Preparatory ethics training for future solicitors

Abstract

This project examines the place of ethical training in modern legal education and practice and raises concerns about the potential impact of inadequate training on practice standards across the full range of work carried out by solicitors. The report refers to press reports of unprofessional conduct and notes that other jurisdictions within and beyond the United Kingdom and Europe increasingly require more specific training on professional ethics. Other professions are consciously preparing future lawyers for their ethical responsibilities. The Legal Services Act 2007, meeting consumer needs and striving to make solicitors truly virtuous professionals aware of their wider public duties, as well those owed to their immediate client, all militate in favour of the reform of ethical training.