Diversity within the legal profession
Global Legal Post, African Voice Online and Today’s Family Lawyer report that the Legal Services Board (LSB) has published research on the barriers to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the legal profession, alongside a report exploring the judicial diversity pipeline.
President Nick Emmerson said: “We welcome the LSB’s research and its visualisation of what is known about EDI in the legal profession.
“The systems map visualises the structural, cultural and personal factors which create barriers to inclusion and how these interact with each other.
“We hope it is a useful addition to the evidence base to help regulators and others understand where to target interventions to have the greatest impact.
“The Law Society’s Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Framework is a useful resource the profession can use for firms and organisations looking to take a strategic approach to D&I and embed it in a way that has lasting impact.
“The research presents the systemic barriers which currently prevent the judicial system from reflecting a diverse and inclusive profession. We are disappointed to see that progress remains exceptionally slow.”
Compliance programmes
Legal Futures reports that Amy Bell, chair of The Law Society’s Money Laundering Task Force, discusses why many compliance programmes fail and the best procedures to adopt to ensure success in an interview with Osprey Approach.
Legal profession in Iran
Centre for Human Rights in Iran covers a joint letter demanding the immediate release of an Iranian lawyer and end to the persecution of the legal profession in Iran. The Law Society has signed the joint letter.
Anti-Money Laundering
Today’s Wills and Probate and Today’s Family Lawyer report that the Law Society’s guidance on Anti-Monday Laundering (AML) training is mentioned in a piece about navigating the SRA’s AML questionnaire.
Powers of intervention
Legal Futures covers a case involving the Law Society’s powers of intervention (Anal Sheikh v The Law Society of England and Wales & Ors case), as a High Court judge tells a former solicitor to accept the Law Society’s decision-making.
Also worth a read:
- Magistrates told to stop jailing offenders to ease prisons crisis – Times (£)
- AstraZeneca threatens to move UK vaccine manufacturing to US – Financial Times (£)
- Starmer facing union pressure to repeal Thatcher’s anti-strike laws – Telegraph (£)
- AI “could help allocate work to conveyancers” – Legal Futures
- Junior lawyers offered £38,000 referral bonuses on top of £164,000 starting salary – Telegraph (£)
- Insurers not delivering ‘fair value’ for customers face penalties, warns watchdog – inews