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06 January 2011 / Peter Nussey
Issue: 7447 / Categories: Features , Training & education , Profession , Technology
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Mind the gap!

Peter Nussey explains how to help bridge the gap between training & work

The move from academic challenge to pragmatic application is probably the most significant migration of a junior lawyer’s career. Having completed the training contract, the responsibility that is placed on junior lawyers can be  significant. While no longer a trainee, but still very much in training, they often face difficult legal challenges without the breadth of experience to handle them confidently.

The introduction of e-learning products, such as LexisMentor, which seeks to encourage confidence and independence in junior lawyers, frees up the fee-earner’s time by allowing junior lawyers to have ever-ready support for their decisions. The reality of this style of learning is the acceleration of junior lawyers from routine work to high value tasks, giving law firms speedier return on their investment.

It can be extremely important to a junior lawyer to see both their firm and team demonstrating commitment to their development, although clearly this is often a difficult balancing act alongside partner’s billable time. 

It is

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NEWS
The government will aim to pass legislation banning leasehold for new flats and capping ground rent, introducing non-compulsory digital ID and creating a ‘duty of candour’ for public servants (also known as the Hillsborough law) in the next Parliament

An Italian financier has lost his bid to block his Australian wife from filing divorce papers in England on the basis it was no longer her domicile of choice

Reforms to the disclosure regime in the business and property courts have not achieved their objectives, lawyers have warned
The Law Society has urged ministers to hold a public consultation on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the justice system as a whole
Ministers have proposed bringing inquest work under a single fee scheme for legal help and advocacy legal aid work
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