Wallace E. “Gene” Shipp Jr. is retiring as head of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel for the District of Columbia after nearly 37 years of service. In 2016 Shipp was the recipient of the American Bar Association’s Michael Franck Professional Responsibility Award, he was also a popular and active member of the ICLR community. Recently,…
A review of the ABA’s National Conference on Professional Responsibility
From May 31 through June 2, 2017, the American Bar Association Center for Professional Responsibility held its 43rd ABA National Conference on Professional Responsibility. The National Conference has long been the premier event of its kind in the U.S., bringing together legal scholars, jurists, regulators, and specialists in the professional responsibility field for two days…
Recognition of qualified lawyers: an SRA consultation
On 12 April 2017, the SRA Board took the decision to introduce a common assessment, the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). The SQE is designed to test whether individuals who wish to be admitted as solicitors have the skills and knowledge set out in the Statement of Solicitor Competence. The SQE will not be fully implemented…
Illinois becomes first US State to adopt proactive management based regulation
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced today the adoption of certain new rules governing the legal profession in Illinois. The changes are intended to help minimize many of the risks that lawyers face in the private practice of law. In doing so, Illinois becomes the first state in the nation to adopt Proactive Management Based…
SRA Innovate
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in England and Wales has a policy of encouraging providers to communicate their service innovations so the regulator and providers can make sure regulation is not a barrier to innovation. The programme is called ‘SRA Innovate’. The SRA website says, ‘If you have been thinking of a new way to…
Hong Kong Law Society to introduce common entrance exam
Hong Kong Law Society has proposed that from 2021 onwards, lawyers in Hong Kong will be required to sit and pass a ‘Common Entrance Examination’ in order to enter a trainee solicitor contract. The exam will be set and marked by the society itself, and is designed to standardise testing across Hong Kong’s three law…
Proactive management based regulation in Colorado USA
A subcommittee of the Colorado Supreme Court Advisory Committee is exploring Proactive Management-Based Regulation (PMBR), a programme designed to promote ethical law practice by assisting lawyers with practice management. PMBR material on the Colorado Supreme Court website Explanation of PMBR on the Colorado Supreme Court website
Singapore sets up new entity regulator
The Singapore Ministry of Law has set up a new entity regulator, the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, to regulate domestic and international legal practices. More details on the Ministry of Law website Singapore entry on IBA Legal Regulators Directory
Australia’s uniform framework for a common legal services market
marketThe Legal Profession Uniform Framework is designed to be applied by any Australian State or Territory to establish a common legal services market. New South Wales and Victoria adopted it from 1 July 2015, and other jurisdictions are encouraged to join the scheme and will be able to do so without the need for changes…