A survey of qualified lawyers has found that under half would have gone to university today, when aspiring solicitors can expect to wrack up massive debts.

Legal recruitment firm Laurence Simons found that the majority of 224 respondents would have baulked at the total cost of today’s legal studies.

The government’s increase in tuition fees to £9,000 a year, combined with loans and the costs of not being in work, will leave total costs incurred before actually starting a job at an estimated £88,000, the recruiter said.

Laurence Simons managing director Naveen Tuli said: ‘People considering university should bear in mind not only the price of tuition and the debt they will take on, but also the financial loss from not working for three years.

‘When you do this, the total cost of university begins to look very large indeed.

‘The fact that some UK lawyers don’t think doing a degree is worth the cost shows the UK’s universities have failed to offer value to students and provide a relevant education.’

Tuli suggested that the legal profession was ‘behind the times’ in failing to offer apprenticeship schemes for school leavers such as those offered by leading accountancy firms.