Professional Practice Course (PPC)

The unitary in-person PPC runs from September to June.

Law Society new PPC

Trainee solicitor action items

About the course

The Law Society is implementing a strategic plan to increase access to and streamline solicitor training in Ireland. Significant innovations have been implemented throughout education with a determined focus on diversity, inclusion and student-centred delivery.

As part of the process, the current two-part ‘sandwich course’ known as PPC I and PPC II, will be combined into a more streamlined, single course. This new unitary PPC will commence on Tuesday 6 September 2022. 

  • Semester 1: 06 September 2022 – 16 December 2022 (including exams)

  • Semester 2: 05 January 2023 – 28 April 2023 (including exams)

  • Semester 3: 02 May 2023 – 30 June 2023 (Advanced Electives including exams)

The new PPC is a fundamentally reworked course with a new syllabus, structure and suite of advanced electives. For more information, download the course brochure, or read details below.

Core Curriculum

The core curriculum will run from September 2022 to April/May 2023 (inclusive of examinations) and will include a continued focus on such skills as negotiations, research, drafting, advocacy, interviewing and advising and presentation skills, together with an enhanced focus on more general skills such as leadership, project management, office and legal technology, and finance skills. Professional responsibility, including enhanced coverage of legal ethics, solicitors’ accounts and rules of professional conduct and law firm life, will also form an integral part of the core curriculum. These are in addition to courses, such as business law, dispute resolution, land law, probate, family law and taxation. Psychology of a lawyer and legal practice Irish will continue to be part of the core curriculum.

Advanced Electives

Advanced electives can be completed at any point during the traineeship, including during the in-office training period. Advanced electives are provided in the following means:

  1. A programme of advanced electives is provided by the Law School at the Law Society of Ireland. 
  2. Some advanced electives will be co-provided with other bodies.
  3. External advanced electives will also be accredited by the Law Society.

Representation of the Law School in a Moot Court or Skills Competition at international level is also considered as an advanced elective. Registration has now opened for the electives. Trainees may attend as many electives as they wish but they must complete at least four.

For further information, download the Advanced Electives Brochure.

Law School Advanced Electives – May and June 2023

Our commitment, as always, is to enhance the skills and career opportunities of trainee solicitors. We strive to do this by providing a diverse range of advanced electives that cover core areas for every solicitor’s practice, together with more niche innovative topics including topics outside the strictly legal domain.

Law School advanced electives will be offered immediately following the completion of the compulsory element of the Professional Practice Course (PPC) in two distinct blocks: Block 1 in May 2023 and Block 2 in June 2023. Trainees may elect to complete some or all of the advanced electives in Block 1, or likewise elect to complete some or all of their advanced electives in Block 2. 

Micro-credentials leading to a Certificate in Advanced Legal Practice/ Diploma in Advanced Legal Practice

Each Law Society advanced elective will result in the award of a certified micro-credential. These micro-credentials will count towards a broader award of a Certificate or Diploma. For example, trainees successfully completing two advanced electives with the Law School, and as such having attained two micro-credentials, will be awarded a Certificate in Advanced Legal Practice. Trainees that successfully complete four advanced electives with the Law School, and as such having attained four micro-credentials, will be awarded a Diploma in Advanced Legal Practice. Such micro-credentials only apply to Law School advanced electives.

Furthermore, such micro-credentials may also provide prior credit towards a Diploma in a specific area of practice. A discount of 15% will apply if a trainee progresses from a Law School advanced elective to a Diploma course in the same subject area offered by the Society’s Diploma Centre. This discount applies for up to two years after the completion of the advanced elective. Further details of the relevant advanced elective and related Diplomas are provided within the brochure. 

In-office training

The two years (24 months) of in-office training continues as a vital and essential vocational component of the overall training to become a solicitor. The in-office training period commences 14 days after the last exam on the Professional Practice Course (PPC). Trainee solicitors will continue to be entitled to potentially benefit from four months’ credit for in-office training occurring prior to commencing the PPC.

Timetable Information

A .pdf version of the timetable is available to download .  All students will be given access to an iCalendar at the iPad induction sessions, which once downloaded will update your Outlook and/or iCalendar. Updates to the timetable will be pushed out automatically.

It is important to note that the timetable will always be subject to change due to situations that can arise over which we have no control.

  • Large group session will include a combination of onsite, mixed mode, recorded and live streamed lectures.    

    • Onsite lectures take place at the Law School.  Trainees are required to attend at their allotted timeslot.  These sessions will NOT be recorded and attendance will be closely monitored.
    • Mixed mode lectures are a mix of onsite, live streamed and recorded.  Trainees are free to choose the mode that suits their needs.
    • Zoom LIVE lectures: Trainees are required to join their designed virtual room at the allotted time.  These sessions will NOT be recorded and attendance will be closely monitored.
    • eLectures are pre-recorded and available to watch online for the duration of the course. Students can consume lecture content at their own time and pace.

  • Small group learning sessions and tutorials/workshops will be delivered on-site at Blackhall Place over 3 consecutive days during the week.  Trainees will be divided into tutorial groups with

    • Core groups 01-14 on-site Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and
    • Core groups 15-28 on-site Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday..
    • All groups will have online classes on Fridays. 

The above structure can vary at various points throughout the course. 

Fees & Funding

The provisional fee for the core course which runs from September to April/May is €10,500. The provisional fee for advanced electives undertaken with the Law Society is €600 for each course. However trainees choosing to take multiple advanced electives with the Society will benefit from discounts. 

The Law Society is fully committed to providing excellent professional training to our future solicitors. We look forward to welcoming trainee solicitors to the new PPC on September 2022.

PPC 2023 application pack

Please note that we require applications to be submitted via email and by post. Scanned applications that are submitted by email will be prioritised. Please email your scanned application to traineesection@lawsociety.ie, then submit the originals to the Traineeship Section, Law School, Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7, DX 79.

Queries

If you have any queries about the programme, please contact Education Standards Manager Rory O'Boyle.