC then anyone who is determined to work hard and stick at it can!

I am a trainee solicitor and due to qualify this year. I left university wanting to gain some more work experience and possibly a training contract offer before I embarked on the LPC. Unfortunately I struggled to even get work experience but eventually I took a job as an accounts assistant in a high street law firm. I decided to do the LPC part-time and so was able to work and study. My employment was only temporary but I was very lucky in that the firm kept me on as a paralegal and then a Trainee. I only finished the LPC last summer and the prospect of having to pay back the loan this year is terrifying. I wish I had known about the ILEX route. Whilst it may take longer, financially it is far better for people like me who have had to finance the LPC with a bank loan. There was very little warning given to us at university in respect of just how tough this field is. I love my job but I have been very lucky and there is still the worry of what will happen when I qualify. It's tough getting a training contract but I'm beginning to learn it's also tough finding a newly qualified position. It really is all about 'getting your foot in the door' and being given an opportunity to prove your worth.

I also sympathise with above posters but on the other hand at my LPC provider I witnessed many fellow students who had never bothered to apply for a TC, some who treated the course like university (ie. not showing up half the time despite being repeatedly warned their unjustified absences would be recorded), and some who frankly didn't make the intellectual grade. After two years of applications I finally got my TC with a top national firm, right after the LPC had started, despite being in my mid 30's with an unconventional background. However, I also knew I had the necessary grit, resilience and determination bordering on obsession. Sadly, the same can't be said of many of these young adults who come out of university with no real experience of the modern workplace. But I agree that LPC providers have no incentive to discourage LPC students, and so don't expect any hint of reform from them.

Personally, I would deregulate the profession first by making the LPC a bit harder, second allowing all LPC graduates to style themselves solicitors, much the same way BVC graduates are entitled to call themselves barristers and medical graduates are actually doctors. Third, non-qualified solicitors would still be able to practice law under employment contracts for organisations, but not directly for members of the public and they would have no rights of audience. Qualification would still be via the TC. This would simultaneously open up access to the profession, find a useful and meaningful career prospect to thousands of legally-trained professionals in business and in the public sector, and open up competition within the profession.

It is a sad state of affairs that we encounter. I believe the number of places on the LPC should be capped to reflect a figure close to the number of training or paralegal positions.

Had I of known of the ILEX route I would never have undertaken the LPC. At least that way I would have had job security and then could have chosen whether I wanted to do further exams to convert my qualifications to a solicitor!

Students currently looking for a Training Contract try their utmost to obtain a training position, but the struggle does not end there. Upon qualification Newly Qualifieds find that there are in less of a bargaining position as most firms want a number of years PQE when recruiting. Therefore they are having to settle for paralegal/secretary type salaries to increase their PQE.

Other professions such as Medics, Dentists, Pharmacists and Accountants walk into a salary that reflet their expertises, but the SRA have let down Legal Professional by capping the minimum salary for a NQ at £19,000. I could earn more being a secretary in a Law Firm in Birmingham that a Newly Qualified.

As I said at the beginning. What a sad state of affairs!

Caveat Emptor

Buyer Beware...it is the responsibility of the student to assess the climate and availability of training contracts BEFORE accepting a place on the LPC and forking out all that cash. You only have yourself to blame!

I am in my first year of my training contract at a reputable, regional firm. I took the risk of taking the LPC, and financing it myself, without having secured a training contract. I made several applications during my LPC but had not secured a training contract by the end of it. Fortunately, I was offered a position as a paralegal soon after I had finished the LPC which then led to a training contract within a few months. However, two years later, I know many people who completed the LPC at the same time as me but are still looking for training contracts.

I am strongly of the opinion that the number of applications accepted by law schools should reflect the number of training contracts available. It is unfair and wrong to take money off individuals when it is known that there are not enough training contracts on offer and/or certain individuals have no chance of obtaining one.

