Guess what? The Law Society benchers have finally voted on the future of articling: 36 benchers voted in favour of the majority report, while 20 voted against the motion. Articling is here to stay, but it has gained a cousin, the LPP.

To refresh your memory, the law practice program (LPP) will be offered as an alternative path to licensing; the 10-month articling program will continue as usual. The LPP will include a skills training program and a co-operative work placement, likely unpaid. Articling and the LPP alternative program will run side-by-side for five years and will be monitored and assessed. The pilot project will begin in the 2014-15 licensing year.

After the main motion, the benchers approved a second motion: agreeing to “an appropriate member contribution” — LSUC members will pay higher dues to offset some of the costs of the licensing pilot project. For the motion, 37 benchers were for, 13 against, with 2 abstentions.

The Law Society Gazette reported that there had been over 1,200 tweets and comments via email during the webcast of today’s Convocation.