NSW law society to provide solicitors with session with psychologist

The Law Society of New South Wales (NSW) has launched its new Solicitor Outreach Service (SOS) as part of its ongoing efforts to support the mental health and wellbeing of the state’s lawyers. Solicitors in the state will be provided with 3 sessions a year, with a qualified psychologist free of charge, and will also…

Law Society of New South Wales launches online program for future lawyers

The Law Society of New South Wales has launched an online mentoring program for over 650 high school students across the state in the wake of ongoing social distancing requirements. The Future Lawyers programme is running over 6 weeks with different topics and lectures being given to students on topics such as an Introduction to…

Law Society of New South Wales welcomes electronic witnessing of legal documents

Richard Harvey, President of the Law Society of New South Wales, has welcomed changes implemented by the NSW government and Attorney General, allowing for electronic witnessing of legal documents.  The move has come about as a temporary reaction to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, and has been added to the Electronic Transactions Regulation 2017. Mr Harvey…

Law Society of New South Wales launches free legal assistance to those impacted by bushfires

The Law Society of New South Wales, in partnership with Legal Aid NSW, community legal centres,  Justice Connect and the NSW Bar Association has launched the NSW Government’s Disaster Response Legal Service, which will provide free legal assistance to those affected by the tragic bushfires in NSW. Richard Harvey, the President of the Law Society said: “In…

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An Australian Study on Lawyer Vulnerability and Legal Misconduct

Vulnerability to Legal Misconduct: Qualitative Study of Regulatory Decisions Involving Problem Lawyers and Their Clients An emerging body of scholarship discusses ‘vulnerability’ as an antecedent of legal misconduct. One conceptualization of vulnerability indicates that an individual has greater susceptibility to risk of harm, and safeguards may protect against that risk of harm. This empirical study…

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…

80% of major jurisdictions use central qualifying assessment

In an international benchmarking exercise, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in England and Wales finds that almost 80% of the jurisdictions surveyed have a common assessment as part of lawyer qualification. Report on SRA website

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…

Regulating Law Firm Ethics Management: An Empirical Assessment of an Innovation in Regulation of the Legal Profession in New South Wales

The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) was the first jurisdiction to fully deregulate law firm structure and allow alternative business structures. At the same time it required that incorporated legal practices implement ‘appropriate management systems’ for ensuring compliance with professional ethical obligations. This paper presents a preliminary empirical evaluation of the impact of…

The Case for Proactive Management-Based Regulation to Improve Professional Self-Regulation for US Lawyers

This article argues that the American Bar Association (ABA) should recommend, and the state courts should adopt, proactive management-based regulation (PMBR) programs to supplement the existing complaint-based systems of professional discipline. The article discusses the New South Wales program, highlighting the requirement that incorporated legal practices designate Legal Practitioner Directors, and non-adversarial collaboration between regulators and…

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