If the UK exits the EU without a deal, there would be an end to the current preferential treatment of EU lawyers wishing to practise in England & Wales. The Solicitors Regulation Authority says that the UK Government has made clear that this would be the case if the UK moves to WTO rules, ending…
New skills for new lawyers: responding to technology and practice developments
The legal profession is facing a convergence of forces, most notably significant advances in the capabilities of technology, economic pressures challenging existing business models and globalisation, that herald momentous change to the practice of law. In Australia the lead in seeking to understand these developments and formulate responses has been taken by the Law Society of New South…
Governance gone wrong: examining self-regulation of the legal profession
England and Australia have abandoned self-regulation of the legal profession yet Canadian law societies continue to function on this basis. This article argues that the self-regulatory model on which the Law Society of Ontario (the “LSO”) operates represents an inadequate form of governance in terms of the accountability it yields. When compared to other organizations, including law societies…
ICLR 2017 – Panel: “Risk Based Approach to Regulation”
A synopsis of panel session 8, which takes place on 6 October at ICLR Singapore, kindly provided by the session’s moderator, Victoria Rees. Conference materials will be made available to ICLR.net members after the conference. Moderator: Victoria Rees, Director of Professional Responsibility, Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, Canada Panelists: Scott MacLean, Acting Executive Director, Investigations, Office…
Proactive regulation of the legal profession in Victoria, Australia
This leaflet gives an overview of some of the preventative and alternative regulatory tools employed by the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner. PMBR in Victoria, Australia
Adopting Law Firm Management Systems to Survive and Thrive: A Study of the Australian Approach to Management-Based Regulation
In Australia, amendments to the Legal Profession Act require that incorporated legal practices (ILPs) implement ‘appropriate management systems’ to assure compliance with the Legal Profession Act 2004, and appoint a legal practitioner director to be responsible for the management of the ILP. The new law did not define ‘appropriate management systems’ (AMS) so the Office…
The Role of Ethics Audits in Improving Management Systems and Practices: An Empirical Examination of Management-Based Regulation of Law Firms
Using management-based principles, this Article discusses steps to take to encourage ethics audits ‘to merge good ethics and good business’ in the United States of America. For decades, legal malpractice experts have urged lawyers to implement risk management measures, and legal malpractice insurers have provided audit services and self-audit materials. Under the Australian regulatory regime,…
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…