Training Contract guarantee?

Hello

I am considering taking the LPC next year maybe at Uni of Law or possibly BPP (self funding)

I’ve noticed that BPP are confident you will obtain a training contract within 6 months of completing their course, or else they will offer another qualification for free.

Can anyone shed any light on this or speak from experience...? Does studying the LPC at BPP or ULaw increase chances of a TC?

Trying to weigh up the risk of self funding

Thanks

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Reply 1

Reality Check

Original post by lawyerwanabe

This is actually a pile of marketing crap from BPP. I know @J-SP has some opinions regarding this. I would advise against any decisions based on a 'guarantee' that can't in any real sense, be honoured.

Reply 2

999tigger

Original post by lawyerwanabe

As per the others outrageous marketing bs that preys on the hopes of desperate people. Such a level of dishonesty would have me looking at the competition.
Not a fan of self funding anyway.

Reply 3

nulli tertius

We have never funded the full-time LPC. We run a salary sacrifice scheme for those who do the weekender LPC whilst working for us. Most, not all, of our trainees have an offer from us before taking the course.

Reply 4

Reticulated

There are many reasons why someone might choose to self-fund. I did, and certainly don't feel like a loser.

Reply 5

Reticulated

Original post by lawyerwanabe

Hello

Trying to weigh up the risk of self funding

Thanks

I self-funded and secured a TC right after finishing my LPC. Most people I studied with, who were also self-funded, have secured TCs as well. I found that it gave me a better awareness of law, and did help with assessment tasks at firms, such as scenarios that involved writing letters to clients or giving initial advice. The LPC, in particular, is very practical in focus, and personally, I found it very helpful at interviews.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 6

TimmonaPortella

Original post by lawyerwanabe

Trying to weigh up the risk of self funding

What is it that you think the benefits would be to doing that?

I would advise that you keep hold of your money unless you have a very strong and specific reason for doing otherwise.

If you're absolutely set on firms that will not pay for the LPC, having realistically and soberly evaluated what practice would look like at such a firm, you can think about it, but you'd still be better to wait for a TC offer before going into it, even if that offer doesn't come with payment for the LPC.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 7

TimmonaPortella

Original post by J-SP

The last comment is typically too harsh/OTT. I’ve seen enough people self fund and get the money reimbursed by firms showing it isn’t always a bad idea..

I don't see how that shows that it isn't a bad idea. Even if, in the end, they happened to recoup the money, they still exposed themselves, needlessly, to a serious risk of wasting a lot of time and money.

If a firm reimbursed them, it would have funded them up front. They could have waited a little and avoided any risk at all.

Reply 8

DarkChaoz95

I didnt go to BPP Or Uni of Law because of what I was told by lecturers and my friends (as well as cost). Essentially, they said they dont really help you if your seeking clarification on something. They just made their course all glamored up. I would carefully consider whether its worth going to.

My friends friend had real trouble dropping out of UoL LPC course because of his experience.

Reply 9

Reticulated

Well if you are unable to use your imagination... I decided to go for law after finishing my Master's in another subject. Anyone deciding at a relatively late stage to go into law, and people who do so are by no means unusual, faces the choice of either applying pre-GDL/LPC and meanwhile filling x number of years with some other type of employment which will inevitably limit time to dedicate to applications and research and is unlikely to be especially relevant, or they can complete the courses right away self-funded. The advantage of this is that, coming from a non-legal background, what you are learning is directly relevant to your job search. I didn't apply for any training contracts before I started the GDL because I felt that I wasn't sufficiently confident about the kind of law I wanted to do to submit strong applications, and the two years definitely gave me more professional maturity to identify a firm which was right for me, but which was not the kind of firm which I would have imagined would suit me at the outset.

Personally, I felt that I was already too old to wait two (or more...) years before starting the GDL, and as I had the resources to fund it without a loan, this made total sense for me, as even if I was unable to secure a training contract, I would be able to work in a relevant role post-LPC which might well contribute to the eventual obtaining of a TC. There are certainly more options once you have the qualification. A friend with a 2020 TC has been able to secure a very well remunerated position in legal recruitment research only open to LPC grads. Would she have been better off waiting until she had got that TC to start the GDL and filled that time with something else? Perhaps, but we both feel sure that having done the courses helped us to get where we are now.

The fees are hardly crippling in the context of future earnings, so I feel that this route does make sense for many, although I would add the caveat that I probably would not have taken the risk if I weren't completely confident in having a good undergraduate degree from a good university and the requisite A-Level grades.

Reply 10

Reticulated

Hmm well, unlike for some, posting on an online student forum is pretty low priority for me.

You're approaching this in an incredibly closed-minded way. I didn't seek legal work experience during my undergraduate or postgraduate studies, because at that time I had no interest in becoming a lawyer. What you're saying is largely relevant for people who get to university, know what they want to do once they graduate, and are already itching to spend their holidays vac scheming. Which is not most people, thankfully.

The point about my grades and university were only because I started the course relatively confident that I would eventually find a training contract, making the risk acceptable. If I had a 2.2 or some other factor which might have made finding the training contract more challenging, I might have made a different decision.

Reply 11

Varis

Does JohanGRK even have a training contract?

And if he does, it sounds like he is still a student so I'm not sure why he's talking as if he is actually in the legal industry already.

Reply 12

username4316962

Original post by JohanGRK

I do apologise for making acquaintances with mostly successful people who know what they’re doing and plan ahead. But then again that’s the correct approach, and that’s what I’ll judge the average candidate against (again, the fact that the majority of candidates are academically unexceptional and stumble their way into a job doesn’t make this desirable) . I don’t recall a conversation where you addressed the points I made in this thread.

Since you bumped this thread...

Got a TC, still a student, none of the points I made here require special insight or knowledge that would only be available to someone in the industry.