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The next generation

03 January 2008 / Susan Blake
Issue: 7302 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Profession , Employment
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Mastering the art of working as an effective lawyer by Susan Blake

Effective legal practice is important for a society to function well. Many barristers and solicitors command relatively high salaries, and lawyers in and have a well deserved international reputation. Entry to the profession is competitive, and millions of pounds are spent each year on education and training. How good are we at producing lawyers who can work at the cutting edge of the law, and perform effectively and efficiently?

 

UNDERESTIMATING SKILLS

In some ways we are very good. We live in a jurisdiction that has many highly regarded university law departments, and many aspects of our skills-focused professional training have been copied in other jurisdictions. However, there are questions about how coherent our education and training is as a whole. Institutions running professional courses find that even among graduates with good quality law degrees:

Students find it difficult to deal with remedies, especially calculating damages. There may have been limited emphasis on these areas

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Ceri Morgan, knowledge counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, analyses the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, which reshapes the law of fiduciary relationships and common law bribery
The boundaries of media access in family law are scrutinised by Nicholas Dobson in NLJ this week
Reflecting on personal experience, Professor Graham Zellick KC, Senior Master of the Bench and former Reader of the Middle Temple, questions the unchecked power of parliamentary privilege
Geoff Dover, managing director at Heirloom Fair Legal, sets out a blueprint for ethical litigation funding in the wake of high-profile law firm collapses
James Grice, head of innovation and AI at Lawfront, explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the legal sector
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