Today's rundown:
Cleaning house
Agreement with Rome
Guideline Hourly Rates
Standardised NDA launches
Profession looks to be more diverse and inclusive
Social mobility in the profession
Why social mobility work must start in school
LawTech principles announced
LSB's arrangement processes headed in the right direction
Cleaning house
Sarah Dwight, Surekha Gangkhedkar and Nicholas Taggart, members of our conveyancing and land law committee, speak to the Times (£) about their experiences of their clients dealing with buyers leaving their new home in a less than satisfactory state.
Surekha Gangkhedkar recalled a client who arrived with their daughter at their new home on a Friday afternoon, only to be greeted by the previous owner who was still in residence.
She added: "The seller had decided that she would only be able to move out on the Saturday and had prepared the guest bedroom for the woman and her daughter to sleep in. My client was so shocked that she did stay as she had nowhere else to go."
Agreement with Rome
NZ Lawyer and Australasian Lawyer report our memorandum of understanding with the Rome Bar. The agreement pledges to continue co-operation in support of the Italian and English legal professions – despite Brexit.
"The relationship between the Law Society and the Rome Bar is deeply rooted. Italy is a nation with a strong legal tradition, and our countries can only benefit by sharing knowledge and expertise," said Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce.
Guideline Hourly Rates
Richard Miller, our head of justice, tells the Gazette that we broadly support the recommendations made by the Civil Justice Council in its final report on guideline hourly rates (GHRs).
He added: "We continue to reiterate that GHRs are just one of many areas of civil justice being reviewed and reformed, so we would call for the new proposed rates to be seen as an interim measure that will provide much needed clarity to assist fee earners, law firms and costs judges in the short term."
Standardised NDA launches
A group of in-house and private practitioner solicitors have published a free standard non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to improve the efficiency of legal teams, increase transparency and cut costs, the Gazette and News Anyway report.
Stephanie Boyce said: "As an in-house lawyer myself, I know how much time can be spent on NDAs between commercial partners. The vast majority of NDAs are boilerplate documents used tens of thousands of times per day in an entirely non-controversial way to protect potentially valuable business information."
Profession looks to be more diverse and inclusive
World Intellectual Property Review (£) covers an in-depth report into the profession's rallying cry for greater equality for people of diverse backgrounds, following the death of George Floyd in May 2020.
Stephanie Boyce explains the complexities of linking renumeration and bonuses to diversity and inclusion (D&I), with many firms unsure of how this would work or could be measured.
"The benefit of linking compensation to D&I efforts is that it sends a clear message from the top that the firm is serious about inclusion, but the practical challenge of how this can be measured and matched against remuneration may explain why firms are hesitant to take this approach."
Social mobility in the profession
Solicitors Journal reports on the Social Mobility Commission's state of the nation report 2021, which found that 75% of the UK's job growth since 2012 has been in professional jobs.
"We are pleased to see that professional jobs have expanded over the last decade, creating opportunities throughout the professional services sectors.
"Whether this expansion improves relative social mobility in the UK depends on who gets these jobs. At present, it looks like you still have a much greater chance of getting a professional job if you are from a professional background," said I. Stephanie Boyce.
Why social mobility work must start in school
Council member Laura Uberoi writes in the Lawyer (£) about why social mobility work must start in schools so children can grow into adults knowing what a solicitor is, what they can do to help or how they can become one.
She said: "Several law firms have already confirmed that they are no longer looking at GCSE or A Level results when selecting candidates, in a bid to increase diversity. However, school is still where applicants set their future wheels in motion with selecting their subjects for further study, extra-curricular activities and, most importantly, mentally preparing themselves for the challenges ahead."
LawTech principles announced
Our publication of a set of principles to guide the design, development and use of LawTech is covered by Today's Conveyancer and Practice Source.
Stephanie Boyce commented: "We have proposed five main principles to inform LawTech design, development and deployment. At its heart is client care, so LawTech can be used in a way which meets solicitors' professional duties to their clients."
LSB's arrangement processes headed in the right direction
In our consultation response, we have said that the Legal Services Board's proposed new rules and guidance for changes to regulatory arrangements are a significant improvement, reports Today's Wills & Probate.
"Requiring regulators to provide a robust cost benefit analysis for any change proposals will further improve the quality of rule change applications, as the LSB will be able to ensure consistent evidence-based regulation of legal services, which has been lacking in the past," said I. Stephanie Boyce.
Also worth a read:
- Barrister Abimbola Johnson will lead independent police oversight board – Guardian
- Amber travel watchlist abandoned by PM – FT (£)
- UK govt accused of playing 'political games' over vaccine tech – Independent
- Solicitors warned about their personal lives by SDT – Gazette