AllAboutLaw Blog: Increasing your employability, a grim forecast for the legal sector following a no-deal Brexit and more

In this week’s edition of the AllAboutLaw blog, the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) offers the chance to boost your employability and help to secure a training contract, the legal sector is likely to lose a significant amount of work in the event of a no-deal Brexit, and following the tragic shootings in the United States this weekend, there is a renewed effort to reform gun-control laws.

Looking to increase your employability?

Perhaps you have secured an interview for a training contract or you are currently a trainee in a law firm. Wherever you’re up to, it is important to develop your skills further and increase your awareness and knowledge of the legal sector. For this reason, the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) is hosting two free events to help future lawyers boost their employability.

On September 21, the JLD has organised a career development and skills forum for trainees, newly-qualified solicitors and solicitors up to five years qualified. Topics to be covered include “instructing third parties” and “The ’Use Too’ era: managing bullying and harassment in the legal workplace”. 

The second event on October 5 is aimed at helping current LPC students and those who have completed the LPC to secure a training contract. The day will include, among other activities, a talk on developing commercial awareness, a practical guide to assessment centres and the chance to network.

Both events incorporate CV clinics organised throughout the day on a first come first served basis. In order to attend the event, participants are required to confirm their attendance online.

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“People who come forward [with allegations about sex offences] should be referred to as complainants, not victims” Sir Richard Henriques, a former High Court Judge has said.

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Firm News

Lawyers working at LeClairRyan are being encouraged to leave the firm and find work elsewhere following its dissolution.

Yingke, the largest China-based law firm, looks to take over the struggling US firm CKR.

More criminal lawyers are needed to cope with Boris Johnson’s pledge to recruit 20,000 extra police officers.

National law firm Roythornes Solicitors has announced a record 14 senior promotions to support its plans for growth.

Hogan Lovells’ South African branch is losing a significant number of its lawyers as its merger partner, Routledge Modise, splits from the firm.

Mishcon de Reya has joined forces with Persistent and other organisations to help the HM Land Registry simplify home buying.

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In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the legal sector is likely to suffer

The Law Society has issued a warning of the dangers of a no-deal Brexit for the legal sector. According to the Law Society, such a scenario could reduce the quantity of work in legal services drastically, with estimates of a £3.5 billion loss.

Britain is Europe’s biggest international provider of legal services and is said to have contributed £2.7 billion to the UK in 2018, equivalent to 1.4% of GDP, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

In order to safeguard the legal sector and enable broader access for legal services so that English and Welsh solicitors can maintain their right to practise in the EU, the president of the Law Society of England and Wales, Simon Davis, urged for the UK to negotiate a future agreement that replicates the Lawyers’ Directive.

The Law Society concludes that “only an association agreement can adequately deliver on legal services” and ensure the continued success of the UK legal sector. The projected decrease in legal work following a no-deal Brexit is supposedly 10% lower than under an orderly Brexit.

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A renewed push for gun reform following the Dayton and El Paso tragedies

Over the weekend there were two mass shootings in the US; one took place in El Paso, Texas and the other was located in Dayton, Ohio. Following these tragedies, there are renewed calls for Congress to discuss the nation’s gun laws. Senator Sherrod Brown has stressed the need for the Senate to review a bill requiring background checks on all firearm sales in the country and for President Donald Trump to sign the bill. 

In response to these attacks, Americans are taking to social media to share their concerns and a desire to reform gun control law, including a few celebrities directly inditing Trump for fostering a culture of hate and intolerance.

The outrage and condemnation of these attacks is not solely limited to the US; the Foreign Minister of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, has vowed to take legal action against the United States for failing to protect Mexican victims during the El Paso attack. Of the 26 injured, at least nine were Mexican nationals. The El Paso shooter appeared to have been targeting Hispanics.

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Further reading

The new Solicitors Qualification Exam is under review following an analysis of its first pilot stage because BAME participants in the trial were at a disadvantage on the skills part of the exam compared to white participants.

Following a copyright infringement, jurors decide the worth of Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” single and how much should be awarded to Marcus Gray, whose single “Joyful Noise” was copied.

Iranian musicians settle in Norway following a prison sentence in Iran for making music the regime considers to be blasphemous.

New laws published on Friday grant women in Saudia Arabia the freedom to travel without male guardian’s approval.

A podcast curated by Mischon de Reya on the regulation of social media, and what businesses and individuals can do to avoid reputational fallout online, is worth a listen. 

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