Legal Education

CC recruits efficiency 'black belts' for firmwide push to streamline work

By Pui-Guan Man | July 18, 2013

Clifford Chance (CC) has rolled out an ambitious firmwide initiative to improve lawyers' efficiency alongside a drive to more effectively allocate its fee earners' workloads. The magic circle firm has recruited three external coaches, known as 'black belts' in efficiency, to lead training workshops to help the firm's lawyers identify inefficiencies in the way they work, mimicking cost-cutting initiatives developed for the manufacturing industry. The training, which forms part of CC's existing 'Continuous Improvement' programme, has been adapted from 'lean' and 'six sigma' techniques used in the manufacturing sector, with the initiative stemming from a meeting CC managing partner David Childs had with logistics and manufacturing company Unipart.

1 minute read

Charity forged by College of Law sale hands out first law grants

By Alex Newman | July 10, 2013

The Legal Education Foundation (LEF) - the charitable arm spun out of last year's sale of the College of Law - has formally launched with a series of six grants to initiatives supporting pro bono, social mobility and access to justice. LEF - which has funds of approximately £200m generated by last April's sale of the College of Law's education and training business to Montagu Private Equity - was set up to continue the College's charitable activities in the wake of the takeover.

1 minute read

University of Law to launch in Leeds with York base relocation

By Alex Newman | July 8, 2013

The University of Law is to relocate its York branch to Leeds in September 2014, in order to be based in "the UK's newest legal hub". The University hopes to increase enrolment to around 600 students in Leeds in the next three years, according to president and provost Nigel Savage. There are currently 368 full and part-time students based in York.

1 minute read

Legal training review meets mixed reception with wait for real reform set to continue

By Alex Newman | July 4, 2013

Did it live up to the hype? "An important milestone, rather than the last word" was the verdict of Legal Services Board chair David Edmonds. The view neatly sums up the subdued response to the publication of the much-delayed report by the Legal Education and Training Review (LETR), billed as the most fundamental examination of the sector since the Ormrod report of 1971. "The response from the legal education sector has been terribly quiet and rather muted," says Diane Burleigh, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX). "I think that's tied up with the very large amount of information in the report – it's very tempting to just scan through the recommendations.

1 minute read

Eversheds and A&O advise Saudi women-only college development

By Gerard Starkey | June 27, 2013

Eversheds and Allen & Overy (A&O) have scooped lead roles advising on the establishment of a £75m women-only college in Saudi Arabia. The Jeddah college is being set up by a consortium of three UK further educational bodies led by North East Surrey College of Technology (NESCOT) after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched a SAR4bn (£689m) project to raise skills and build up to 11 learning institutions. The NESCOT consortium, which was selected ahead of more than 500 global organisations interested in running the college, also includes Highbury College Portsmouth and Burton and South Derbyshire College.

1 minute read

Long-awaited legal education review addresses key issues for reform

By Alex Newman | June 25, 2013

The long-awaited report into standards of legal education and training in England and Wales has been published today (25 June). The Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) was commissioned in June 2011 to consider reform of the current system amid "unprecedented change" in the legal services market.

1 minute read

Dubai dreaming – the Middle East is coming to the fore as Europe struggles

By Pui-Guan Man | June 20, 2013

Competing against countries from Europe, South America and Asia, Dubai's bid to host the World Expo in 2020 is redolent of the growth in prominence of the Middle East in recent years. With the emirate pitching to bring the exhibition to the Middle East for the first time, delegates at Legal Week's Corporate Counsel Forum Middle East suggested the bid was symbolic of increasing scrutiny on how Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries stack up against markets in Europe and Asia on the wider business stage. Speaking at the recent event, which was held at the Mina A'Salam, Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, Iain Linney, a global capital markets regulatory specialist and formerly executive director at WestLB and Farouk Soussa, chief economist for the Middle East at Citi, sized up the opportunities for businesses looking to expand or invest in the GCC.

1 minute read

Olswang targets female partner boost with flexi-work push and gender bias training

By Pui-Guan Man | June 13, 2013

Olswang is urging all of its partners to attend unconscious bias training as part of a push to increase its proportion of female partners, as the firm looks to ramp up the use of flexible working. The UK top 30 firm has introduced training sessions to raise awareness of unconscious bias across all of its offices, with the scheme coming as part of a wider overhaul of its flexible working policy, which is now being made more readily available. Currently, 22% of lawyers and staff in its London and Thames Valley offices work flexibly, while internationally the figure is 20%, a quarter of whom are male.

