New Continuing Competence regime in England and Wales Jenny Crewe – Special Adviser, Legal Education and Training

Outline 1.Who’s who? 2.Distinction between barristers and solicitors 3.Legal regulation in England and Wales 4.Status quo in terms of education 5.Training for Tomorrow (T4T) 6.New regime of Continuing Competence 7.What does the profession/Law Society think?

1.Who’s who? England & Wales Solicitors The Law Society (representative/ professional body) Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Legal Services Board (LSB)

2.Distinction between barristers and solicitors Solicitors Law degree or non- law degree with 1 year conversion Legal Practice Course (LPC) 2 years of on the job training Barristers Law Degree or non- law degree with 1 year conversion Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) 1 year of pupillage

2. Distinction between barristers and solicitors

3. Legal regulation in England & Wales Legal Services Act 2007 – Split of regulatory and representative functions – Regulatory objectives – Outcomes Focussed Regulation (OFR)  Responsibility on regulator to ensure competence at the point of qualification

4. The status quo Variable standards Concerns about purpose and content of curriculum Quality assurance Law schools RegulatorProfession

5. Training for Tomorrow Competence Statement – Statement of Solicitor Competence – Statement of Legal Knowledge – Threshold statement Continuing Competence regime New assessment framework

5.Training for Tomorrow – statement of solicitor competence  A: Ethics, Professionalism and Judgement  B: Technical Legal Practice  C: Working with other people  D: Managing themselves and their own work A1 Act honestly and with integrity, in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements and the SRA Handbook and Code of Conduct, including Recognising ethical issues and exercising effective judgement in addressing them Understanding and applying the ethical concepts which govern their role and behaviour as a lawyer

5.Training for Tomorrow – statement of legal knowledge Ethics, professionalism and regulation inc. money laundering and solicitors accounts Wills and administration of estates Tax Law of organisations Property Torts Criminal law & evidence Criminal litigation Contract law Trusts and equitable wrongs Constitutional law and EU law (inc. human rights) Legal System of England & Wales Civil litigation

5. Training for Tomorrow – Threshold statement Functioning knowledge Standard of work Autonomy Complexity Perception of context Innovation and originality Level 3 Identifies the legal principles relevant to the area of practice, and applies them appropriately and effectively to individual cases Acceptable standard achieved routinely for straightforward tasks. Complex tasks may lack refinement.

New assessment framework - what is the appetite for risk? Unstructured period of work- based experience LPC D egrees Higher risk Specific assessment tools delegated to trained members of profession Middle- ground MCT OSCE Lower risk

Reliability across assessment methods

Miller’s Pyramid in the solicitor context Does Shows how Knows how Knows Period of recognised learning/training contract OSCE Sophisticated MCT Basic MCT

New assessment framework - research On central assessment: “It is the approach widely followed in most regulatory contexts and stakeholders interviewed as part of the study generally struggled to identify concrete regulatory advantages of having multiple assessment bodies” ICF GHK report to SRA (2012) SRA recent report “Qualification on other jurisdictions – international benchmarking” – 80% of the jurisdictions they survey use centralised assessment

6. New regime of Continuing Competence – what is it? Replaces 16 hours (4 hours at accredited training provider) Benchmark is the Competence Statement Reflective practice Responsibility on the individual Specific to own area of practice

6. New regime of Continuing Competence – why has it been introduced? Outcomes focussed regulation Move from compliance to competence Pedagogically sound – leads to better more efficient and effective learning No accredited providers

7. What does the profession think? Perceived benefits More relevant More efficient More flexible “It gets you to think and concentrate on what it is you really need – instead of just completing for the sake of getting CPD points”

7. What does the profession think? Perceived negatives Some people won’t do it No structure/too flexible Requires self-discipline/motivation “People who are too busy won’t spend the appropriate time on it or won’t do it at all”

20 Spectrum of approaches to Learning & Development (L&D) 4. L&D is tolerated by solicitors and passively or reactively addressed by firms Small Attitude of the firm towards L&D Attitude of the workforce Proactive USP Reactive Tolerated Ownership 3. L&D opportunities are sought out by solicitors and then sanctioned by firms Medium/Small 2. L&D is encouraged and facilitated but only tolerated by solicitors Larger firms 1.L&D is embraced and encouraged by the firms and solicitors Top 100

Firm responses suggest net positive impacts of the new competency framework Impact of new approach on training budget: 16% increase 80% stay the same 9% decrease 5% D/K Impact of new approach on amount of training completed: 21% increase 72% stay the same 3% decrease 4% D/K