A new Adelaide law firm that was looking to introduce a program that would see junior lawyers pay for a job has backed away from charging the fee.

Adlawgroup came under fire earlier in the year when it announced it would offer a program to employees which would see them charged a mandatory fee of $22,000.

In return, the program would give law graduates full-time employment for two years, after which they would qualify for an unrestricted practising certificate.

The Law Society of South Australia expressed a number of concerns with the program in a letter to Adlawgroup's directors in June.

The directors responded the following month, but the society's president Rocco Perrotta said he was not satisfied his concerns had been addressed.

The Law Society completed its inquiry last week and Mr Perrotta once again outlined his concerns to the Adlawgroup directors.

Mr Perrotta said Adlawgroup had since responded, explaining it did not intend to charge participants an upfront fee.

He said it also appeared Adlawgroup would operate more as an employment agency rather than a law firm and source employment for lawyers in law practices.

"The Law Society has little information about this proposed new structure," Mr Perrotta said.

Law Society to examine new business model

"[The new proposal] is quite different to what they previously informed us of, so we've still got some concerns about what they've put to us, but we don't want to suggest that there's anything necessarily wrong.

"We just have to go back to the drawing board and have a look at the model."

Mr Perrotta said the Law Society would work closely with Adlawgroup to examine the new model.

In a statement, Adlawgroup said it now proposed launching its two-year program, Getting Started In Law, in partnership with Adelaide law firm WBH Legal.

The statement said WBH Legal would absorb most of the costs of participation.

Adlawgroup said it was waiting for the Law Society to look over the modified program before going ahead with it.

But the firm said it believed the program had been misunderstood.

"We believe that the Law Society has not fully understood our business model," the statement said.

"The principals will continue to engage with the Law Society, but will not launch Adlawgroup until they can provide participants with complete confidence in the program."

Adlawgroup was due to open its doors in July but deferred its opening date until the Law Society completed its inquiry into the firm's program and business model.