I am in the final month of my training contract in N Ireland. As stated by a previous poster we can not commence the legal practice course in NI without having secured a training contract and done well in a competitive entrance exam. The in-firm training and academic training then takes place over 2 years, after which you qualify. Prior to obtaining a training contract I worked in the firm for 3 years as a paralegal.

However, there are very few Newly Qualified positions and the majority of my fellow trainees are not being kept on with their training firm. I was told in June that due to the economic climate there was not enough work coming into the firm to employ me as a solicitor. As I got married last year and bought a house, being out of work for a few months was not a option so I immediately started applying for jobs. Thankfully I have secured a position within the public sector with a starting salary of £26k (good for N.Ireland where salaries are lower).

Whether I will ever go back to a private practice firm remains to be seen. I may just work my way up the public sector ladder with better job security, holidays and pension!

As someone has already stated it is a sad state of affairs but this is not a problem that has a single solution. I feel that the responsibility of correcting the situation must be undertaken by law students, universities, LPC providers and the SRA.

Students need to take responsibility for their own futures and put time and effort into researching careers paths and prospects from as early as the selection of their A-Level subjects. This can be daunting for those who are that young but most of the most savvy students are able to do this (or have parents who are well-informed enough to help them along). Thus from this point on students can proceed with the end goal in mind and this (hopefully) will reflect in their academics and work experience.

Universities bear a responsibility as well, they need to be more rigorous in their minimum requirements for entry into law. This is harsh but necessary, some students are just not cut out for law and if they don't have the motivation to work hard before university why should they be given a pass when there are those who do?

LPC providers need to find a more economical way of providing the LPC (including it as part of a 4-year LLB should be looked at as an alternative) and they need to do so in a more ethical manner. The price of the LPC course is exorbitant and consistently (and knowingly) churning out more LPC graduates then there are training contracts and who are still unknowledgeable about their future career prospects is appalling.

The SRA also has to sort out the difficulties with the ILEX and LPC routes, surely they can persuade ILEX to change their procedures?

Sadly this is not new. In 1984 when I left the College of Law to go off to my Articles as they then were called, we were told that the profession was badly oversubscribed!

As someone who has recently completed the LPC in July of this year, without a TC, I fully understand how frustrating the whole recruitment process is. I am someone who throughly researched the profession and spoke to lawyers, academics and careers advisers about the prospect of gaining a TC before studying law. I knew that it was difficult to gain a TC but I was repeatedly told that I would gain a TC without a problem. This was largely due to my academics as well as my varied work experience. I have built up a portfolio of work experience placments since 2003 (whilst studying full time) at high street firms, commercial firms and legal organisations. Therefore, on this basis, I undertook the LPC (self funded).

However, despite my work experience and academics and being invited to interviews as well as assessment centres, I have been unable to secure a TC after numerous applications. Nonetheless, I have recently secured a paralegal position at a high street law firm but I am not giving up until I find that TC! I am in a sense lucky as I have graduated with a law degree and LPC debt free through self funding my studies.

Unfortunately, I was given false hope and if I had known what I know today, I would not have taken the LPC.

No one is misled.

Before committing to any course, it is the responsibility of the individual to research the chance of success.

The difference between the haves and the have nots is that the haves make sensible decisions.

Self-funding the LPC is reckless and irresponsible. If no training contract is forthcoming, the individual should accept responsibility for his/her own decision.

No one is forced to do the LPC. Some people will get training contracts but many will not. Everyone knows that is the case. If you accept the risk don't complain if it goes wrong.

