Training Contract Grant Scheme

About the scheme

Since 2002 the LSC has been awarding Training Contract Grants to organisations committed to legal aid work, by supporting them in recruiting and retaining their next generation of legal aid lawyers. So far, over £18 million has been invested in the scheme, enabling around 750 legal aid solicitors to benefit from a Training Contract Grant.

Each scheme has provided:

a package of over £20,000 per grant
a commitment to support a student and organisation through the Legal Practice Course (LPC), Training Contract and Professional Skills Course.

The grant covers:

A contribution to tuition fees of full-time/part-time students on the LPC where eligible
100% Professional Skills Course fees
A contribution towards the salary cost for the duration of the training contract

How the scheme makes a difference

The scheme can provide funding to both a student and legal aid organisation and ensures development of the next generation of legal aid solicitors.

A Training Contract Grant has supported Bilkiss Bashir, currently a trainee with Switalskis Solicitors.

She says, "I have always been passionate about pursing a career in the legal profession and more specifically about promoting and facilitating equal access to justice for all. I wanted to specialise into an area where I could make a real difference with the work I was doing. The scheme has ensured that many more firms can afford to accommodate future legal aid solicitors and support them through their training stage”.

A casestudy of Bilkiss's experience during her legal aid career to date can be found in the documents section of this page along with casestudies of many other LSC funded trainees.

Applying as an organisation

The next LSC Training Contract Grant Scheme will launch in 2010 for applications from providers committed to legal aid.

The launch of the scheme has been scheduled to fit in with the bid rounds for the 2010 Unified Contract (Civil) and Unified Contract (Crime) that will take place later this year. The existing contracts through which services are currently delivered are due to expire in 2010. The bid round will provide opportunities for new and existing providers to bid fairly for legal aid work.

A timetable for the 2010 scheme, including recruitment dates, will be published on this website shortly.

If you would like to register your interest in the Scheme and receive an application pack when the application process opens, please complete the ‘Registration of Interest’ form which can be found in the documents section at the top of this page and submit to the Legal Services Commission's Head Office for the attention of Laura Clark.

As the single biggest investor in the next generation of legal aid solicitors, the LSC remains dedicated to investing in trainee solicitors and organisations who are committed to legal aid. The investment so far stands at a significant contribution of over £18 million over the last 5 years.

Between now and the launch of the next scheme the LSC will continue to reward and value trainees’ commitment and career choice in the following ways:

Continued LSC customer service support
Tailored mentoring scheme for new trainees by more experienced legal aid lawyers
Successful on-line forum to enable the trainees to network and share best practice with each other
Tailored training programme on legal aid practice and processes for new trainees
Direct updates on all legal aid developments

We will continue to promote careers in legal aid through universities, schools and colleges. We also have a new section on our website ‘working in legal aid’ which provides useful information on careers in legal aid, including practical tips, case studies and links to other careers resources.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for a Training Contract Grant, an organisation must:

hold a LSC Unified Contract
meet the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) requirements to provide a training contract

The grants are aimed at legal aid organisations committed to providing advice to legally aided clients and that want to influence the next generation of legal advisers.

The grant requires committing to a 4 year relationship with the LSC.
The grant must be used to fund a new training contract.
Applications cannot be accepted for training contracts already in place.

Each year the scheme is oversubscribed so further criteria will be set before the launch of the scheme to ensure that grants are awarded in areas where they will be of most benefit.

Applying as a student/potential trainee

A career in legal aid, helping some of the most vulnerable people in society, can be challenging, interesting and very rewarding. Case studies of some of the LSC funded trainees detailing their experiences in legal aid so far, can be found in the document section on this page.

If you're interested in a career in legal aid and are looking for a training contract, you will need to apply directly to the organisations who are awarded a grant under our next Training Contract Grant Scheme.
Grants are awarded directly to legal aid organisations, who then recruit a trainee using their own recruitment processes.
Full details of the criteria you need to be eligible to apply for an LSC sponsored training contract will be published when the next scheme is launched in late 2010.

Once the grants have been awarded a list of successful organisations will be published along with the contact details of each firm on this website.

For more information

Full details of the next scheme are not yet available. However if you have any questions regarding the scheme, please contact:

Sarah Brewster
Legal Services Commission
QED
4 Abbey Orchard Street
London
SW1P 2BS
DX 328 London

Tel: 0207 783 7446

E-mail: sarah.brewster@legalservices.gov.uk

or Laura Clark
Legal Services Commission
4 Abbey Orchard Street
London
SW1P 2BS

Tel: 0207 783 7555

E-mail: Laura.Clark@legalservices.gov.uk

Promotion at universities

During 2008 and 2009 we've focused on engaging with universities and the 3rd sector.

Our aim is to promote careers in legal aid to diverse individuals and increase awareness of the Training Contract Grant Scheme.
Many trainees funded by the scheme have been eager to help to assist with this and are attending career fairs and events within universities to promote legal aid careers.
Many trainees have also provided case studies of their experiences in their legal aid careers.
These case studies are in the documents section on the right hand side of this page.

If you'd like information for your university or a talk on legal aid please contact Laura Clark or Sarah Brewster.

Seeking stakeholders' views on the scheme

In 2007 an evaluation of the Training Contracts Grant Scheme was carried out by independent researchers. That evaluation has fed into the 2008 scheme. A dialogue about the scheme has been ongoing with key stakeholders and this will continue during the 2009 scheme.

Legal Aid - The Next Generation conference

In October 2008 nearly 40 trainees converged on St Hugh’s College Oxford for the first-ever conference for trainee solicitors on the LSC’s Training Contracts Grants Scheme.

A report on the conference can be found in the documents panel on the right hand side of this page.

Following the success of this event, in April 2009 trainees funded by the 2008 scheme attended a conference to celebrate their success. This included many guest speakers and workshops covering a range of practical legal aid topics. This also provided trainees with the opportunity to put questions to the panel of speakers and to meet other trainees funded by the scheme.

A report on this event can also be found in the documents panel on this page.

Legal aid contracts information

If you are a solicitor’s firm or a not-for-profit organisation interested in obtaining a LSC contract, please contact your LSC Regional Office.

Last updated: 09 February 2010