Northumbria Law lecturer appointed Chair of Law Society's Education and Training Committee

Northumbria University Associate Professor, Dr Victoria Roper, has been appointed as Chair of the national Education and Training Committee of the Law Society for England and Wales.

The Law Society’s Education and Training Committee represents the interests of around 200,000 solicitors and tens of thousands of law students and formulates national policy in relation to solicitor education and training.

Victoria joined the Faculty of Business and Law from private practice as a solicitor in 2013. Her appointment is timely, as sweeping changes are proposed to the way in which solicitors train and qualify from autumn 2021. The Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA), the organisation which regulates solicitors in England and Wales, will introduce a centrally set “super exam”, known as the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), which any aspiring solicitor will need pass in the future in order to qualify. At present, students are not required to sit any centrally set exam at the point of qualification. Instead, they have to pass a specific course, the Legal Practice Course (LPC), before commencing a period of training.

Victoria has a wealth of teaching and assessment experience through her work at Northumbria and various external roles such as a Trustee of the UK Clinical Legal Education Organisation (CLEO). She regularly publishes on legal education, speaks at national and international conferences and is a Deputy Editor of the Law Teacher Journal.

Commenting on her appointment Victoria said: “I am delighted to have been given this opportunity to lead the important work of the Committee at such a crucial time for the solicitors’ profession. I am passionate about the education and training of solicitors and the Law Society’s work is helping to shape the future of legal education which in turn impacts students, universities and law firms.” Professor John Wilson, Pro-Vice Chancellor Faculty of Business and Law, added: “Victoria’s appointment to lead such an important and influential committee exemplifies the way in which Northumbria is a business-focused university with strong links to the professions. It also reflects the quality of teaching at Northumbria Law School, and the way in which we strive to be at the forefront of developments in legal education for the benefit of our students and graduates.”

For more information on Northumbria Law School, please visit: www.northumbria.ac.uk/law