I was offered a TC at the end of my first year of the LLB Hons, when I started my LPC, I was one of 4 students out of 49 who had a TC in place. By the end of the LPC there were 12 of us with TC's. You do the maths and it doesn't take Einstein to figure out how the odds are stacked against anyone who wishes to practice as a trainee solicitor.
If I did not have a TC in hand, I would not have taken on the LPC, which, I might add, was a complete waste of £8,250 I have learnt more in my first month of practice as a trainee than I ever did on the LPC, it is a scandal that some of the lecturers I had continue to spew the crap that they did and raise people's hopes in a market where there are so few opportunities. Don't even mention the LLM route, which people are seduced into believing will set them apart from other lawyers in the race for a TC; it is, for the majority of students a further opportunity for the Universities to screw more money out of you in exchange for very little input from them.
When I look back over all the study, the expense and the time spent getting to where I am, being paid £16,650 (minimum wage for a trainee) in a firm where the other trainee is being paid £14,500 (on appeal to the SRA they have been allowed to get away with paying less money....) I think I would take a different route and save my money, even though I love what I am doing, there are no guarantees this will last, after all, look at all the newly qualified solicitors that get sacked off in favour of a fresh batch of trainees each year, call me cynical, but the law is not a safe, secure place to be. I would advise those contemplating it as a career to think very carefully, and be ruthless in doing what is right for you, not your parents, friends etc, but for you, as it is you that will be saddled with all this crap. Oh... and good luck and maybe see you in court one day!

I am a partner at a large regional law firm in the UK. I can truly sympathize with many of the comments on this site. Coming from a working class background, I worked exceptionally hard through college and during the LPC to self fund. It took a lot of effort to get my training contract some 12 years ago even when market conditions were not such as they are today. I was on minimum wage during my training contract and supplemented my income by working in a club 3 nights a week. The partners eventually upped my wages when they realised I was more valuable to them in the office earning them money than standing behind a bar pouring pints on minimum wage to supplement my salary. 5 years after qualifying I became a partner. I was 3 years qualified before I could afford a house and only just managed. I was fortunate to secure a 125% mortgage with Northern Rock to pay off some debt and to furnish the house. I finally paid off my student loans on the day I became a partner, 12 years after I embarked on my legal career. That was some time ago but the worries and the hard work are still with me. I can honestly say that if I were considering reading law at university now, knowing what I know and the barriers to entry in the profession, I would not have chosen this career. It is a great job, I love what I do, but I probably would have gone bankrupt before or shortly after qualifying. What with the proposed abolition of cap on student fees, difficulty in getting relevant work experience, lack of job prospects for training contracts and to secure a position on qualification, it is a brave person who decides to pursue a career in law unless they have financial security behind them.

I wish I had become a dentist. My Uni friends who studied dentistry are raking it in, working 4 day weeks and living the dream.

I can see both sides of this argument. Nobody should assume that a qualification equals a job.

I completed my law degree and LPC with standard results but found a TC 6 months later. The money is poor at the moment but I have always seen my career as an investment. I think new applicants to the LPC should think long and hard before paying the fees. If I had invested my course fees into my small business I would not need a TC. To obtain a TC, applicants should not rely on their qualifications but also offer another commercial dimension.

Regretfully the LPC, along with University, had too many people enrolled that simply expected a job and did not have the intellectual ability, drive or calibre to become a solicitor.

There needs to be an entry exam to achieve a place at University and LPC.

(In respose to the poster that went to DeMontfort who let people in with 3rds..........That is irresponsible)

I am voting a qualified yes because I did not start the LPC until I had a training contract, so I would have started the LPC whether the market was good or not. If I hadn't had a TC I would have been very wary of undertaking the massive debt of the LPC when there is no other career the LPC is useful for

Before spending thousands on courses, students should put some time into researching the chance of success.

It is utterly irresponsible to pay for a course without thinking about the economics of that decision.

It is not the responsibility of the institutions to tell students what they should or shouldn't do.

I just can't believe that students are still self-funding the LPC without a training contract.

At circa £10,000, I just can't believe it.

I'm tempted to start my own college......

I've not yet embarked on the LPC and don't intend to until I have secured a TC (and if it comes with funding for the LPC so much the better!). The simple reason for this is that I do not want to end up with debt and without a job, as many posters have described.

I am not a genius; this seems like simple common sense to me.

