The Legal Practice Course is a huge financial commitment (not to mention big business for the various providers) and the decision of whether (and where) to apply should not be taken lightly. Lex 100 weighs up the pros and cons…

For most undergraduates, university finals are the last hurdles before entering the real, grown-up world of full-time work. But there are, of course, those people who delay becoming a slave to capitalism, getting an extra year of lie-ins and Neighbours watching into the bargain - yep, it's those would-be lawyers among you - who face another year of studying on the good old LPC.

Legal obligation

For the time being, the LPC is an integral part of the process of becoming a solicitor in England and Wales. (However, plans are afoot which could see the obligation to complete it, or part of it, lifted in certain circumstances - see the Solicitors Regulation Authority website www.sra.org.uk for further details). It is a vocational course and is supposed to prepare you for life at any law firm, from niche family practice to international commercial giant. Your application to study the LPC needs to be made the year before you intend to start the course. This will typically be during your final year if you are a law undergraduate. For those taking the conversion route into law (non-law graduates), your application will usually be made during the year you complete the graduate diploma in law (GDL).

Costly endeavour

At the moment, there are over 40 LPC providers, all vying with each other to tempt you to spend a year at their institution - after handing over a great big wad of cash, that is. The cost of doing the LPC full time ranges from around £6,500 to a heart-stopping £12,500. In return you will be taught everything (well, nearly everything) you'll need to know to become a practising solicitor. For those who have already secured a training contract, course fees may be paid by your future employer, and some of them also stump up maintenance grants. If your future firm isn't that generous, then you can try your hand at obtaining cash elsewhere. For example, the Law Society runs a bursary scheme - but be warned, the competition is incredibly fierce. Funds are only available for the most deserving and committed. There is also a diversity access scheme for talented people whose route to becoming a solicitor is difficult because of a disability or social circumstances. The application for both schemes usually commences in February. See the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) of the Law Society website (www.lawsociety.org.uk) for more details.

Are you sure?

Without the financial security of knowing you have a training contract at the end of the LPC, there are some difficult questions to be answered before you fire off your application to Guildford, or wherever. The Law Society sets out some important points to reflect on (see box, 'Purse for thought'). Once you've considered these elements, there are some other things to think about, namely: how do you go about choosing which law school you want to attend, and how can you really be sure that law is the career for you? Well, the second part's the easy(ish) bit. The best way to find out about life as a solicitor is to do some legal work experience, through firm vacation schemes and open days, and also to talk to those currently training or practising as lawyers. If you are debating between qualifying as a solicitor or a barrister, then it's also worthwhile undertaking a 'mini-pupillage' at a set of chambers to get a flavour of the Bar.

Difficult choices

Most LPC providers maintain close links with law firms, which can be of huge benefit to students as these firms will be feeding some of their knowledge and experience of practice into the study programme. There are many ways in which providers work together with firms; it may be through designing bespoke courses for particular firms, or by making arrangements whereby certain firms will come in to give students careers advice, or to provide training in commercial awareness. The Oxford Institute of Legal Practice (OILP), for example, works closely with full-service Oxford firm, Henmans: 'Their finance director and marketing manager will be coming in to teach our students about how law firm finances work and about the trainee's role in marketing', explains Julie Brannan, Director of OILP. 'We also have an arrangement with Irwin Mitchell, whereby the firm will conduct client interviews on the Institute's premises and (subject to client consent) our students will be able to sit in and observe these interviews'.

Brannan feels that it is extremely important that LPC providers maintain close relationships with law firms: 'the links ensure that the course is up to date, but are also valuable from a careers point of view, too'. So if you haven't already secured a training contract, it would be worth spending some time researching whether a particular provider has connections with any firm (or firms) you are interested in training at.

However, those candidates who already have training contracts lined up before they start law school may not have an option as to which law school they attend. A firm may stipulate that future trainees only attend an institution which offers certain subjects. In particular, a number of commercial law firms have linked up with law schools so that their future trainees will study what is known as the City LPC, a corporate and commercial-focused course.

Nineteen firms to date (see box 'Allegiances Pledges') have an agreement with BPP Law School, so all their future trainees (who haven't already completed the LPC) undertake a specially designed LPC at BPP. Twenty-three other firms have opted for customised courses at The College of Law, meaning that students will take an LPC specifically tailored to life at their future firm. This means that students will be taught in firm-specific groups and get the chance to work on precedents (ie draft documents) used in real matters handled by the firms.

These tailor-made courses have received mixed responses from trainees. Overall, two-thirds of the trainees we surveyed a couple of years ago at the country's top 100 law firms said that, with hindsight, they would not have benefited from an LPC tailored to their firm. The trainees we polled expressed concern that such specialisation early on would make it harder to work elsewhere post-qualification. The College of Law's chief executive, Nigel Savage, says he is not surprised by the survey results. 'Students are naturally cautious', he admits. But he points to a national survey in which almost half of law firms said that completion of a bespoke LPC would 'make no difference' to a candidate applying for an assistant solicitor position. 'Students should not worry about transferring their skills on qualification', Savage maintains.

On the other hand, BPP says it can understand the concerns raised in the poll, and believes that the LPC should not be too tailored. Peter Crisp, BPP's chief executive, says there are advantages of broad-based training. 'Many firms want their candidates to be multi-disciplinary', he explains, 'and see great benefits in their trainees seeing other precedents and mixing with trainees from other firms'. Crisp's view is echoed by one Linklaters trainee we spoke to: 'We're training to be solicitors, not clones of a particular firm.'

Whatever your feelings about tailored courses, if you've lined up a training contract at one of the firms we've listed, you have no choice in the matter. It does mean, for a number of you at least, that there's one less choice for you to make.