The Solicitor’s Regulation Authority of England and Wales (SRA) has published video recordings of its 2020 conference on the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). The SQE is a new qualification system being implemented in England and Wales over the course of this year. Conference topics included provider and firm strategies around the changes, changes to qualifying…
Legal Technology and the Future of Women in Law
Abstract Much has been written about how automation will change the legal profession as a whole, less so about how automation might affect women in legal practice. This paper briefly maps the likely changes that legal tech (legal technology) will bring to the provision of legal services, and explores how these changes might affect the barriers to advancement that women face in the profession….
American Bar Association report details impact of debt on law students
A new study conducted by the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association has revealed substantial and widespread levels of student debt and demonstrated a harmful effect on junior members of the profession in the US. The survey has found that: Over 75% of respondents had at least $100,000 in student loans at graduation…
Law Society of Singapore Releases First Report on Gender Diversity in the Profession
The Law Society of Singapore has announced the release of “Levelling the Playing Field”, its first-ever report into gender diversity and inclusion in the Singapore legal profession. The data for the report has been gathered over the course of the past two years and examines the experience of female practitioners across the profession, The data…
State Bar publishes first annual report card on the diversity of California’s legal profession
‘Report card’ The State Bar’s “First Annual Report Card on the Diversity of California’s Legal Profession,” (PDF) provides baseline data on the diversity and workplace satisfaction of California’s attorney population across multiple demographic groups and employment sectors. The report brings into stark reality that despite significant growth in the proportion of attorneys who are women…
ABA profile of the legal profession: diversity and well-being
While the number of lawyers nationally has grown faster than the U.S. population, this growth hasn’t been spread evenly across races and ethnicities, according to the American Bar Association’s 2020 Profile of the Legal Profession. (PDF) The ABA Profile of the Legal Profession is a compilation of the latest statistics in the legal profession. In an…
The Bar Standards Board Race Equality Taskforce publishes case studies
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) Race Equality Taskforce has published two case studies to promote racial diversity and inclusion at the Bar. This marks the launch of a series of case studies that will focus on encouraging barristers’ chambers to adopt equality and diversity best practice from across the sector in order to foster a…
LSB tells regulators to develop better understanding of diversity data
In her recent blog, the Chair of the Legal Services Board, said that the regulatory bodies in England and Wales should do more to get a grasp on diversity data. The blog was published after the latest Board meeting and notes that in January the Board agreed with regulators to assess their performance on gathering…
Victorian Legal Service Board report shows that sexual harassment in the legal workplace is common
On April 1st Victorian Legal Services Commissioner, Fiona McLeay, released data showing that sexual harassment in Victorian legal workplaces is common, and has a disproportionate effect on women. Results showed that 1 in 3 respondents had experienced workplace harassment at some point in their career. As well as this there was a significant gender imbalance in the…
The Bar Standards Board publishes new equality and diversity strategy
On the 7th April, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) published its equality and diversity strategy 2020-2022. The strategy comes on the back of the Board’s report into the same topic, which suggested that whilst the situation in the profession was slowly improving more work still needed to be done. Objectives outlined in the strategy include Addressing…