Why on earth would anyone do things the other way around?

What exactly is ILEX and what qualifications does it give you.
I am doing GDL at present and do not have a TC in place. After reading all the comments I am reluctant to apply for LPC.
Could somebody enlighten me

Having completed my LPC in 2005, I started work as a paralegal, great experience, but it still took me over 5 years to obtain a training contract. I have now nearly qualified, but there are very few nq jobs out there, so, again, I am experiencing that feeling of was it really worth it?

I'm now pushing 30, would love to get married, buy a house maybe even have children. The debts incurred as a result of my LPC and low salaries as both a paralegal and trainee mean that my life has very much been put on hold for the sake of a financial gamble that I was not fully advised that I was taking.

It's very easy to be optimistic about the future when you're in your early twenties, but the picture looks somewhat bleaker just a few years down the line if you are not lucky enough to obtain a training contract immediately.

If I had my time again, I cannot honestly say that I would not take the LPC, but I would have thought a lot longer and a lot harder about the financial impact of my decision, not just on my prospective future career but also on my life in general.

This is a difficult one really isnt it? For me, sadly this (qualifying as a solicitor) is all I have wanted to do (doesnt say much about me does it?!) I didnt want to be a vet or doctor...wouldnt have minded being an actress though!

I am a Trainee and I have to say it was hard getting to this point. I did as all the articles say, got decent grades got work experience. I didnt take my LPC straight after my degree, I worked within a firm for a year.

I started the LPC, and I had an idea how difficult it would be to get a training contract...but in my mind I thought of myself as the exception, and not the rule. I was going to be okay. This was not the case. I studied the LPC part time and worked. I was promised the world, and nothing came of it. It was only really then that reality hit me, i'm on a course which i'm struggling to pay for, which may not even get me anywhere! To make things worse, I started the LPC in 2008, and it was the peak of the down turn.I was made redundant from my role three months after starting the LPC and finding a job was not easy.

I completed the course and found a role, and I was lucky enough to be offered a training contract. The sense of relief when you get that letter confirming registration cant be described!

I have rambled on, so sorry, but to answer if I would have taken the LPC if I had known how few training contracts there are, yes I would. I wouldnt have stopped until I got a training contract. I dont know if its the part of me that has to see something through, my determination or if it is because I would have taken that risk.

The issue here really isnt training contracts though, its a flawed system.

The legal institutions will take the LPC fee's eitherway. They do not care if you get a training contract or not.On top of this you have the firms which make any LPC student jump through hoops to get a job, dangling the carrot of the training contract and the SRA and Law Society with thier lack of support...its amazing anyone gets qualified!!!! The SRA and Law Society need to either regulate the number of LPC places and/or regulate firms encouraging them to take more trainees.

I am a trainee solicitor, due to qualify this year and work in a small high street firm. I too was not aware of the ILEX route and the majority of my current colleagues are legal executives or legal assistants (having started working at the firm as office juniors or secretaries). I must admit it does make me a little bitter considering the hardship one has to endure as a law student not to mention the financial difficulties. Perhaps universities or indeed the institutions offering the LPC should be better equipped in advising prospective LPC students as to the difficulties of obtaining a training contract. I would be minded to place more emphasis on university career advisors as at the end of the day institutions such as BPP are businesses and would rather perhaps reap any potential financial gain.

I am just about to start my GDL with the intention of moving on to the LPC. I have been trying to decide between the BPP, CLT or Ilex.

When people are talking about "wishing they had taken the Ilex route" do you mean becoming a legal executive first or do you mean taking the GDL and LPC thorugh Ilex?

The ILEX route has never been mentioned to me. I am nearing the end of my LPC and gave up looking for TCs at the beginning of the year, hoping I could secure either a paralegal/legal assistant role to go on to with the intention of looking for TCs whilst building up relevant experience at work. However, even these advertsied vacancies don't even send a rejection email! I feel if I'd known just how dire the situation actually was, I would have delayed taking the LPC until I had found the opening to my legal career. However, I will have the qualification behind me soon and will concentrate on building up legal experience even if it means doing an unrelated job and voluntary legal work on the side. Frightening times.

