In 2023, the number of newly concluded contracts for legal training or legal and notary assistant positions decreased, according to statistics published by BRAK. These figures, based on feedback from bar associations to the Federal Institute for Vocational Training (BIBB), account for contracts finalised between October 1st of the previous year and September 30th 2023….
American Bar Association Consultation on removing standardised entry requirements for law schools closes
The comment period for a proposal to do away with the American Bar Association’s standardized admissions test requirement for law schools closed Sept. 1 with more than 100 comments posted, laying bare the divisiveness of the issue. The topic appears to have garnered the most feedback of any issue posted to the ABA website’s Notice and Comment section since…
Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales publishes first ever Solicitors Qualification Exam 2 results
The first SQE2 assessment results have been released, with 77 per cent of candidates passing the assessment. The exam was taken in April by 726 candidates in 24 countries. Candidates were only allowed to take the SQE2 assessments if they had passed SQE1 or had otherwise demonstrated that they had appropriate legal knowledge. The 53…
Dutch Bar provides special resilience training for criminal defence attorneys
The Dutch Bar has recognised that criminal defence attorneys who have clients behind bars can face pressure, threats and possibly even manipulative behaviour and is organising special resilience training to their members facing this challenge. Special attention is paid to manipulative behaviour and how this can lead to undesired influence on lawyers. The course covers how…
CLIEX and training company Pearson co-operating on the creation of new legal services ‘T-level’ in England and Wales
CLIEX and Pearson begin work on the creation of a new legal services qualification, a ‘T-level’, which will sit alongside the traditional A-level. The qualification will be for students who want to enter the legal profession, particularly those interested in business administration roles within the legal sector. The qualification will lead directly into a CLIEX…
The Law Society of New South Wales launches resource for working with clients suffering domestic abuse
The Law Society of New South Wales has launched a new resource which provides guidance to lawyers working with individuals who have or are at risk of suffering domestic violence. The Law Society of New South Wales has launched this resource aimed at helping lawyers deal with clients suffering domestic abuse as it is lawyers…
Law Society of Saskatchewan releases new podcast on the future of law and technology
The Law Society of Saskatchewan has released a new podcast on the changing role of technology in the legal profession. The podcast looks at how technology is being treated in legal education, as well as what the society is doing to react to the changes/ The podcast features Tim Brown, Q.C. Executive Director of the…
Keep Distance Education for Law Schools: Online Education, the Pandemic, and Access to Justice
Abstract While distance education made inroads throughout higher education, law schools kept their distance—until a global pandemic forced them all online for a time. Then the gatekeepers to the profession at the American Bar Association and state bars temporarily dropped their limits on distance learning. Now as American law schools prepare to return to normalcy,…
The Intersection of Technology Competence and Professional Responsibility: Opportunities and Obligations for Legal Education
Abstract Technology has fundamentally changed the legal profession and the delivery of legal services. Lawyers routinely use technology, including artificial intelligence, for legal research, e-discovery, document review, practice management, timekeeping and billing, document drafting, and many other tasks. The American Bar Association (ABA) amended the Model Rules of Professional Conduct in 2012 to include an explicit duty of technology competence, and…
Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales publishes latest annual reports
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has published its suite of annual reports, which cover five core topics, these are: ‘Anti-money Laundering‘, ‘Authorisation‘, ‘Client Protection‘, ‘Education and Training‘ and ‘Upholding Professional Standards‘. Key findings from the reports include: There has been a year-on-year increase in the number of solicitors qualifying through apprenticeships, firms offering recognised training…