Saffron Sheriff thinks it “really isn’t living up to its price tag”
A Legal Practice Course (LPC) student with over 40,000 Instagram followers has gone public with her, less than complimentary, views on post-graduate legal education.
Lancaster University graduate Saffron Sheriff — the country’s most followed law student thanks to her fitness-themed Instagram account — posted on her LinkedIn page that she thinks the LPC “really isn’t living up to its price tag”.
The aspiring energy lawyer used the LinkedIn comments section to clarify her position, stating:
The amount of pressure that exists to undertake the course is immense, especially for any international firms. Every other country in the EU, and the US has a six-year law degree combining undergraduate, vocational and work experience. Not sure why the UK doesn’t follow.
There seems to be a fair amount of support for aspiring energy lawyer Sheriff’s views, judging by the reaction to her social media post. One commenter told the bodybuilding BPP student “I agree, lots of options for a cost sensitive legal education”, another said “completely agree. LPC felt odd and disjointed for me too. I thought a masters might have been a better bet. Ahhh hindsight!”
A photo posted by Saffron Sheriff (@saffronsheriff) on
Sheriff and friends will be pleased to know the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is aware of these concerns and is currently considering scrapping the LPC in favour of a brand new Solicitors Qualification Examination (SQE).
The proposed assessment will effectively combine elements of the LPC and the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), testing candidates “functioning legal knowledge” and “practical legal skills”. The hope is the new, centrally assessed exam will produce a more consistent route to qualification and quell concerns about the rising cost of legal education.
The consultation runs until 9 January 2017 and can be found here.