Is legal education ‘fit for purpose’?

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Last month I took part in the UCL/LexisNexis Legal Education Debate on whether lawyers need to be scholars. I was privileged to be one of the panellists, but found myself in some hot water for suggesting that, viewed in its entirety, the current framework for the education and development of practising lawyers was not ‘fit for purpose’. Let me explain why I reached that conclusion.

We are now into a period of outcomes focused regulation. While in favour of OFR in principle (I quite like the idea of lawyers being trusted to do the right thing), there are still some practical challenges to be overcome – in particular being able to identify what the right outcome is. Be that as it may, my starting point on education and training was less about the question for debate (do lawyers need to be scholars?) and rather more about the outcome: do we produce lawyers who are fit for practice? My view on that, regrettably, is that we don’t produce enough.

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Management opportunities in the post-LSA world

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Introduction

Having spent more than 25 years of my life promoting the idea of ‘the business of law’ and the role of professional management in it, I commend the Institute of Legal Finance & Management for its mission and work.  I also very much hope that its members share my excitement and enthusiasm as we approach 2012.

Interestingly, what  we might describe as ‘the post-LSA world’ is not specifically driven by the Legal  Services Act.  The legislation and  accompanying changes in regulation are now part of a much broader and deeper shift in the nature of 21st-century legal practice.  The shift reflects fundamental changes arising in a mature legal economy working its inevitable way towards a new bargain with increasingly well-informed and sophisticated buyers of services in an over-supplied market.  This bargain – and the pace of change – is accelerated by the financial crisis and the Act’s liberalising impetus; but these are accelerators rather than drivers.  The change would have happened anyway.

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Change and challenges for the legal services market

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Introduction

Trying to describe change and challenges in the legal services market, and what the market might look like in five years’ time, represent a daunting test for the ten minutes I have. Of necessity I shall have to summarise and generalise. For those interested in more detail, the Legal Services Board’s research note published last month on the impact of alternative business structures on the market (see http://www.legalservicesboard.org.uk/news_publications/latest_news/2011/120811.htm) is an invaluable source of further analysis and insight.

 

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