In June 2021, the Canadian Bar Assocation (CBA) is launching a Truth and Reconciliation toolkit, focused on large Candaian law firms, and helping them to reconcile and renew relationships with indigenous communities in Canada. The toolkit is aimed at firms that are already on a reconciliation journey or would like to begin one, and firms…
Top jurists call for regulatory change to increase access to justice
During the 9th June ABA discussion on regulatory change, Vice Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer of the Arizona Supreme Court stated that despite decades of efforts to encourage practising lawyers to perform a minimum of 50 pro bono hours annually to increase access to justice, minimal results have been achieved. Timmer is part of…
New ‘Senior Counsel’ title approved for use in Ireland
A total of 37 legal practitioners in Ireland will be permitted to use the title ‘Senior Counsel’ following the Government’s approval of recommendations from the Advisory Committee on the grant of Patents of Precedence. Approval was granted on the 15th June 2021, with the group made up of 25 barristers and 17 solicitors, who will…
Legal Services Board of England and Wales consultation on new processes for changing regulatory arrangements
The Legal Services Board of England and Wales (LSB) has launched a consultation examing proposed new rules and guidance for alterations to regulatory arrangements. The LSB is considering the rule changes as part of its statutory functions in assessing applications from the nine different regulatory bodies in England and Wales to alter their regulatory arrangements….
Canada launches national wellbeing study of legal professionals
A partnership of the different Canadian law societies, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, the Canadian Bar Association and the Université de Sherbrooke is coming together for a first-of-its-kind national study on the well-being of legal professionals. The study is based on the fact that legal practitioners are amongst the grouping of professionals most…
Law Society of Scotland to manage new legal aid trainee fund
On the 3rd of June the Scottish Government launched a new £1 million fund to support legal aid traineeships in Scotland, the fund and application will be managed by the Law Society of Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government. The fund will provide support for up to 40 new legal aid trainees, paying for…
England and Wales regulators launch new customer review pilot
A joint pilot project has launched by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), CILEx Regulation (CRL) and the Bar Standards Board (BSB), under which regulated law firms have been invited to help develop meaningful quality indicators, which will aid potential clients when choosing their legal service provider. The exercise has…
Law Society of New South Wales welcomes new advocacy service for cognitively impaired users
The Law Society of New South Wales (NSW) has welcomed the NSW Government’s decision to invest $28million in to the Justice Advocacy Service (JAS) and the establishment of a new court-based diversion program for individuals with a cognitive impairment. JAS is a support service provided to victims, witnesses and defendants with a cognitive impairment. The…
Event: Kingsley Napley Spotlight Series – Insights into Legal Services Regulation in 2021: promoting professional behaviours
June; 16, 2021 Online How can firms better identify behaviours amongst lawyers and staff that pose a risk to its culture and its compliance with SRA regulatory obligations? Can firms learn to recognise antecedents, structures and behaviours that pose a reputational and regulatory risk and take action to eradicate or at least minimise their prevalence?…
Legal Services Board of England and Wales releases diversity dashboard for England and Wales profession
The Legal Services Board of England and Wales (LSB), which acts as the oversight regulator for professional frontline regulators in England and Wales has released a dashboard of diversity statistics collected from each of the frontline regulators it oversees, alongside the publication of an independent report into regulator diversity. The report was produced by the…