Introduced in September 2021, the Solicitors Qualifying Exam has reformed how solicitors qualify in England and Wales. Reports into the first year shows that good progress has been made in implementation of the assessment. More than 3000 candidates across 42 countries have so far sat the exam, with the SQE Independent Reviewer Report concluding that…
I Think I Can: How Self-Efficacy and Self-Regulation Impacts Black and Latinx Bar Examinees
This study examined experiences of bar exam takers of color who passed on either the first or the second time. The theories of self-efficacy and self-regulation served as a conceptual framework for this study and were used to shape the interview questions as well as the data analysis. Eight participants were interviewed who graduated from…
The Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education is engaging with stakeholders to identify potential skill gaps in those recently called to the bar.
The Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED) is attempting to enhance and evolve the Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP) so as to be recognized as a “best-in-class” Bar admission program. To achieve this, CPLED is engaging with key stakeholders to gather information on potential skill gaps in lawyers who have been called to the Bar in the last…
NOvA, the Dutch Bar, has extended the subsidy for trainee lawyers working in social law firms
NOvA, the Dutch Bar, has extended the subsidy scheme for trainee lawyers working in socially- minded law firms. The scheme was first introduced in 2020 and reached its full allocation, with 175 lawyers making use of it. The scheme finances the training costs of lawyers seeking to work in a socially based law firm. The…
The US National Conference of Bar Examiners holds consultation on exam content for the new bar entrance exams
The National Conference of Bar Examiners has sought the input of the US legal market as it continues its plans to implement a new bar entrance exam. The new exam will place greater emphasis on essential lawyering skills while decreasing the number of legal subjects tested. The proposed changes are the result of an effort…
The Law Society of Hong Kong is currently formulating a proposal to introduce its planned common entrance examination
The Law Society of Hong Kong is proposing the introduction of a new entrance examination, which would ensure that newly admitted solicitors studying different postgraduate law courses have all met the same academic standards on admission. Reform of legal education in Hong Kong was reported here in the ICLR newsletter in 2017, in comments by…
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…
Information technology and the future of legal education: A provocation
This short paper explores, albeit in a preliminary fashion, challenges to legal education arising from the significant impact of new information and communications technologies (ICTs) on law and legal practice. It uses the pervasiveness of ICTs to reframe the question of “law and technology” from a philosophical perspective that sees information technology as an “environmental…