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A crisis of confidence

05 October 2012 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7532 / Categories: Opinion , Legal services , Profession
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Jon Robins looks behind the scenes of the cancelled Law Society conference

Well it wasn’t like there was a shortage of pressing issues to talk about—the double-dip economy, the forces of competition unleashed by the Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA 2007), the move to outcome focused regulation, and maybe even some time to dwell on the brutal LASPO cuts as of next April—and yet still they didn’t come.

A last minute decision to pull the Law Society 2012 conference scheduled to take place in Newport, South Wales last month—to be the first national conference in seven years—suggests a crisis of confidence at Chancery Lane and a flagging enthusiasm from the profession’s grass roots. The Society was expecting at least 300 delegates—mainly corporate lawyers—to hear Liberty’s Shami Chakrabarti, Eddie Ryan, formerly of the Co-op and Will Whitehorn, former president of Virgin Galactic.

The Society was forced to cancel because (in its words) “the geographical location presented something of an obstacle to the intended audience”. “South Wales seemed like a long way away.

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NEWS
One in five in-house lawyers suffer ‘high’ or ‘severe’ work-related stress, according to a report by global legal body, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)
The Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO’s) plea for a budget increase has been rejected by the Law Society and accepted only ‘with reluctance’ by conveyancers
Overcrowded prisons, mental health hospitals and immigration centres are failing to meet international and domestic human rights standards, the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) has warned
Two speedier and more streamlined qualification routes have been launched for probate and conveyancing professionals
Workplace stress was a contributing factor in almost one in eight cases before the employment tribunal last year, indicating its endemic grip on the UK workplace
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