1 minute read

Oxford Uni to join forces with social mobility venture PRIME

By Alex Newman | June 13, 2013

The University of Oxford is set to become the first higher education provider to join forces with PRIME, as the law-firm backed venture aimed at boosting access to the legal profession prepares to increase the number of in-house legal teams signed up. The university has set up a working group to consider how it can get involved with the social mobility scheme, with options including linking PRIME students with its academics, and organising sessions and conferences for the scheme's participants. Oxford also wants to help PRIME raise awareness of further education opportunities in law during and after law firm work experience places.

1 minute read

Eversheds overhauls sector focus as firm revamps management line-up

By Gerard Starkey | May 30, 2013

Eversheds has revamped its sector line-up with the introduction of four new key industry groups, as the firm continues to shake up its structure in response to major changes in the markets in which it operates. The overhaul, which comes after chief executive Bryan Hughes last summer set out the firm's new three-year strategy, has seen the creation of four new sectors – propcos; public sector; consumer; and diversified industrials – and has involved several management changes. City corporate partner Robin Johnson will lead the diversified industrial group, which has been formed by the combination of the former industrial engineering; aerospace, defence and security; chemicals; and automotive sectors. The group covers a list of major clients including BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Tyco and Volvo.

1 minute read

Law.com

Northwestern Law Launches West Coast Initiative, Featuring Student Externships at OpenAI, Sony

By Christine Charnosky | January 17, 2024

"These innovative new programs will prepare our students to lead by giving them exposure to cutting-edge developments in technology, entertainment, media, sports and business."

4 minute read

Law.com

JD-Next Found Reliable With 'Multiple Cautions and Caveats,' ABA Council Seeks Comment

By Christine Charnosky | January 16, 2024

"I conclude that the JD-Next exam is a reliable and valid predictor of early law school grades but with multiple cautions and caveats that cannot be evaluated with the present data and may represent threats to its validity if used operationally for high stakes decisions," Nathan Kuncel wrote in his report.

5 minute read

New York Law Journal

Lawyers Learning to Lead

By Appellate Division, Third Department Presiding Justice Elizabeth Garry | January 16, 2024

Many law schools now treat leadership as a trainable skill, rather than an inherent quality, and many of our recently graduated colleagues have received a formal education in leadership that will benefit our profession and our society, writes the presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Third Department

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Delaware Law Weekly

DSBA to Hold Commercial Law CLE

By Victoria Pfefferle-Gillot | January 15, 2024

The commercial law section of the Delaware State Bar Association (DSBA) is scheduled to hold a live CLE titled "Commercial Law 2024" in Wilmington and Georgetown.

1 minute read

Law.com

Alabama Law Professor, Vice Dean Chosen as Next Dean of Wyoming Law

By Christine Charnosky | January 12, 2024

"Most people who know me, know that I think of Wyoming as home," Julie Anderson Hill posted to LinkedIn. "I am happy to be going home."

4 minute read

The American Lawyer

Kasowitz Sues Harvard, Alleging University Failed to Protect Jewish Law Students From Antisemitism

By Dan Roe | January 11, 2024

The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday, asked for disciplinary measures against Harvard faculty, monetary compensation and required antisemitism training at the college.

4 minute read

New York Law Journal

The Importance of Civics Education in the Legal Field

By Gail Ehrlich, Co-Chair, Committee on Law, Youth and Citizenship | January 11, 2024

Gail Ehrlich, co-chair of the Committee on Law, Youth and Citizenship, writes: Recognizing that civics education is crucial to the rule of law and the preservation of our democracy—that a lack of a civically educated and involved citizenry is a threat to judicial independence, separation of powers and constitutional principles—we felt obliged, as the largest voluntary state association of lawyers in the nation, to face the crisis head on.

3 minute read

Law.com

LSAC President Kellye Testy to Become Executive Director of AALS

By Christine Charnosky | January 11, 2024

"I am deeply honored to have been chosen as Judy Areen's successor and am committed to advancing excellence in legal education at a time of heightened challenges and changes in law and higher education," Kelleye Testy said in a statement.

5 minute read

The Recorder

Former Dean, Emeritus Professor Paul Brest Steps In as Interim Dean of Stanford Law

By Christine Charnosky | January 10, 2024

"I am deeply appreciative that Paul has agreed to step into the role while our search wraps up," said Jenny Martinez, Stanford University provost. "Paul is well known to our community for his distinguished legal scholarship, his extensive knowledge of SLS and his commitment to Stanford as a university citizen."

3 minute read

New York Law Journal

St. John's Law Names First Black Dean To Succeed Longtime Dean Michael Simons

By Christine Charnosky | January 10, 2024

"I'm honored to serve as the next dean of St. John's Law," Jelani Jefferson Exum said in a statement. "The Law School's tremendous legacy of strengthening the legal profession and serving the community by providing a mission-focused education is inspiring."

4 minute read