The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) is a new, single assessment for qualifying solicitors and is due to be introduced by the end of 2021. A pilot to test the first part of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination – known as SQE1 – has shown that it is on course to be a valid, rigorous assessment, while…
Law School as a Consumer Product: Beat ’em or Join ’em?
Abstract: With rising costs, pressure on performance metrics and competitive high-profile rankings, law schools are more than ever before being judged on a consumer satisfaction basis by both students and the public. While this perception has been growing over the past two decades, it has reached a crisis point in legal education. When students have…
Singapore launches ‘China-Ready Programme’ to deepen legal services cooperation with China.
The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) in Singapore, has recently launched a new programme targeting the legal industry. The educational programme is designed to help Singaporean legal professionals understand Chinese culture, business environment, legal systems and laws, as well as improving their understanding of Mandarin used in a legal context. The programme, as well as a…
Revised SRA approach to CPD is well recieved by law firms
Newly published feedback received by the Solicitor Regulation Authority (SRA) on continuous professional development (CPD) requirements introduced in 2016 has indicated that the changes have been well received by solicitors and law firms. The requirements, known as ‘Continuing Competence’ are available in full here and include requiring solicitors to make an annual declaration of their own…
LSK calls for ending of law school monopoly
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has called for the ending of the monopoly on Bar education in Kenya, following an inquiry into high rates of failure in the Bar examinations. Results from November 2018 revealed that 80 per cent of those who sat the test failed, with only 308 of the 1,572 candidates qualifying. …
The Secret Sauce to Teaching Collaboration and Leadership to Lawyers: The 3-4-5 Method of Innovation
Abstract: It is a hard sell to convince lawyers that they need to learn how to innovate. However, when we consider the skillset and mindset that is honed in the process of learning how to innovate, this decision should be a no-brainer. This is because, as discussed in the prior chapter (Innovation: A New Key…
NCBE’s Testing Task Force and the Bar Exam of the Future
In the United States, the authority to regulate the legal profession belongs to individual jurisdictions; each U.S. state or territory sets its own rules and makes its own decisions about legal licensure. For licensure examinations, most jurisdictions use one or more of the bar exam components produced by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE),…
SRA launches legal access challenge
Legal Access Challenge launched to encourage innovation Six in 10 don’t think the legal system in England and Wales is set up for ordinary people Many who experience a legal problem don’t take professional advice, citing cost and trust as key barriers Eight in 10 say it needs to be easier for people to access…
Colorado Lawyer Self-Assessment Program yields analytical insights
Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel started developing its lawyer self-assessment program more than two years ago, immediately after a seminal workshop on proactive, risk-based regulation at the 41st ABA National Conference of Professional Responsibility in May 2015. The new resource is a leading facet of a larger shift toward proactive management-based regulation, which aims to…
Education and Training in Ireland
In response to the report on Education and Training in Ireland published on 19 November by the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA), the Law Society of Ireland has launched the Peart Commission Report, developed by an expert group chaired by Mr Justice Michael Peart of the Court of Appeal. The report contains 30 recommendations setting out…