Barriers Lowered for Working Professionals
Study Possible Without Visiting the UK
In South Korea, there is virtually no way to obtain a lawyer qualification without giving up one’s career. However, in the United Kingdom, the path to becoming a lawyer is wide open even for working professionals and those without a law degree. Recently, an office worker in Korea, referred to as Mr. A, completed an 18-month online graduate program without ever visiting the UK, and is now preparing to take the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) in the UK next year. Mr. A said that, compared to Korean law schools and the bar exam, the burden is not as great: “You only need to complete the core subjects. It’s by no means easy, but it doesn’t demand extraordinary depth either.” He also noted, “I understand that in the UK, many working professionals utilize distance learning programs as well.”
Opening the Door Through BPP
In recent years, the UK has rapidly lowered the barriers for experienced professionals to become lawyers. Graduate programs such as those at BPP University and the University of Law have been established for non-law majors. After the COVID-19 pandemic, online and evening courses have been greatly expanded, significantly increasing accessibility for working professionals.
In 2021, the lawyer qualification system underwent a major reform. The expensive Legal Practice Course (LPC), which cost up to 20 million won, was abolished, and an absolute grading system for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) was introduced. The pass rate is around 50 percent, and since it is based on absolute evaluation, there is no set number of successful candidates.
The requirement for two years of practical training was also relaxed, allowing candidates to combine experience from up to four places, including not only law firms but also government agencies and in-house legal teams. Kim Kyunghwa, managing partner at Stephenson Harwood and a solicitor in the UK, explained, “A doctor can become a medical law specialist after a short period of training, or an engineer can become a lawyer and specialize in the construction field.”
United Kingdom: Qualifications and Competition
The background to these open policies lies in a fundamental difference in the philosophy toward lawyers. A law school professor who studied in the UK said, “In the UK, the government does not manage the legal profession by setting a quota for lawyers.”
Managing partner Kim Kyunghwa also stated, “In the UK, a lawyer’s license is a qualification granted to anyone who meets a certain standard. Once you become a lawyer, your future is not guaranteed; that is when fierce competition in legal services truly begins.” The government grants the qualification, but survival is determined by market competition.
South Korea: Control and Saturation
On the other hand, the main argument against introducing a distance learning law school in Korea is concern over market saturation and a decrease in the bar exam pass rate. This is based on the premise that the state should appropriately control and manage the number of lawyers. This is the opposite philosophy to that of the UK. In the UK, with a population of 70 million, about 2,500 lawyers qualify each year.
A law school professor commented, “As the group grows, it is natural that uniform standards cannot be maintained and that stratification will occur through competition. The assumption that becoming a lawyer should guarantee a job is mistaken.”
Park Seongdong, Legal Times Reporter
※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.
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