Q. I am a sole principal. I have noticed that the guidance to the new Law Society's code of conduct (not yet in force) states that to be 'qualified to supervise', I need to undertake 12 hours' management training. Is this a new requirement?

A. The requirement is not new. It was first set out in the version of practice rule 13, which came into force on 23 December 1999, and which states that a solicitor is only 'qualified to supervise' if the solicitor has held a practising certificate for at least 36 months within the previous ten years, and has completed the training specified from time to time by the Law Society for the purpose of the rule. The aim of the provision was to replace the former requirement that was based solely on time since admission, with a combination of experience and training. The amount of training specified at that time was 12 hours, and that is still the case.





Q. How can I best go about meeting the 12 hours' management training requirement?


A. The requirement is for attendance or participation in any course of learning on management skills. The course does not have to be accredited with continuing professional development hours. This means that general courses on management skills are entirely suitable. It is not normally necessary to check with the Law Society about how suitable a course is, unless the course is unusual and outside the mainstream of management training. The course may have been undertaken at any time, not necessarily within the past ten years. However, if you currently have an exemption for the management training under the transitional provisions in practice rule 13, that exemption will no longer apply once the new code comes into force.


Question of ethics is compiled by the Law Society's professional ethics guidance team