According to new research undertaken by The Law Society’s Wales office, students, trainee solicitors and law firm owners have ‘overwhelming’ support for a Level 7 Legal apprenticeship in Wales.
The paper, produced in partnership with University of Wales Trinity Saint David, comes against a backdrop of a profession in which 40% of UK law firms are struggling to fill recruitment demands as found by The Law Society.
Currently, in England, students can study the legal apprenticeship pathway up to level 7, allowing them to become a qualified solicitor. However, in Wales, this is not the case. Instead, students can go to advanced paralegal level and then face the choice of stopping or moving to England to access apprenticeship funding and opportunities.
The paper, published today, highlighted the following:
- Of those asked, 100% of Welsh students in school and college, who are interested in a career in law, would want to take the L7 legal apprenticeship route if was on offer in Wales.
- 91% of students surveyed who are studying in Welsh universities would have taken this route instead of a traditional degree route if it was available in Wales.
- 80% of current Welsh paralegal apprentices would like to go on to become solicitors, of these, 100% would want to do it in Wales.
Last year, the Law Society Wales office published a report detailing, in part, the issues facing the legal sector in Wales such as the decline in local legal services causing swathes of advice deserts, alongside substantial court case backlogs and an ongoing recruitment crisis.
The Law Society believes the case for expanding the apprenticeship offer in Wales takes these problems into account and puts forward that the introduction of a level 7 legal apprenticeship would help ‘enhance diversity, address skills gaps, and provide a sustainable pipeline of talent for law firms in Wales’.
Author of the paper, Dr Bronwen Williams, Head of Law at University of Wales Trinity Saint David said:
“There is clear evidence that some young people are put off from going into the legal profession by the costs associated with going to university, with many young people looking at apprenticeships as routes into professions.
“Evidence has shown that aspiring Welsh Lawyers are crossing the border to England to access apprenticeship funding and therefore Wales is losing out on its ‘home-grown talent’.
“Those students who have chosen to access the paralegal apprenticeship funding in Wales all want to qualify further and will face the decision to either self-fund or have to cross the border to access funds, again causing a loss of Welsh talent in the sector.”
Mark Davies, Chair of the Law Society’s National Board for Wales, added:
“There is a desperate shortage of lawyers in Wales. The Law Society of England and Wales has publicly acknowledged the ‘vanishing availability’ of legal provision across housing, welfare, education, community care and immigration.
“With the prospect of initiating the Level 7 legal apprenticeship in Wales, we have the opportunity to ensure that the large swathes of people who currently live in areas where legal provision has vanished, are given the help and advice which they deserve.”
The report has been given to the Welsh Government, along with the Law Society’s call for a Level 7 Legal Apprenticeship in Wales. As Jonathan Davies, Head of Wales, for the Law Society, said:
“The Welsh Government cannot afford to not invest in the Level 7 any longer. The status quo is simply not an option if we are to maintain equitable access to justice in Wales.”
For a copy of the paper, please click here.
