ABSTRACT
In the pathway that leads to a career as a solicitor, the academic stage of legal training is conventionally followed by the vocational stage. While the Law Society Finals (LSF) traditionally formed a key element of this phase of training, the period on which this study focused witnessed something of a shake-up. In 1993, the LSF was replaced by the Legal Practice Course (LPC), and this constituted an important watershed in a number of ways. First, it saw the introduction of a significant element of skills-based work into this element of legal training. Secondly, and more importantly from our point of view, it marked the end of the monopoly enjoyed by The College of Law as the sole provider of the LSF. Sixteen institutions were validated to provide the LPC in its first year and this diversification involved a marked increase in the number of places available for this stage of legal training.
