The Law Society of Northern Ireland ("the Society"), as the governing body of the solicitors' profession in Northern Ireland, has in exercise of its statutory powers, prescribed the legal education and training necessary to qualify as a solicitor in Northern Ireland.
The law degree route is contained under Regulation 8(1) of the Solicitors Admission and Training Regulations 1988 (as amended). A copy of the consolidated regulations can be downloaded below.
Under this route, before being accepted as a student of the Society, you must establish to the Society's satisfaction:
- that you possess an acceptable law degree; and
- that you have been offered a place in the Institute of Professional Legal Studies ("the IPLS"); and
- that you have secured a Master (a solicitor with whom you propose to serve your traineeship).
Please note that your law degree must contain the following eight core subjects:
- Constitutional Law
- Law of Tort
- Law of Contract
- Criminal Law
- Equity
- European Law*
- Land Law
- Law of Evidence
Those applicants who have not been examined in Law of Evidence should advise the Society and the IPLS at the time of the relevant application so that arrangements can be made for them to sit the appropriate examination.
*Applicants who commenced their degree course prior to September 1996 should have Company Law as a core subject. Company Law has now been replaced by European Law.
Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Studies
The Institute of Professional Legal Studies ("the IPLS") is the higher education provider responsible for providing the vocational legal training in Northern Ireland (also referred to as the "Solicitor Course"). Upon successful completion of your studies you will be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Studies by Queen's University Belfast.
You must sit the IPLS admissions test in the December prior to the year you wish to take up a place on the Course. Details of the application procedure can be found on the IPLS website, including their Information Booklet which contains a list of recognised law degrees.
Registration with the Society
The Society will write to all those applicants who successfully complete the IPLS admissions test inviting them to register with the Society. You are required to formally register with the Society before you can commence your studies and training.
As part of the registration process you will lodge your Indentures of Apprenticeship ("training contract"). The Indentures are a two-year fixed term Contract.
Fees
The following Society fees apply to trainee solicitors:
Petition and Indentures Registration Fee: £187.50
This is not paid at the point of registration. If you successfully register with the Society as a trainee solicitor, we will write to you in order to request payment. This is usually required by January.
Admission Fee: £50.00
This fee is paid as part of your application to formally be admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in Northern Ireland (please see Admission section below for more details).
The Trainee Solicitor Process
The underlying principle of the professional education of a solicitor is that it involves a combination of practical in-office training and formal academic instruction. The solicitor training runs for two-years from the Date of Commencement. This is the uniform date at which all trainees will commence their training. The date is typically the first Monday in September, but is updated each year and applicants should refer to the registration papers for confirmation.
The two-year training runs as follows:
- September - December: Trainee in-office with their Master
- January - December: Trainee completes studies at IPLS (with Easter, Summer and Christmas periods spent in-office)
- January - September: Trainee in-office with their Master
Once you have been informed by the IPLS that you have passed their admissions test, you do not need to wait until you have been offered a place at the IPLS before registering with the Society. Instead, it is advised that, upon securing a Master, that you register conditionally so that you will be in a position to take up a place even if it is offered late. If you do not receive an offer, the conditional registration will lapse.
We advise that arrangements to enter a traineeship should be made at as early a date as possible and would emphasise that anyone who fails to lodge their paperwork by the due date will not be considered for registration as a student of the Society. The registration process is conducted exclusively online and you should not post any documents to the Society without request.
As part of your studies you will also be required to complete the following Law Society modules:
- Professional Conduct Course;
- Solicitors Accounts Course;
- Regulatory Obligations;
- Client Complaints.
We will invite you to attend these courses and any subsequent examinations upon registration.
Eligibility to Act as Master
Your proposed Master must also be acceptable to the Society. The acceptability of Masters is governed by separate regulations. The principal requirements of these regulations are that the proposed Master must have practised as a solicitor within Northern Ireland for at least 7 years (to include at least 3 years private practice as a partner or sole practitioner) or 10 years practice as a solicitor in public service for at least 10 years. The Master must provide satisfactory opportunities for the adequate training of a trainee solicitor.
The regulations which underpin these requirements are the Solicitors Admission and Training (Qualification of Masters) Regulations 1988 (as amended). A copy of the consolidated regulations can be downloaded below.
Both Master and trainee must cooperate with the Society should the Society require an assessment to be made of the quality of training during the traineeship.
Character and Fitness
Please note that applicants must satisfy the Society's Education Committee as to their suitability to be accepted as students of the Society and produce for that purpose such evidence as to character and fitness as the Committee may require.
No applicant will be registered if they are an undischarged bankrupt or if they have been convicted of a criminal offence of such a nature as to make their registration undesirable or if for any other reason they fail to satisfy the Committee as to their fitness to be a solicitor.
Please ensure you refer to the Society's Character and Fitness Policy, available below, for full details.
Admission
In order to be eligible for admission all trainees must have completed the following:
- Successfully pass the Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Studies at the IPLS; and
- Successfully pass all requisite Law Society modules; and
- Provide satisfactory evidence of the completion of the two-year Indentures, to include sworn documentation from the trainee and their Master; and
- Submitted all requisite fees.
The Society's Admissions Officer will write to all trainees near the end of the Indenture period to advise on the next steps.
Contact Us
These notes are intended to be a guide only. It is the personal responsibility of each intending student to acquaint themselves with the relevant provisions of the Society's Regulations and requirements.
Please direct any queries with respect to traineeships and registration to: registration@lawsoc-ni.org.
Any queries regarding the Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Studies should be directed to the IPLS.