It has taken me 7 years to get my training contract. For me, I wouldn't have successful if it were not for the fact I had completed the LPC just a couple of months before my assessment day. I would not change any of the experiences in my life. I would still choose to qualify the LPC way. But, I do believe that secondary schools and sixth forms should also play a part in giving guidance on the different routes available into law. My sixth form was obsessed with making nearly 100% of its students apply and attend university that all other options were simply not viable options. It should be the individual's choice. At ages 13-18 it is difficult to know where to in for the right information to make an informed choice. Certainly for future generations, this needs to be looked at.

Also, recruiting firms need to be more flexible over the route that a prospective candidate has taken. I'm not so sure that they are right now.especially the corporate firms. Until they do, advocating an alternative route could prove pointless.

I have a 2.2 and a pass on the LPC from 2008.

So you can just imagine is is ten times more harder for me then all you out there with 2.1's and distinctions etc.

But my motto is 'Get a training contract... or Die Trying'!

I am yet to even secure a paralegal role just keep getting offered unpaid work experience although I might be losing I have not lost yet... failure is only achieved when accepted.

Keep your head up! and Keep smashing those doors down until there are no more left!

I'm currently studying the LPC part time at weekends. I sympathise with everyone calling for a change but lets be honest the system works for firms and LPC providers.

Having made a complete mess of my time at University graduating with a 2:2 (no reflection on other peoples 2:2 simply that I messed up University through my own fault) I took a year out working a ridiculous number of hours in a full time job and two part time jobs to earn money and gain experience. I was unsure about doing the LPC and was considering ILEX but was advised by a Partner in a firm that becoming an ILEX then a Solicitor was looked at as the "weak" alternative and so I am currently forking out over £10,000.00 of my own money working full time and studying part time to pursue my dream.

There was no way I was going to get into debt for the gamble but based on my academics I wasn't going to get a Training Contract. The regulation a large number of people are calling for would mean that I wouldn't be able to gamble my own money on a career I have always wanted and will one day acheive.

The issue is not with the legal profession but rather with peoples mind set. A number of people taking the LPC do it because they see it as the next step after a law degree rather than being the step on a long road to a worthwhile career and I do mean a long road. I'm in my early twenty's and as a realistic time frame I'm looking at being at best just shy of 30 before I qualify and can actually enjoy a social life and a good standard of living but to me this still all looks worth it.

But the full truth of the matter is I don't do all I do with the sole intention of getting a training contract. I do it because I love it. I sometimes fear what will happen to me when I get a training contract (and yes I realise the chances of getting a training contract are slim but I will be getting one one day). The goal is too important for some people, you always have to remember to enjoy getting there. One day despite the pain the legal profession is causing me I will be able to look back proudly and fondly.

Just call me crazy.

I'm of the opinion that too many students rush into law at a young age, attracted by high salaries, a well-respected position and a high-end lifestyle, without doing sufficient research into what being a lawyer actually entails on a day-to-day basis and what is required in reality to secure a meaningful career. It's too much of a financial risk, as well as being incredibly time and energy consuming, to undertake if you are not certain. My advice is as follows:

When students finish undergraduate university, in my experience they rarely have a true grasp of what it is they want to do - how can you? Having just spent the past 3-4 years writing fairly vague, meandering and rambling pieces of academic work that bare little relevance to commercial society, likely drinking too much and blowing student loan on clothes you won't wear beyond the age of 25, how can you truly know what it is you want to do? Consequently I thought it prudent to go and pick up some actual work experience in a business for a few years - this has two advantages:

1. By actually undertaking a proper job for a year or so, you get a feel for what aspects of that job you do and don't like, and thus get more practical knowledge of what it is you do and don't want out of your career
2. Firms love candidates who can demonstrate commercial awareness: there is no better way of accruing this than by employment within a real business environment.

