At its July 23 meeting, the California State Bar Board of Trustees took steps to strengthen the discipline system in the state, these include establishing a special committee—the Committee on the Special Discipline Case Audit—to undertake an analysis into the disciplinary system in the state, with a particular focus on misappropriation of client funds. The…
Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner releases new guide on innovative pricing models
New research undertaken by the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner (LSB), through both their complaints and auditing process, has found that a major consumer complaint has been the billing model adopted by lawyers. With many lawyers opting for an hourly rater rather than a value based price. The LSB has found that this creates…
Bar Standards Board of England and Wales publishes new research on consumers’ expectations and experience of working with barristers
On the 4th of August, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) published research on consumers’ expectations and experience of working with barristers, with the goal of using an evidence-based approach to better understand consumer needs and barrister relationships. The research, which was undertaken by an independent research agency involved in-depth interviews with 50 consumers, all of…
The Law Society of New South Wales releases guide to help law firms tackle discrimination and harassment
The Law Society of New South Wales (NSW) has released a guide to assist NSW law firms to identify and eliminate discrimination and harassment, both in employment practices in the workplace and during the recruitment process. The guide includes a checklist-style approach to decision-making and implementation procedure. Helping firms to ensure they are meeting best…
Law Council of Australia releases webinar on frontline legal services in times of crisis
The Law Council of Australia has released a webinar looking at legal regulation in times of crisis, and how regulators can respond to external crises in the most effective and empathetic manner. The webinar draws on the experience of Australian regulators who have been through this years bushfires as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,…
Law Society of Saskatchewan releases new podcast on the future of law and technology
The Law Society of Saskatchewan has released a new podcast on the changing role of technology in the legal profession. The podcast looks at how technology is being treated in legal education, as well as what the society is doing to react to the changes/ The podcast features Tim Brown, Q.C. Executive Director of the…
ICLR Annual Conference: Day 4: 1 October 2021
Day 4: 1 October – – – Who Is Training the Community Based Lawyer of the Future?- (CDT 06:00-07:00 / BST 12:00-13:00 / KST 21:00-22:00) Session description: This session will examine the training of future lawyers and explore the question as to how regulators can ensure that high sufficient high quality and competent lawyers are…
ICLR Annual Conference: Day 2: 29 September 2021
Day 2: 29 September Interview With the Regulators: Who Do We Regulate and Why?- (CDT 06:00-07:00 / BST 12:00-13:00 / KST 21:00-22:00) Session description: This session will explore how we identify the regulated population, licensing and registration processes in different jurisdictions, how we regulate lawyer and non-lawyer business models, how we ensure compliance with regulatory…
ICLR Annual Conference: Day 1: 28 September 2021
Day 1: 28 September The conference will begin with a welcome session and keynote address, which have both been scheduled to encourage maximum global attendance, however as with all the sessions if the timing is too early/late, we will provide recordings that can be accessed at any time. The keynote address will be given by…
Digging into Algorithms: Legal Ethics and Legal Access
Abstract The current discussions around algorithms, legal ethics, and expanding legal access through technological tools gravitate around two themes: (1) protection of the integrity of the legal profession and (2) a desire to ensure greater access to legal services. The hype cycle often pits the desire to protect the integrity of the legal profession against the ability to use algorithms to provide greater access to legal services,…