The Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) called for law students to be given better information about their career prospects to avoid disappointment as the number of people choosing a law degree hit a new high.
Provisional figures from UCAS, the organisation that runs the university and college application system in the UK, revealed that 18,394 students accepted places to study law at university this year, up by 1.2% on last year.
Law Society statistics show that 9,012 students enrolled on the Legal Practice Course (LPC) this year and 3,581 started training contracts. Last year alone it said more than 1,000 people who completed the LPC did not get a training contract.
Bar Council figures show that 1,749 students did the Bar Vocational Course last year, while the number of pupillages on offer has been less than 600 for the last five years, with around 200 tenancies offered annually.
JLD chair Heidi Sandy said: ‘We don’t want to prevent students from accessing the profession and wouldn’t want to limit competent candidates, but it’s about people having access to information.
‘There need to be better resources so they understand the path they would have to take, the level of debt and other difficulties, so they are more able to make an informed decision.
‘Careers officers need more resources, and the Law Society should be working with them to provide that information.’
Earlier this year the Law Society launched an information campaign to caution those considering a career as a solicitor to think long and hard about the commitment required to succeed and warning them of the financial risks.
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