Working in the office of your training solicitor, or in the office of another practising solicitor, prior to starting PPC I can entitle you to credit. Find out more in this section.
A successful credit application recognises legal work experience and allows your training contract to end earlier than would ordinarily be the case.
Please note, credit applications should not be confused with secondments.
Applying for credit
The following conditions apply:
- you can only seek credit for work done while attending the office of your training solicitor or the office of another practicing solicitor within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Ireland,
- the maximum credit time you can be granted is four months,
- the time in the office, for which you are seeking credit, must have been undertaken up to one year immediately preceding attendance on PPC I,
- your training solicitor must sign the credit application form,
- any credit time awarded will be deducted from the end of the traineeship period,
- you must have successfully completed 18 months of your in-office training before you can apply for credit.
- It is important to keep a written record of the work in which you have gained experience. This will assist you when the time comes to complete the form, as you will also be required to submit a written certificate signed by you giving details of the categories of work undertaken by you during the applicable period.
Applications for credit should be submitted to the Traineeship Section.
PPC Hybrid
In addition to credit for work prior to the PPC I, a trainee solicitor completing the PPC Hybrid may also be in a position to accrue credit of up to five months for in-office training occurring during PPC I.
Breakdown of training contract including credit
If maximum credit time was awarded, the breakdown would be as follows:
| In-office training pre-PPC I |
4 months |
| In-office training post-PPC I |
11 months |
| Attendance on PPC II |
3 months |
| In-office training post-PPC II |
6 months
|
| Total |
24 months |
See training start and expiry dates with and without credit.
Claim credit for part-time
You can still claim credit for work undertaken on a part-time basis. Send a letter detailing your usual working week and the Traineeship Section will calculate total credit due. If, for example, you worked an 18-hour week over an eight-month period, this would equate to credit of four months.