Last year I was speaking to a lady who used to be a solicitor, but now teaches ILEX students (as she has young children this job suits her). She told me the situation has changed compared to ten years ago when she graduated (which is roughly when Miss Zippy graduated as well). Basically, she said there are now many more LPC places and it is not so difficult to get one... the problem is that there aren't enough training contracts. She said in her time the selection took place after your degree, whereas nowadays, the selection happens later, once people have finished (and paid for) their LPC. So bear in mind it's a high risk strategy - the LPC has to be paid for without any guarantee that you'll be able to get a training contract and actually qualify. A rather scary prospect. I gather the lucky ones have one of the bigger law firms pay for their LPC with the guarantee of a training contract *if* they achieve certain minimum exam results.