Aspiring barristers may have to take a new exam before qualifying into the profession as proposed by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) as part of a new consultation on how lawyers are trained.
Continue reading “Legal education: Bar Standards Board follows SRA with super-exam proposal”
More than one in five law students surveyed in the UK and the US admit they would falsify time records for personal and business gain, according to the first cross-jurisdiction quantitative study of the ethics of law students published in the International Journal of the Legal Profession earlier this month. Continue reading “‘A weaker moral compass’: Study reveals one in five law students would falsify time records”
The third chief executive in the last year to take the helm of the University of Law (ULaw) has now left his post, despite only being appointed in May this year.
Continue reading “Legal education: Another exit for ULaw as Platis quits after five months”
While the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) education reforms had been met with hostility by educators, the School of Law at Manchester University has become the first Russell Group school to embrace its reforms.
Continue reading “Academic u-turn: University comes out in support of SRA trainee reform”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is pushing on with its ‘super exam’ proposals, launching another consultation following mixed feedback on the education reforms. However it said yesterday (3 October) it would delay implementation another year as it develops its plans.
Continue reading “SRA pushes ahead with super-exam proposals with second consultation”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has acknowledged strong opposition as it extends its consultation on its controversial plans to introduce a unified exam for assessing trainee solicitors.
Continue reading “‘Right not to rush’: SRA extends consultation over super-exam for trainees”
The University of Law (ULaw) has appointed its third chief executive in less than a year, recruiting economist and lecturer Stelios Platis into the role.
Continue reading “University of Law appoints third chief executive in a year”
New entrants to the legal profession will be competing head on against Kim, the virtual assistant from Riverview Law, and Ross, IBM Watson’s ‘super-intelligent’ attorney, in delivering services to clients. Ross, unlike most of us, has the ability to research every resource of legal knowledge in seconds, and, even more impressive to the older ones among us, remember it.
Let’s get this in context right off the bat. The Training for Tomorrow proposals by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) represent the most radical change in legal education for over 20 years. When one considers the massive structural changes in the legal services market in recent years, which have been covered extensively by Legal Business before, we are faced with a unique situation.
Nigel Savage argues that legal education is falling further behind the realities of the industry
Let’s get this in context right off the bat. The Training for Tomorrow proposals by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) represent the most radical change in legal education for over 20 years. When one considers the massive structural changes in the legal services market in recent years, which have been covered extensively in these pages before, we are faced with a unique situation. The legal services sector has moved on and is tackling fundamental issues provoked by a combination of market forces, regulatory changes and the impact of technology. The SRA needs to reflect that environment within the new test of knowledge and competence (the mooted Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), which is billed as a means of raising professional standards and allowing more flexible routes to qualification). It is, however, constrained by the contradiction of a regulatory framework based as much on historic and largely outdated concepts of ‘reserved’ activity and the reality that a huge proportion of the work that takes place in the market (particularly the City) is not reserved and therefore doesn’t require solicitor status. Even where it is reserved, others can often deliver it at a much lower cost.
Continue reading “It’s high time we moved on – why legal education fails the key test”
