The SLLG (Scottish Law Librarians Group) AGM talk this year concerned recent changes to the professional education and training of Trainees in Scotland, the changes to the overall CPD rules affecting the Scottish legal profession, and how this impacted on training in legal research skills and other areas.
PEAT1 and 2 and CPD regulation.
For students with an LLB who wish to enter the legal profession postgraduate training is first required from one of the accredited universities offering the course. This now takes the form of PEAT (Professional Education and Training) 1.
PEAT 1 (formerly the Diploma in Legal Practice) is essentially made up of a mixture of core modules and electives, is compulsory and lasts a year. Precisely what is available subject-wise depends on individual legal education providers (currently six). One university includes work-based learning as an elective whereby students go into firms and work under supervision for a period of time.
PEAT 2 is the traineeship within a firm, lasts two years, and is an outcomes-based traineeship against 60 / 80 different measures. It involves continuous appraisal.
The new CPD Regulations revolve around verifiable CPD – proving why did it, that it fulfilled a need, be able to show outcomes from, record that they did it adequately, justify the need for it and show what they learned from doing it. Emphasis on people doing CPD that matters and commenting on said. Linked to person, job, level, career – not just done for the sake of it. Freer methods are allowed than before, but have to be justified.
Effects discussion
There was discussion among the audience about:-
Training providers and content
May allow new providers to enter the training market giving better provision and choice overall. Problems sometimes caused by Scotland Opportunity in licensing. Training tends to be weaker for more advanced levels. Awful lot of very organised effort goes into the LLB, Diploma as was (now PEAT 1) and traineeship (now PEAT 2) level, rather more ad hoc as lawyers move further up their career.
Research methodology and expectations
Difference between existing research skills standard of people entering a traineeship and the expectation and needs of the firm in transacting client business. Discussion of how to better instill research skills at university stage, through any PEAT 1 work-based elective, through PEAT 2. Discussion of e-learning methods and face to face and differences between and relative strengths and weaknesses. Discussion about need for research to be mindful of commerciality aspects, what the client is seeking to achieve, time and billing issues, focusing in on precise points at issue rather than generalities, phrasing things in language that lay people can understand.
Training methods
There was discussion about approaches and training methods and learning styles and whether what is offered by trainers and in-house matches the needs of individuals and of the firms in terms of developing their people appropriately.
Licensing
There was discussion about firms who applied for this and fulfilled the criteria being licenced by the Law Society of Scotland to deliver CPD and PEAT 2 internally. This would last for a fixed period of time and be monitored to ensure overall standards could be ensured and results verified. Also about whether firms with specific subject coverage needs would seek to carve out exclusivity deals with a particular legal education provider to ensure their key subjects were represented in the programme of study undertaken to give them better potential trainee candidates.
Differences between Scots model and England
Significantly different system in England
Very glad to about the new training market, What education they need for this training jobs?
ReplyDeletetrainee education requirements