Cork gets first law school as demand for places soars
Such is the demand for places on professional law courses — up 90% in just four years — that the Law Society is abandoning tradition and extending its reach to open its first teaching facility outside of Dublin.
The new Law School in Cork city opens its doors on Washington Street this morning to 73 trainees who will graduate to enter what has fast become one of the most popular professions for school-leavers.
While academic degrees in law are on offer at most of the country’s universities, the professional course which provides the practical training to match the book-learning, has only ever been on offer at the Law Society’s Blackhall Place facility in Dublin.
The popularity of the course has put pressure on space at Blackhall Place and the tradition of being exclusively Dublin-based does not reflect the fact that many of the trainees will have apprenticeships arranged with law firms outside the capital, where they will pursue their legal careers.
In 2002, a total of 356 trainee solicitors started the professional practice course but this year that number leapt to 672.
Law Society direct general Ken Murphy said the trend showed no signs of abating. “A total of 546 solicitors have been added to the Roll [official register] in 2006. These extraordinary figures are a testament to the willingness of the solicitors profession to invest time and resources in training their future colleagues,” he said.
“These figures give the lie to any allegation that the solicitors profession is a closed shop. In fact it is wide open. We are establishing in Cork in response to demand, both in terms of numbers and in the desire that people can train to be solicitors somewhere other, and cheaper, than Dublin.”
The Law Society has arranged that the Cork-based trainees will be registered as students of University College Cork so that they can avail of support services and facilities during their six months training period.
Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister Micheál Martin, will perform the official opening at a ceremony at Courthouse Chambers on Washington Street this morning.
