The Bristol Institute of Legal Practice looks set to delay plans to open in
London after missing out on the City Legal Practice Course (LPC) consortium contract last week.
The institute — which is part of Bristol’s University of the West of England — was one of three law schools that were beaten by BPP Law School in a tender process for the coveted contract to supply legal training to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Slaughter and May, Herbert Smith, Lovells and Norton Rose.
The Bristol Institute, which tendered in conjunction with Central Law Training, does not have a presence in London but said it would open in the capital by September 2008 if it had won a role.
However, the college confirmed this week that its London opening is now likely to be delayed.
Paul Rylance, head of the Bristol Institute, told Legal Week that while the institute is still considering London and is in discussions with potential partners, the consortium’s decision meant it was unlikely to open in the capital next year.
BPP has been the exclusive provider to the City LPC consortium since September 2006 but the consortium put the contract out to tender in February because of changes to the LPC proposed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
The consortium’s decision to choose BPP over the College of Law, Nottingham at Kaplan and Bristol Institute could be seen as a blow to Nottingham as its own London launch is imminent. The school currently has only Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw signed up for an exclusive LPC agreement.
College of Law chief executive Nigel Savage commented: “The issue for Bristol and Nottingham is that they should have come to London years ago when their brands were at the top of the game — but they are not any more.”
However, Keith Gaines, dean of Nottingham Law School, said: “We do not accept that this is a blow at all. It is a compliment that we were asked to take part before we had even got into London — it is indicative of the quality and excellence with which Nottingham is viewed.”
