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Legal careers: opening the doors to success

28 April 2021 / Chris Bones
Issue: 7930 / Categories: Opinion , Training & education , Profession , Diversity
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It’s time to transform the law for the better by diversifying routes into the profession, says CILEX chair Chris Bones

One of the historic failures of UK public policy has been to conflate quality higher education with attending a university. It has led to diminished public value for technical education and created a ‘one size fits all’ offer that increasingly fails to deliver the best outcomes for employers or students.

In the law, this had the unintended consequence of reinforcing a belief in the value of a law degree obtained from a very limited number of institutions, and in so doing has excluded thousands of potentially outstanding—and often diverse—lawyers from accessing fast-track careers.

The recent Skills for Jobs White Paper calls out the illusion that a degree is the only route to success. Writing the foreword to the White Paper, Gavin Williamson, Secretary of State for Education, says: ‘Unlike many of our [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] peers, this country has not always shown further education

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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