Researchers have launched a new era of studies exploring relationships between legal services regulation and access to justice. These scholarly developments respond to recent changes in how Anglo-American jurisdictions regulate the practice of law, changing who can make money from the practice of law, who can engage in it, and who can direct and control…
The Law Society of Ontario opens its paralegal insurance portlet
The Law Society of Ontario has launched a new insurance portal for paralegals, the new portlet is now live. Licensees can access the portlet through their portal account. This new online self-serve tool allows paralegals to review and update their insurance information quickly and easily, identify as “exempt” under By-Law 6 or indicate that they work under the…
American Bar Association Consultation on removing standardised entry requirements for law schools closes
The comment period for a proposal to do away with the American Bar Association’s standardized admissions test requirement for law schools closed Sept. 1 with more than 100 comments posted, laying bare the divisiveness of the issue. The topic appears to have garnered the most feedback of any issue posted to the ABA website’s Notice and Comment section since…
The Bar Standards Board of England and Wales releases reports on diversity and equality in training
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today published two new research reports, the first looking at Bar training providers’ approaches to equality and diversity and the second examining students’ experiences of these approaches. The reports form part of the Board’s commitment to ensuring that access to training for the Bar is open to all on…
Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales publishes first ever Solicitors Qualification Exam 2 results
The first SQE2 assessment results have been released, with 77 per cent of candidates passing the assessment. The exam was taken in April by 726 candidates in 24 countries. Candidates were only allowed to take the SQE2 assessments if they had passed SQE1 or had otherwise demonstrated that they had appropriate legal knowledge. The 53…
High court of Kenya rules in favour of watch dog to stop price fixing
Lawyers have been dealt a blow after the High Court dismissed a petition seeking to quash a section of the law that prevents them from fixing prices without seeking approval from the competition watchdog. High Court judge Hedwig Ong’udi backed the law that requires professional bodies like the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) to get…
Tech Law Fest 2022
After 2 years of virtual events, Singapore’s annual TechLaw.Fest returned for the fifth time with a hybrid event. The conference was attended by around 3,300 participants from more than 100 countries and 60 speakers from 20 to 22 July. The keystone event was the virtual reality metaverse exhibition, that was held on the first day…
The impact of international lawyer organizations on lawyer regulation
Levin, L. C., Mather, L., & de Groot-van Leeuwen, L. (2018). The impact of international lawyer organizations on lawyer regulation. Fordham Int’l LJ, 42, 407. While much of the scholarly attention devoted to lawyer regulation focuses on state or national actors, the impact of international lawyer organizations has been largely ignored. Increasingly, however, a number of such…
Evidence-Based Lawyer Regulation
Chambliss, E. (2019). Evidence-Based Lawyer Regulation. Wash. UL Rev., 97, 297. The legal profession is losing its authority over the regulation of legal services. Recent changes in antitrust law have put state bar associations under a spotlight. Competition from technology companies and concerns about access to justice have increased political pressure for market liberalization. Independent research is…
Singapore Ministry of Law launches the Legal Technology Platform Initiative
The Singapore Ministry of Law has launched the Legal Technology Platform Initiative, a programme designed to help the legal industry of Singapore to digitise. The initiative is formed of 3 components: The Legal Technology Platform The LTPI Funding Programme Industry Engagement Initiatives The Legal Technology Platform (“LTP”), aims to support law firms, in particular small…