The State Bar of California has published its second digital annual report. The report was conceptualised following the significant changes in the legal industry brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, creating rapidly changing policy goals and public protection requirements. Donna S. Hershkowitz, Interim Executive Director of the state bar had said “Despite the onset of…
Understanding the Metacognitive “Space” and Its Implications for Law Students’ Learning
Abstract This article builds upon our prior work, contributing to the growing literature addressing development of metacognitive skills in law students. Metacognitive skills include knowledge of strategies that impact thinking and learning, and regulation of thinking and learning related to specific learning tasks. Metacognitive skills are important for learning in law school as well as for successful…
Designing Innovative Clinical Legal Programs to Respond to Changing Social Needs
Abstract My argument is that Japanese law schools are urged to flexibly design innovative clinical programs to respond to changing social needs so as to maximize the educational effect for law students. As globalization progresses and technological innovations advance, our world is becoming more complex, unstable, and unpredictable. In this era, people in economic needs…
Law School in a Pandemic: Student Perspectives on Distance Learning and Lessons for the Future
Introduction When COVID-19 forced colleges and universities across the United States to send their students home and transition to a distance learning model for the duration of the Spring 2020 term, many faculty and staff had only the time afforded by an extended spring break to shift their curricula to online courses.1 But even if these…
Canadian Bar Association launches truth and reconciliation toolkit for law firms
In June 2021, the Canadian Bar Assocation (CBA) is launching a Truth and Reconciliation toolkit, focused on large Candaian law firms, and helping them to reconcile and renew relationships with indigenous communities in Canada. The toolkit is aimed at firms that are already on a reconciliation journey or would like to begin one, and firms…
Top jurists call for regulatory change to increase access to justice
During the 9th June ABA discussion on regulatory change, Vice Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer of the Arizona Supreme Court stated that despite decades of efforts to encourage practising lawyers to perform a minimum of 50 pro bono hours annually to increase access to justice, minimal results have been achieved. Timmer is part of…
Law Society of Scotland to manage new legal aid trainee fund
On the 3rd of June the Scottish Government launched a new £1 million fund to support legal aid traineeships in Scotland, the fund and application will be managed by the Law Society of Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government. The fund will provide support for up to 40 new legal aid trainees, paying for…
Clinic in the Times of COVID-19
Abstract This paper considers the challenges faced by clinical legal education programs in responding effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic. Client needs are different and more acute. They also need to be balanced with the safety of students and staff. Services will need to be delivered remotely. The article considers some of the key legal issues generated by the pandemic, highlighting the…
California State Bar Board of Trustees approve updated law school accreditation rules
At its meeting on May 13, 2021, the California State Bar Board of Trustees adopted new accreditation rules for California accredited law schools. The new rules will come into effect on January 1st, 2022, with law schools required to demonstrate compliance by January 1, 2024, and are designed to incorporate best practices and provide a…
Bar Standards Board publishes independent review of 2020 qualifying exams
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has published the results of an independent review of the August 2020 Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) exams, the exams used by the Board as part of the qualification process for barristers. The review was commissioned by the BSB in November 2020 and was conducted by Professor Rebecca Huxley-Binns, the…