Enhancing Access to the Profession: Consultation on Training and Entry Pathways in Northern Ireland

Darren Patterson, Head of Professional Development

The launch of a consultation on the future of solicitor qualification and admission to the profession last December marked a crucial milestone for the Law Society of Northern Ireland in relation to its ongoing commitment to foster an accessible, inclusive, and dynamic solicitor profession.

The current training regime for solicitors dates back to 1988, following a comprehensive review led by Professor Peter Bromley. The Bromley Committee considered it to be ‘of the utmost importance that training at an institute and training in practice should be more closely integrated.’ Accordingly, it recommended that each student seeking admission to the Institute of Professional Legal Studies (IPLS) should first register with the Society and that all intending solicitors should be apprenticed for two years. Their time should be divided into the first three months in their offices, the next year full-time at the Institute and the remaining nine months back in their offices.

The Committee also recommended that, throughout the period of the Institute course, students should maintain a close link with their offices and work there during university vacations. Although subject to some minor revisions over the years, most notably following a review led by the Education Review Working Group in 2007, this model remains the primary entry route into the solicitor profession for legal graduates in Northern Ireland. The establishment of a second vocational training provider at the Ulster University Magee Campus was accredited by the Law Society in 2008. The Graduate School offered a broadly equivalent course to the Institute, before closing in December 2015.

More recently, in 2022 during its centenary year, the Society commissioned a study by Hook Tangaza Consultancy, which underscored the need to modernise the qualification and admission routes to the profession. The study suggested that when the current training and qualification system was first introduced, the solicitor profession was much more self-contained, with fewer employers of solicitors from outside of private practice and the largest firms were unlikely to grow exponentially.

The research demonstrated that the legal landscape has changed in recent years with new and growing demands from England and Wales, and Ireland, for Northern Ireland-qualified solicitors and law graduates. Additionally, large international firms are now based in Belfast and there is an expanding public and corporate sector. These changes, coupled with high attrition rates of early-career solicitors from private practice, illustrated that there is a gap in the supply of solicitors entering the profession. The research highlighted the need to reassess the current qualification model to ensure it meets the future workforce demands of the profession.

In response to these findings, the Society took immediate steps to increase the volume of trainees. Measures included working closely with the Institute to facilitate a 30% increase in the number of trainee solicitors entering the training system since 2022, and launching the Centenary Bursary Scheme to provide financial assistance to aspiring solicitors who demonstrate capability but lack the means to finance their vocational training. This Scheme is outlined in a later article in this issue.

Whilst these actions delivered positive outcomes in the short-term, the Society also began laying the foundations for longer-term, sustainable change by commencing a series of strategic initiatives to address underlying systemic challenges. Work was undertaken to gather data, assess the need for change, and lay the groundwork for the most extensive consultation on entry routes since 2007.

Initiatives included looking beyond Northern Ireland and benchmarking qualification pathways and alternative entry routes in other jurisdictions and professions. In addition, the Society administered a large-scale survey of trainees and early-career solicitors as well as Masters and training organisations which provided valuable data and insights into the vocational training experience.

In 2024, a targeted engagement exercise with a range of stakeholders across the profession highlighted the economic challenges many aspiring solicitors face, particularly financial barriers and geographical constraints that limit access for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds. Moreover, a competitive recruitment landscape is placing additional pressures on our smaller, rural and provincial firms, as well as legal aid practices, which often struggle to attract and retain talent. These learnings were crucial in shaping the consultation themes.

In the context of the evolving legal landscape and the key issues identified through research and engagement, a consultation document was developed that set out a range of potential options intended to reduce barriers to entry, promote diversity, and create opportunities for a wider range of candidates, while maintaining the integrity and rigour of the qualification process.

These options included proposals relating to the current qualification route, as well as the introduction of new pathways. Respondents were invited to share their views on these proposals, and more generally, to make suggestions for potential amendments or innovations.

The consultation remained open until March 2025 and attracted responses from a broad cross-section of members and other interested parties such as education providers, government bodies and other regulators. Their responses will help to inform the development of the Society’s next steps on the future of solicitor qualification and admission in Northern Ireland. With the consultation Report and Action Plan set to be published in the coming months, initial indications point to widespread support for enhancing access to the profession, although responses differ on how best to achieve reform. Proposed modifications to the current model, such as extending or resequencing in-office training, elicited mixed views, with concerns raised around practical implementation, trainee affordability, and the risk of disrupting the integration of academic and practical learning. In contrast, there appears to be more consensus towards backing the introduction of flexible and inclusive pathways, such as a parttime qualification route, a modern solicitor apprenticeship scheme and returner and experience-based routes.

The consultation exercise has emphasised the need for incremental, evidence-based reform that preserves professional standards while promoting diversity and accessibility. As such, the Society will recommend progressing a range of actions, including piloting new qualification routes and developing reentry pathways, with further scoping and feasibility testing to begin later this year.

... there appears to be more consensus towards backing the introduction of flexible and inclusive pathways, such as a part-time qualification route, a modern solicitor apprenticeship scheme and returner and experience-based routes.