The article examines two interrelated issues attracting attention from the legal academy, the profession, and policy makers: i) the crisis of access to justice among ordinary Canadians, and ii) the increasing number of qualified and underemployed lawyers. This article sets out to understand the interrelated factors underlying these two trends, and explores long-term, accessible solutions to address the misalignment between the supply of underemployed law graduates and a demand for affordable legal services. In response to these twin problems, we examine how legislative reform,…
The Twenty-First Century Delivery of Legal Services: Thoughts for Legal Education
The twenty-first century lawyer will face rapid and unsettling changes in the way legal services are delivered. Legal futurists foresee many aspects of legal services being delivered more efficiently with the use of technology. For example, future breakthroughs in artificial intelligence may expand the ability to automate many tasks that currently require the skill of…
Quality assurance and standards in legal services – professional competence, advocacy standards and consumer protection
Morning, Wednesday, 29th November 2017, Sixty One Whitehall, London SW1A 2ET This seminar will focus on the priorities for ensuring quality and upholding standards in the legal sector. It is timed to consider next steps for the implementation of the recommendations within the Competition and Markets Authority’s legal services market study – which found that the market was not…
Access to Justice: Looking Back, Thinking Ahead
This Article seeks to assess our progress and reassess our goals concerning access to justice. It begins in Part I by summarizing the nature of the challenge. Although there is much we do not know about the scope of the problem, the data available suggest a shameful inadequacy of services for the poor and a…
BA2020 consultation: The Netherlands Bar
The Netherlands Bar (Nederlandse orde van advocaten, NOvA) is consulting on the future of professional education and training for lawyers. Currently, in order to qualify to practise law in the Netherlands, an individual must have 1) a Bachelor’s degree in legal studies, 2) a Master’s degree in Dutch law 3) have completed three years of…
Reform in Legal Education and Training in Hong Kong
In the article which follows, Heidi Chu, Secretary General of The Law Society of Hong Kong kindly provides us with an overview of the ‘state of play’ of legal education and training reform in Hong Kong. The present system of legal education and training in Hong Kong involves three stages, namely: an academic stage (a qualifying…
The new route to qualification as a solicitor: the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE)
In April 2017, the SRA announced that it would be introducing a new national licensing exam for those wishing to be admitted as solicitors of England and Wales, the Solicitors Qualifying Examination, or the SQE. Where did this idea come from? And why is reform necessary? What is the current system for qualification as a…
The Women and Men of Harvard Law School: Preliminary Results from the HLS Career Study
The Preliminary Report presents the results of the Harvard Law School Career Study (HLSCS), conducted by the school’s Center on the Legal Profession (CLP). Begun with a generous grant from a group of women alumnae in connection with the 55th celebration of the graduation of the school’s first female students in 1953, the study seeks…
The Leadership Imperative: A Collaborative Approach to Professional Development in the Global Age of More for Less
Notwithstanding the increasing importance of technology, the practice of corporate law is — and is likely to remain for the foreseeable future — a human capital business. As a result, law firms must continue to attract, develop, and retain talented lawyers. Unfortunately, the traditional approach, which divides responsibility for professional development among law schools, which…
Event: NOBC 2017 Annual Meeting
Join the National Organisation of Bar Counsel (NOBC) in New York on 9-12 August 2017 for its Annual Meeting. You’ll get the opportunity to meet and learn from others who face the same issues. Session topics include: ‘A discussion about “attacks” on regulatory counsel (and how to deal with them)’, ‘Interplay Between Disciplinary Agencies and Client…