Abstract The legal services market is commonly thought of as divided into two “hemispheres”– PeopleLaw and BigLaw. These segments represent, respectively, individuals and corporate clients. The last few decades have seen an increasing concentration of resources within the legal profession toward serving corporate clients, to the alleged detriment of consumer clients. At the same time, the costs of accessing legal representation exceed…
Recognizing Another Black Barrier: The LSAT Contributes to the Diversity Gap in the Legal Profession
Abstract Imagine working your entire life with the purpose of building the house of your dreams. The ability to pursue this “calling” has been granted through your tremendous hard-work and dedication to your craft. In fact, building this dream home has been the final culmination of all that you have worked towards over the past…
The Death of the Legal Profession and the Future of Law
Abstract This article identifies the five large-scale changes that have happened or are happening to the legal profession: 1. How technology solutions have moved law from a wholly bespoke service to one that resembles an off-the-shelf commodity; 2. How globalisation and outsourcing upend traditional expectations that legal work is performed where the legal need is, and shifts production away from high…
Educating Antiracist Lawyers: The Race and the Equal Protection of the Laws Program at Dickinson Law
Abstract The year 2020 has forced us, as a nation, to recognize painful realities about systemic racism in our country and our legal system. The fallacies in our founding documents and the vestiges of our slave past are so woven into our national culture that they became hard to see except for those who suffered their daily…
First Alternative Business Structures approved in USA
The first two fully licenced alternative business structures (ABSs) have been approved by the state of Arizona. On the 17th March 2021, two businesses, Trajan Estate LLC and Gilbert and Payne Huebsch PLC received their ABS license after the State Supreme Court approved their bids. Trajan Estate is a legal service provider focused on estate…
“Trusted to the ends of the earth?” An analysis of solicitors’ disciplinary processes in England and Wales from 1994 to 2015
A newly released study by Boon and Whyte has collected data on lawyer’s discipline from across different eras of regulation in England and Wales. The data collected allows for a comparison of lawyer discipline before and after the introduction of the Legal Services Act 2007. The act led to the creation of separate regulatory and…
Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten launches a self-assessment tool for lawyer CPD
The Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten (NOvA) has launched a self-assessment tool designed to assist lawyers with CPD. The online platform is entirely voluntary, to use, and allows lawyers to assess their own progress on metrics of expertise, interaction and attitude. This allows them to reflect on their own professional development, and to identify areas of…
Law Society of New South Wales urges firms to commit to the elimination of sexual harassment in the workplace
The Law Society of New South Wales (NSW) has called for law firms and legal practices around NSW to affirm their commitment to eliminating sexual discrimination, harassment and bullying in the workplace by signing up to the Law Society’s ‘Charter for the Advancement of Women in the Legal Profession’. President of the Law Society of…
Illinois Supreme Court announces new task force to review court fees
The Illinois Supreme Court and Chief Justice Anne M. Burke has announced the formation of a Supreme Court Statutory Court Fees Task Force. The task force has been established to conduct a thorough review of the new Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act (CTAA), an act designed to reduce the statutory fees imposed or assessed on…
American Bar Association issues new guidance on remote working and ethical use of technology
The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility has released a formal opinion cataloguing the relevant model rules and technological considerations that lawyers should be aware of when practising virtually. The opinion (Formal Opinion 498) identifies some of the minimum requirements for virtual practice under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct…