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19 January 2012 / Peter Nussey
Issue: 7497 / Categories: Features , Training & education , Profession
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Thinking space

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

In 2009, Richard Susskind reviewed the College of Law’s e-learning as “an innovative, exciting, and important technique for the world of legal education”. In 2010, he said: “The conventional law lecture will soon be superseded by e-learning.” While e-learning has become reasonably well established within the academic environment, it has yet to become widely adopted by the wider legal world. A number of law firms and vendors have created e-learning programmes to ensure compliance with SRA diversity, equality, and data protection regulations, however, these fall short of providing the sort of technical legal training demanded by practitioners and, in particular, juniors and trainees.

 
For aspiring lawyers the move from academic challenge to pragmatic application is probably the most significant migration in their career. Having completed the training contract, the responsibility that is placed on them can be significant, yet the level of support, in particular training, is not always sufficient. They often face difficult legal challenges without the breadth of experience
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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