THE FUTURE
1 Identify 3 barriers to the profession
2 Identify 3 issues regarding diversity
3 What are the key drivers in the Jan 16 “Future of Legal Services” document?
4 What will be the likely impact of each change?
1 IDENTIFY 3 BARRIERS TO THE PROFESSION
1 Background (initial education and low income groups)
2 Work experience (who you know – nepotism) Political agenda
3 Training contract (harder to get – quality of contracts vary)
4 The Law Soc / Bar Council (target London centric schools excluding others)
1B IDENTIFY 3 BARRIERS TO THE PROFESSION
A Education and training – quality of education varies / training law firms varies
B Background and gender – law firms hire students from high rank unis and students
who get there from private schools
C Awareness of gender issues need to be raised / is being a barrister as a female
more difficult?
D Getting experience in the first palce
2 IDENTIFY 3 ISSUES REGARDING DIVERSITY
1 Russell group universities maintain white middle class private schooled
2 Unfair process recruitment e.g. female and low income groups suffer at interviews
3 Gender, age, ethnicity less likely to be given network to training
4 Gender, ethnic and income groups inherently male profession affects people
getting membership
2B IDENTIFY 3 ISSUES REGARDING DIVERSITY
A Less female representation than males
B Disproportionate workforce from lower socio economic backgrounds
C Promotion of white males favouring other groups
D Type of work females take more family law cases / male given different issues like
fraud contract
3 WHAT ARE THE KEY DRIVERS IN THE JAN 16
“FUTURE OF LEGAL SERVICES” DOCUMENT?
A Competition affected by barriers. Higher competition in London as best lawyers
are based there – New types of competition
B Legal funding cutting costs leads to loss of access to justice. Perhaps smaller firms
pick this up. Political agenda changing talking about access to justice
C More funding scholarships due to fees
D Role of technology in law is eliminating some jobs but are looking to recruit for
roles can’t cater for
E Technology and training using it to have automated solutions and online dispute
resolution / more need to recruit IT literate lawyers
3B WHAT ARE THE KEY DRIVERS IN THE JAN 16
“FUTURE OF LEGAL SERVICES” DOCUMENT?
4 WHAT WILL BE THE LIKELY IMPACT OF EACH
CHANGE?
Technology – more automation higher % of use and efficiency save costs – work harder –
higher level of training
Globalisaton – markets opening in EU/China/India firms want access to them – in UK it could
lead to “brain drain” influence of lawyers – profession could be more domestic in outlook
Rights for women / minorities – better served and greater access thus more jobs making it
more competitive – more diversity
Flexibility - More solicitors working from home via tech – ind can work flexibly – more sols
who will be specialist and niche thus more bespoke services – undermine cohesivity
4B WHAT WILL BE THE LIKELY IMPACT OF EACH
CHANGE?
KEY THEMES COLLATED FROM BOTH GROUPS