At its Annual Meeting in Toronto on 11–12 August 2025, the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates adopted more than 50 new policy measures, covering issues from the protection of lawyers to immigration enforcement, education, civil rights, and free expression. Among the most prominent was Resolution 509, opposing government punishment or threats against lawyers…
The Law Society features Colm Ó Cinnéide on rising threats to the rule oflaw
The Gazette of the Law Society of England and Wales has featured an article by Colm Ó Cinnéide, Professor of Constitutional and Human Rights Law at University College London, warning of growing threats to the rule of law in the UK and abroad. He stresses that the rule of law—power constrained by legal norms and…
New independent research centre to boost access to justice for Victorians
The Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner (VLSB+C) has launched the Legal Services Research Centre, an independent body dedicated to strengthening access to justice and ensuring more equitable outcomes for Victorians. The Centre will enhance VLSB+C’s strategic goals of protecting consumers, supporting ethical legal practice, and improving accessibility, while operating with full research independence to…
Law Society of Ireland provides additional grants for small practices
On 29 August 2025, the Law Society announced an additional round of funding under its Small Practice Traineeship Grant Scheme, providing a further €25,000 grant to support small legal practices outside Ireland’s major cities in hiring a trainee solicitor. The initiative aims to strengthen smaller firms, ease financial barriers, and enable aspiring solicitors to train…
The Law Society of Ontario consults on the future of the paralegal profession
The Law Society of Ontario (LSO) is inviting paralegals across the province to participate in virtual focus groups this October and November to help shape the future of the paralegal profession. Organised by the Paralegal Future Vision Working Group, these sessions are part of a broader initiative to address long-term challenges, enhance professional sustainability, and…
Northern Ireland to introduce new routes to solicitor qualification
On 20 August 2025, the Law Society of Northern Ireland announced plans to introduce new qualification routes for solicitors, following a consultation held between December 2024 and March 2025. The initiative aims to make the profession more accessible, inclusive, and adaptable to evolving societal and professional needs. The consultation examined nine potential options for reform,…
Solicitors Regulation Authority in United Kingdom awards £360,000 for disadvantaged candidates to take the solicitors qualifying examination
On 6 August 2025, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) announced the award of £360,000 to 11 organisations to support aspiring solicitors from disadvantaged backgrounds with the cost of sitting the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). The funding, drawn from the SQE Access and Reinvestment Fund—financed through performance-based payments from Kaplan, the SQE provider—marks the fund’s first…
Survey on improving accessibility in British Columbia’s legal profession
The Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC) has launched a survey to better understand the challenges faced by legal professionals with disabilities and to identify ways to improve accessibility and inclusion within the province’s legal profession. The initiative seeks input not only from those with lived experience but also from friends, family, and colleagues who…
Victorian supervisors’ experiences of supervising early career lawyers
In 2024, the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner (VLSB+C) surveyed 409 lawyers who had supervised early career lawyers within the last five years to understand their experiences of supervised legal practice (SLP). Most respondents were experienced practitioners — 73% had over 10 years’ post-admission experience — and had, on average, supervised six lawyers over…
What is on the journey to practice and what drives them?
A joint study by US non-profit organisations, the Pennsylvania-based Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and Illinois’ Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession (IILP), profiles the backgrounds, motivations, and career aspirations of today’s law students. The findings reveal that the 2024 first-year cohort is the most diverse yet, with 41.8% from racial or ethnic minority…