Training contract

A training contract is a compulsory period of practical training in a law firm for law graduates before they can qualify as a solicitor in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia or Hong Kong. During the training period, the participant is known as a trainee solicitor.

United Kingdom

In the UK a full-time training contract is normally for two years, and applicants must have first completed the Legal Practice Course. Trainee solicitors and training contracts were formerly known as articled clerks and articles of clerkship, respectively. In the UK the barrister's equivalent is a twelve-month pupillage under a pupilmaster, in barristers' chambers.

Route

To obtain a training contract, a graduate must apply for an opening for such position at a law firm usually a year or two in advance of the start of their employment. One concern is that each year the number of applicants exceeds the number of contracts available. A large number of unsuccessful graduates will have accrued sizeable debts with no guarantee of being able to qualify as a lawyer. However, in years past it was common for aspiring lawyers to pay law firms to train them (a practice also common in other professions in the past, including officer positions in the Royal Navy).

Legal executives

For a legal executive, who normally does not hold a law degree, a training contract is not normally required to qualification as a solicitor. They typically advance toward qualification by passing exams administered by the Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX), while working under the supervision of a solicitor.

See also

Pupillage

References

External links

• The Law Society of England & Wales
• Training Contract Deadlines 2011
• The Solicitors Regulation Authority
• 'What is a training contract?', Chambers Student Guide 2011, ISBN 978-0-85514-313-8