Trainees’ new flexible friend
For years, the road to becoming a solicitor in Ireland has come with a catch: pack your bags for Dublin, clear your calendar, and put your life on hold.
That all changed with the introduction of the PPC Hyrid course in December 2019. Now the Law Society is making it even easier to become a solicitor – and while you’ll still have to put in the hard slog, you’ll be able to spread out your studies over a longer timeframe.
The new third route to qualification – called ‘PPC Modular’ – joins the existing ‘PPC Full-Time’ and ‘PPC Hybrid’ options for the Professional Practice Course, the mandatory training every solicitor in the country must complete.
Unlike its predecessors, however, this one is built almost entirely around the idea that real life doesn’t have to stop entirely for study.
Bend it like Beckham
The PPC Modular flips the arrangement. Instead of one continuous academic year, the course splits into three distinct teaching blocks, set around the calendar like stepping stones – but with the option to spread modules over a five-year period: module 1 runs from December to April, module 2 covers May to July, while module 3 wraps up from August to December.
Trainees can pause between modules, pick things back up when their circumstances allow, and spread the entire course over five years from the start date of module 1 to the end of module 3.
It’s quite a different rhythm from the traditional model, but the Law Society is at pains to stress that the standard hasn’t dropped one iota – the same academic and professional bar applies across all three pathways, whichever route you choose.
Your flexible friend
For anyone racing through without a break, it’s important to point out that the modular route takes roughly the same 18 months of training as its more rigid counterparts, but with the option to stetch out the course over five years.
Widening the door
Like its sister hybrid course, PPC Modular is widening the door to the profession.
And while it’s not lowering the bar in any way, it is removing barriers to encourage those with the talent, desire, and competence to take the next step.
To find out more, see lawsociety.ie/ppc/ppc-modular or send your queries to c.monahan@lawsociety.ie.