We recently reported on the work of the California State Bar and their proposals for regulatory reform put forward by the Task Force on Access Through Innovation of Legal Services as well as the work being done by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) Testing Task Force. In her article, ‘Re-regulating Lawyers for the 21st…
State Bar of California seeking public comments on regulatory reforms
The State Bar of California is seeking public comment on proposals for regulatory reform put forward by the Task Force on Access Through Innovation of Legal Services. The task force was set up to improve access to justice through regulatory reform, following a report in 2018 that suggested that regulation was limiting innovations which could…
LSB updates governance rules to “enhance regulatory independence”
A new set of rules have been released by the Legal Services Board (LSB), which aim to clarify the separation between representative bodies and their regulators. The internal governance rules (IGRs) have been published following a series of public consultations that first began in November 2017. The rules which were released by the oversight regulator…
Lawyer Disciplinary Processes: An Empirical Study of Solicitors’ Misconduct Cases in England and Wales in 2015
Abstract The Legal Services Act 2007 effected major changes in the disciplinary system for solicitors in England Wales. Both the practice regulator, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and a disciplinary body, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, were reconstituted as independent bodies and given new powers. Our concern is the impact of the Act on the disciplinary system…
Regulation of legal tech companies in Germany?
Politicians in Germany are seeking to bring in legislation which will bridge the gap between advice provided via legal tech companies and by lawyers. German laws governing the profession currently only recognise legal advice provided by lawyers, with only a few exceptions. The FDP political party is proposing the adoption of a tiered regulation model that…
Independent Review of UK Legal Services Regulation Launched
The Centre for Ethics and Law in the UCL Faculty of Laws is undertaking a fundamental review of the current regulatory framework for legal services, led by Honorary Professor Stephen Mayson. The independent review is intended to explore the longer-term and related issues raised by the 2016 Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) market study, which concluded that the legal services sector…
Four steps legal regulators can take to embrace their data
Data has always been a foundational part of the practice of law. However, the convenience, accessibility, and speed of digital mediums is transforming the discipline from within. Law firms are stepping up the plate leveraging their internal data, as well as industry data to make their practice and delivery of services more efficient and effective….
Transparency lies at the heart of Consumer Satisfaction
In January, the Legal Services Board (LSB) of England & Wales released its Regulatory Performance: Transitional Assessment Review looking at the transitional assessment of each legal services regulatory body against the LSB’s regulatory performance standards. The report found that it had “sufficient assurance that the regulatory bodies have met the minimum required level of performance…
An Australian Study on Lawyer Vulnerability and Legal Misconduct
Vulnerability to Legal Misconduct: Qualitative Study of Regulatory Decisions Involving Problem Lawyers and Their Clients An emerging body of scholarship discusses ‘vulnerability’ as an antecedent of legal misconduct. One conceptualization of vulnerability indicates that an individual has greater susceptibility to risk of harm, and safeguards may protect against that risk of harm. This empirical study…
Event: 2018 Legislative Drafting Conference
13-14 September 2018 The Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice is hosting its bi-annual Legislative Drafting Conference – “Charting Legislative Courses in a Complex World”. The Conference will tackle one of the most pervasive challenges in modern legislation: complexity, beginning with its principal drivers in public policy. Why does our world generate legislative complexity? And…