I decided that, as I am a sports nut, I would gain some business experience in that field, working in both PR for a national sports governing body and then for a sports TV company. Both experiences taught me, amongst many other things, that I wanted to learn more about how the world works on a commercial scale, and taught me how a large-scale business operates (ie these are elements that I liked), but also made me realise that I yearned to do something more intellectually challenging, more relevant to my degree (History) and, without wanting to sound snobbish, something that reflected the level of education and opportunity that I was fortunate enough to have offered to me. It was only by working for 3 years that I could say with confidence what exactly I wanted from my career, whilst those 3 years also looked great on a cv - putting me ahead of students with equally high grades but with little to separate them - and meant that I could demonstrate a platform of commercial awareness upon which I could build.

To my knowledge, very few candidates take this approach. It's one that I would implore others to take.

Wow! I have read all the posts on this subject.

I am forty years old, I started my academic life really late and I mean really late. I was a Business Analyst for Barclays, I did other jobs before that (which encompassed managerial and legal type roles), I have four children, a Mortgage and I am a Magistrate. I think that my experiences would have had some bearing on what I could deliver at any law firm. Having said that, I found the whole experience of obtaining a TC horrific.

It was not until Iate when I did my research did it become evident that a TC would be required to become newly qualified. However, I took the risk and paid for the GDL and the LPC.

I had already paid for and started my GDL when I was applying for my TC. Luckily and I do mean luckily, I managed to get a TC within a few weeks. Although, I must of sent off over a 150 applications and got just 2 interviews.

The system of trying to obtain a training contract is so warped that it would be shelved if it were in any other sector of business. My view is that this is a whole charade with a view to earning substantial amounts for the providers.

I am using my vast wealth of experience here and my advice would be do NOT pay for the LPC until you have a training contract in place. It is foolish to do so in any economic climate. Further, I would really do some homework on alternative routes before you make a definitive decision.

You can try as hard as you like to try and get a TC but why should it be as hard as it is? Think clever. Get the experience in and when it is a stage where you can exploit it (TC in hand), then get the LPC out of the way.

My son, who is 14 wishes to go into law. He will have the benefit of my experience and I will tell him exactly what I am telling you guys.

I hope that this helps.

These posts are thoroughly alarming, but I wish I had read them a few months ago as they confirm some of the rumours that I have been hearing regarding the LPC being a waste of time and money for many. My son is on his induction week for his lpc now having graduated with a 2.2.in law. Friends in the law industry have gently suggested that he rethink. After reading this I will be strongly advising him to rethink before handing over any of the 10k fees.

This is the first I have heard of ILEX, which appears to be a satisfactory alternative undertaken by some. Can anybody out there argue the case for my son to continue with the lpc? I can't see one. Would you advise him to pull out and take the ILEX route, or freeze and further law courses and find work experience of some sort?

Is anybody else out there with the same dilema?

I finished the LPC in 2004 with a Pass and a 2:2 Law Degree. I regularly applied for training contracts (approx 200) throughout my studies with 1 interview with no luck. On completing the LPC I was highly motivated and commenced work in a legal accounts team for 6 months. I then took a case handler role on a 12 month contract with a larger firm. I worked hard and was offered a permanent position with the firm as a Legal Assistant. After 3 years with no training contract opportunities I decided to leave and started afresh working in a new area of law on a much lower wage for 6 months. Once I had a bit of experience I applied to a small local law firm. I started as a Paralegal and was offered a Training Contract starting earlier this year.

On starting the LPC I had no idea that it would take me 7 years to get a training contract. After about 4 years I thought all hope was lost. I was told by one employer that my CV was a true indication that I really wanted a career in law. I was happy working as a Paralegal in an area of law that I enjoyed, rather than seeing it as a means to an end.

