Building a public-sector legal talent pipeline
The Law Society will host an inaugural symposium on solicitor training contracts in the public sector on 20 November.
The free event is aimed at practitioners in the public sector who would like to know more about establishing a solicitor-training programme in their organisation.
Schemes
The LSRA Breaking Down Barriers report, in its tenth recommendation, asked that public-sector agencies that routinely recruit solicitors be encouraged to establish direct trainee-intake schemes.
The Law Society symposium aims to provide public-sector practitioners with guidance on how employing trainee solicitors in their organisations will be of benefit.
It will explain what is required to establish a successful solicitor-training programme.
Attendees will hear from senior public-sector legal practitioners about successful solicitor-training programmes that are already in operation.
Guidance will be provided about eligibility requirements to become a training solicitor and the various supports offered by the Law Society.
Speakers will explain the flexible nature of training contracts, and the hybrid Professional Practice Course (PPC), as well as how a trainee can work and learn simultaneously and how public-sector organisations can offer training contracts that are attractive to potential trainee solicitors.
In addition, attendees will gain 1.5 hours regulatory and 1 hour professional development and solicitor wellbeing (total 2.5 CPD hours).
Structure
The event takes place in the Education Centre on Thursday 20 November from 10am to 1pm.
Presenters include:
- Kenneth Ruane, head of civil legal, An Garda Siochána,
- Pamela Benson, head of legal services, TUSLA,
- Ian Ryan, solicitor and traineeship executive, Law Society,
- Rory O’Boyle, head of the Professional Practice Course (PPC), Law Society.
Registration is now open on the Law Society’s website: /productdetails?pid=3697
The event also aligns with one of the Law Society policy priority of building a public sector legal talent pipeline, as detailed in its recent pre-Budget submission.