The journey to Legal Services Regulation (LSR) has taken a major step with the November 17, 2017 approval by Council of several regulatory amendments to advance the Society’s initiatives. The result is a model of regulating legal services that is risk focused, proactive, principled and proportionate. Key components of the regime and the impacts on…
Singapore 2017: from the perspective of a conference attendee
We asked Tracy Kepler Director, ABA Center for Professional Responsibility and recent ICLR Singapore attendee, to share some of her conference highlights with us. What was your favourite session and why? Tracy: Session 3: A New Look at Regulators’ Roles & Responsibilities – being divided into small groups to discuss certain questions and issues with differing…
Quality assurance and standards in legal services – professional competence, advocacy standards and consumer protection
Morning, Wednesday, 29th November 2017, Sixty One Whitehall, London SW1A 2ET This seminar will focus on the priorities for ensuring quality and upholding standards in the legal sector. It is timed to consider next steps for the implementation of the recommendations within the Competition and Markets Authority’s legal services market study – which found that the market was not…
Innovation in the legal services market – regulation, competition and technology
Morning, Wednesday, 24th January 2018, Central London This seminar will consider the priorities for the legal profession and wider stakeholders in responding to upcoming regulatory and technological shifts in the sector. As the SRA takes forward a series of reforms designed to modernise their regulatory approach and widen consumer access to legal advice – by removing restrictions…
CCBE Training conference: Brussels, 14 December 2017
The CCBE Training conference will take place on 14 December 2017 in Brussels at the L42 Business Centre (Rue de la Loi 42, 1040, Brussels). The programme includes panels on the transforming management of the law firm in the digital era, neuroscience and new discoveries on effective learning, innovative training tools such as MOOC, virtual…
Save the Date: NOBC Mid-Year Meeting January 31 – February 4, 2018
The NOBC’s mid-year meeting will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC) is a non-profit organization of legal professionals whose members enforce ethics rules that regulate the professional conduct of lawyers who practice law in the United States, Canada and Australia. Read more about the NOBC
International Conference of Legal Regulators 2017: Keynote address
Keynote address by Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance Ms Indranee Rajah SC Mr Gregory Vijayendran, President, Law Society of Singapore, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Introduction I am delighted to join all of you here today at the sixth edition of the International Conference of Legal Regulators. Let me begin by first…
ICLR 2017 Panel: How to manage exit from the profession?
Topic How to manage exit from the profession? In some jurisdictions demographics point to a rapidly ageing profession with concomitant problems of inability or unwillingness to leave practice, the onset of dementia etc. With ever increasing life expectancy and a desire to stay active in the legal profession longer, lawyers are continuing their careers into…
ICLR 2017 Panel: Legal Regulation in the Age of Data
A synopsis of panel session 1, which takes place on 5 October at ICLR Singapore, kindly provided by the session’s moderator, Jane Malcolm, Executive Director, External Affairs, Solicitors Regulation Authority. Conference materials will be made available to ICLR.net members after the conference. Access to rich data and information is increasingly a given – an expectation…
ICLR 2017 Panel: Managing CPD
Topic Managing CPD – what does success look like? Facilitator: Christine Grice, Executive Director, New Zealand Law Society The general high level aim of a Continuing Professional Development framework (CPD framework) is to lay down formal requirements for ongoing maintenance and development of the knowledge and skills of lawyers. The ideal output is the demonstrable maintenance and development of competence throughout a lawyer’s career. The measurement of success using that output poses considerable difficulties. The models of CPD adopted in our jurisdictions vary considerably. The early models of CPD were introduced over 30 years ago. Their focus then was on measuring simple inputs. The measurement for success was the number of hours (or points) that the lawyer accumulated attending CPD sessions. The CPD was usually required to be provided by accredited or credentialed providers in substantive law topics. The regulator approved the providers. In more recent times the emphasis has moved away from the number of hours or points of CPD undertaken to the actual engagement by the lawyer in the development of skills and knowledge and so supporting their competence development. The individual takes responsibility for planning and implementing professional development to meet their own identified specific learning needs. The aim of this model is to support the lawyer to maintain competence in their chosen areas of the law. The lawyer must consider and distil the objectives that will support their goals, plan their CPD needs and implement the identified development requirements by engaging in CPD activities. This is usually effected through the preparation of a CPD plan by the lawyer. It is regularly reviewed by the individual and adjusted as the professional development is effected and the lawyer’s needs are fulfilled or replaced. Educationalists consider the planning approach more effective in achieving real learning, than models which are entirely prescriptive or based solely on hours or points. They are also of the view that face to face learning is the most effective mode of learning. Reflective practice was introduced to the legal profession for the first time 4 years ago. It incorporates a set number of hours which must be completed annually (10 hours prescribed but a further 40 hours discretionary learning is recommended). The lawyer must prepare their own CPD plan which is designed to support their learning objectives. The learning objectives must be itemised. The 10 hours prescribed must relate to activities which are: first verifiable; secondly allow for interaction/feedback by the participants; thirdly are in accordance with the stated purpose and outcomes set out in the plan; fourthly include identified learning objectives and finally are not part of the lawyers daily work. Following the CPD learning activity the lawyer must reflect on what they have learnt and what is needed to build on this or to fill gaps identified. This is all recorded in a written reflection in the CPD plan. In other jurisdictions such as England and Wales, the requirement for the recording of a specified number of hours or points has been dispensed with. What is required is that the lawyer plans, implements and reflects to satisfy their own learning needs designed to maintain or attain competence in their own practice. This is judged in the first instance by the lawyer. There are also jurisdictions that have mandatory requirements to include specific CPD topics such as ethics. Others include supervised practice requirements to demonstrate learning achievement and in some professional models a minimum number of hours in practice are also required in addition to or instead of learning activities. Discussion points Present state: What model do you have in your jurisdiction? What is your measure /s of success? How and to whom do you publish the measures of success?…