Day 4: 29 October
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The final technology breakout for EMEA/APAC, will be called: A Growing Toolbelt: Investigators and technology. (CDT 06:00-07:00 / GMT 11:00-12:00 / KST 20:00-21:00)
Session description:
Given the growing reliance on technology in the legal industry, command of technology has become a requirement of ethical practice, often through explicit incorporation into ethics rules. This session will survey some of the tools at an investigator’s disposal for collecting and examining evidence. Discussion will include: 1) How these tools can be effectively employed; 2) Practical challenges in use (such as lack of experience and budgetary concerns); and 3) Tactical and legal considerations when presenting evidence before the adjudicatory bodies. Participants are encouraged to discuss tools and methods of which other jurisdictions may not be aware.
Speakers:
Co-Moderator – Azadeh Matinpour, Investigative Attorney, Office of Disciplinary Counsel (United States)
Co-Moderator – Joseph Perry, Assistant Disciplinary Counsel, D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel (United States)
Prof. Sara Rayment LLB, LLM, BBus, Founder, Inkling Legal Design (United Kingdom)
Iain Miller, Partner, Kingsley Napley, LLP (United Kingdom)
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The conference will then move onto its final theme on putting the public in public interest, the first plenary of the topic will be on: Checks on entry, then what? Assuring ongoing competence throughout legal professionals’ careers. (CDT 08:00-09:00 / GMT 13:00-14:00 / KST 22:00-23:00)
Session description:
Consumers should be able to trust that legal professionals have the necessary skills and knowledge to provide good quality legal services and that these are kept up to date and relevant over time. But do legal regulators currently have the right frameworks in place to ensure those professionals remain competent throughout their careers? This session will explore whether self-assessed, light-touch CPD models need to make way for a more robust approach, such as those used in other sectors like healthcare, aviation or teaching. The panel will discuss:
Understanding consumer expectations of lawyers’ competence and how they can identify good quality services
The ‘lifecycle of competence’
Different approaches used to assure ongoing competence in the legal services sector – CPD, peer reviews, quality audits and more
Comparisons with approaches used in other sectors – how effective are methods such as revalidation or observation and what are the benefits and costs?
What evidence there is to justify a new approach – quality concerns and risks to vulnerable consumers
Speakers:
Moderator – Steve Brooker, Head, Policy Development and Research, Legal Services Board, (United Kingdom)
Margie McCrone, Legal Services Board (United Kingdom)
Kerri-anne Millard, Director, Policy and Outreach, Victorian Legal Services Board (Australia)
Niels Hupkes, Netherlands Bar (Netherlands)
Cori Ghitter, Deputy Executive Director, Professionalism and Policy, Law Society of Alberta (Canada)
Kellie Hamilton, General Manager, Member Knowledge and Learning, Law Institute of Victoria (Canada)
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This will lead into the final Americas/EMEA breakout: Adopting a Restorative Approach to Complaints – the North American Perspective.(CDT 11:00-12:00 / GMT 16:00-17:00 / KST 01:00-02:00)
Session description:
With recidivism rates high, and increased litigiousness on the part of lawyers and the public, is our current system of ‘discipline’ demonstrably providing reliable public protection? Might there be better ways to fulfill our mandate while reducing rather than increasing harm?
This breakout session will explore the concepts, principles, opportunities and challenges of adopting a restorative approach to managing complaints from intake to adjudication, as a building block for proactive regulation, based on the panelists’ experiences with this approach. Participants will be provided a comprehensive and informative paper as well as simple tips to introduce this approach in your own jurisdiction.
Speakers:
Victoria Rees, QC – Professional Regulation Counsel, Pink Larkin (Canada)
Jerry Larkin – Administrator, Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (United States)
Jessica Yates, Attorney Regulation Counsel, Colorado Supreme Court (United States)
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This will then be followed by a second putting the public in public interest plenary session: What do Consumers Want? (CDT 15:00-16:00 / GMT 20:00-21:00 / KST 05:00-06:00)
Session description:
One of the main justifications for regulation is consumer protection, but how can we as legal regulators know if our decisions reflect what consumers want, or best meet their interests? Effective consideration of consumer interests by regulators demands that they engage directly with the public, expert consumer representatives and use creative techniques to investigate consumer needs. These activities should improve the quality of decision-making, help balance competing interests and increase the legitimacy of the regulatory system. This session will explore a range of mechanisms and techniques that can be used to put consumers at the heart of regulation. This panel will discuss: 1) Hearing the consumer voice – consumer panels and more 2) Using consumer principles to develop policy responses through a consumer lens 3) Working effectively with consumer organisations and undertaking community outreach.
Speakers:
Anna Bradley, Chair, Solicitors Regulation Authority, England and Wales (United States)
Catherine Wolthuizen, Victoria Legal Services Commissioner and Board (Australia)
Arthur Lachman, Co-Chair, Future of Lawyering Committee (United States)
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The day will then close off with the final APAC/Americas breakout: In Search of Solutions, not Sanctions: A Look at How Australia Applies Restorative Justice Principles to Legal Regulation. (CDT 21:00-22:00 / GMT 11:00-12:00 / KST 20:00-21:00).
Session description:
Consumers should expect that legal regulation will take a flexible and proactive approach in identifying and dealing with the core issue behind complaints of inadequate or poor service. Regulators should have access to methodologies which engage problem-solving, mediation and the informal resolution of complaints and that have the capacity to re-build the relationship between consumer and practitioner. These same principles can also be found in Restorative Justice techniques, which are commonly used in some jurisdictions in relation to criminal matters.
The objective of legal regulator complaint handling is to try and resolve the dispute in such a way as to assist the parties to understand each other’s perspective and for both to learn something useful as a result of engaging in mediation. Can the principles of restorative justice be applied to legal regulation? Are elements of this approach “hiding in plain sight” in existing regulatory frameworks, or is specific enabling legislation required? What are the risks of such an approach and what are the benefits? The panel will:
Discuss restorative approaches, including exploring the principles of restorative justice
Examine the experience of one legal regulator over 10 years of exploring more restorative ways of responding to consumer complaints
Consider how these principles can be applied to legal regulation and consumer complaint handling, including the skills and processes that are needed to support this approach.
Speakers:
Moderator – Fiona McLeay – Victorian Legal Services Commissioner (Australia)
Tina Stagliano, Director Enquiries and Complaints, Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner (Australia)
Stan Winford, Associate Director of Research, Innovation and Reform, Centre for Innovative Justice, RMIT University (Australia)