My advice to those who are feeling disheartened is to keep going, try to get experience in other areas of law. If after 2 years you are considering giving up law and doing something else then I guess you have to ask yourself if law was really the career for you. Realistically, if you have a 2:2 degree and decide not to complete the LPC on the basis that you'll wait for a training contract before doing so, then you have to be aware that the firms that offer places years in advance often have a 2:1 minimum entry requirement. My experience was that the smaller law firms generally require you to have completed the LPC before they consider you and also require someone who can hit the ground running so the more experience the better.

I have no regrets in taking the LPC and I'm glad it's taken me a while to reach my goal. I've worked hard and appreciate that some things are worth waiting for.

I am currently a student studying the L.P.C with the college of law and halfway through stage 1 of the course. I pay rent and bills and also travelling expenses to the college as well as paying the college fees. I had to quit my job as the working hours of the course were demanding and I could not proceed to do both. I am now struggling to live and I have to borrow money of my parents to pay rent and to live. Before I took the course I was adamant that I wanted to be a lawyer but now hearing that there are no training contracts availible after I finish the course it makes me feel that it is a complete waste of time, money and effort on my part. I started to apply for training contracts 2nd year of university and was told it would be easier to secure one at the earliest stage of study. So far I have had none and no offers recently. I feel that the college of law reallly need to change their attitude and only accept people who have training contracts as it seems they are only interested in obtaining the fees of £10,000 from each willing student who believe they have a chance of a career. I wish I was told this information before I embarked on the course and rather than lectures advicing me to do extra curiclar activities and work experience that I should consider an alternative career path.

I shudder as I read through these stories! The law is NOT a good career choice. I don't know why but there still remains a romantic notion that the law is one of those "James Bond" professions where eternal happines, professional challenges and riches abound, while still getting the girl, putting away the baddies and cleaning up at the casino! Forget the articles in Esquire and newspapers that tell you law is one of the best professions to enter. It's NOT! Even for the oxbridge entrants off to the city, many will wish they had chosen banking instead as their peers from college trounce their salaries with huge bonuses. For the rest, an average life awaits that is wholly disproportionate to the effort, cost and personal sacrifice required to get there in the first place (and that's only if you make it!) How ironic that if you were to "advise" someone else, you could only act in their best interets by telling them to stay well away! In terms of qualification, the sheer numbers are against you; the "old school tie" is against you; if you're older than about 27, ageism will be against you; your choice of university will be against you; your performance when you were 16 (even though you matured later than others and made good your academic profile) will be against you; your mounting debt will make you regret things for a very long time; you'll be asking "what went wrong?" for many years. Do not underestimate the amount of luck you will need! Only gamblers need apply! (...and as with all gambling only bet what you can afford to lose!)

Despite all the warnings and all the information available to students they just keep on coming and keep on paying the fees for the LPC nothing has put them off.

Law is not hard but it is hard work

Some people study law for the title for the prestige for the ego

Some people are unrealistic about their grades and what firms they should target

Some people simply don't want to work hard enoug e.g. Doing work placements or working hard as a paralegal etc

Some people who do get regular interviews are doing something wron there and yet to change there ways

Those people are not cut out for law or a TC it is as simple as that

I went to uni at 23 south bank university graduated with a 2.2 at 26 did LPC finished at 27 before that only retail experience after LPC no legal work apart from unpaid work experience and more retail work now at 30 8 got a paralegal worked my backside off long hours commitment showed I have the ability to be a lawyer now starting my TC.

Good grades yes very important but the next step is practical application and most of the LPC grads just don't have that

You are owed nothing by no one

One last point I failed all my GCSE,s have no a levels did BTEC computing got a pass but I made it just needed one chance and hit the ground running thereafter your cv does not even matter as I outclassed people with 2.1s distinctions a* a levels a*GCSE etc

Common sense and practical application in the real world can not be learnt from a text book or by spending 10k you either have it or you don't... Very rare but through life experience you might just acquire it

Take a hard look at yourself first.