Student Membership of the Law Society

In accordance with the Law Society’s Training Regulations 1990, no person may commence a Legal Practice Course (LPC) or enter into a Training Contract unless they have been issued with:

1  Certification of Student Enrolment.

2  Certificate of Completion of the Academic Stage of Training.

Please note that enrolment with the Law Society as a student is no guarantee of a place on a Legal Practice Course or of a Training Contract.

Forms

A composite application form for Student Enrolment and for a Certificate of Completion of the Academic Stage of Training may be obtained by contacting: -

The Law Society’s Information Services

Tel: 0870 606 2555

The Certificate of Student Enrolment

Before a Certificate of Student Enrolment can be issued, the Law Society must be satisfied as to your character and suitability to become a solicitor. Student enrolment therefore takes time. 

Six thousand applications are received approximately every year. Each applicant’s referees have to be contacted and it can take several weeks or even months to receive a reply.

It is advisable, therefore, to make an early application for student enrolment. The best time to apply is during the Spring Term (i.e. between January and March) of the final year of a law degree, Diploma in Law or Common Professional Examination Course (CPE). 

In any event, an application for student enrolment must be submitted to the Law Society before 1 April of the year in which you expect to commence a Legal Practice Course.

An early application for student enrolment is essential if you have at any time been convicted of a criminal offence or required to pay a penalty fare to a transport authority. Convictions which are ‘spent’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 should be disclosed by virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

A criminal conviction is not an automatic bar to student membership of the Law Society. Each case is considered on its merits and you may be required to attend for interview before a decision can be made on whether to grant a Certificate of Student Enrolment. If you have had a conviction you should nominate referees who are aware of the conviction but nevertheless support your application for student membership. You should also contact the Law Society if there is any other matter (e.g. bankruptcy) which would bring into question your character and suitability to become a solicitor.

Once you become a student member of the Law Society you automatically become a member of the Trainee Solicitors’ Group (TSG).

The Certification of Completion of the Academic Stage of Training

The Certificate of Completion confirms that a student member of the Law Society has passed the foundation subjects. An application for a Certificate of Completion is normally made at the same time as Student Enrolment using the same form even if you have not yet completed your course and obtained your final examination results. 

Each summer the university departments provide the Law Society with lists of students who have graduated either with a qualifying law degree or the CPE/Diploma in Law. In most cases a Certificate of Completion of the Academic Stage of Training can be issued without your being required to submit further evidence of your degree, diploma or CPE results.

A Certificate of Completion of the Academic Stage of Training remains in force for seven years from 1 October of the year in which the law degree, Diploma in Law or Common Professional Examination was completed, or for two years from the date of issue of the Certificate of Completion, whichever is the later.