Understand Your Rights. Solve Your Legal Problems
The Justice Project, an art exhibition organised by HHJ Paul Darlow, the Resident Judge, and HHJ Miranda Robertshaw, the Designated Family Judge for Devon, is thought to be the first of its kind in a UK courthouse.
Opened today 19th June at Plymouth Combined Courts in Armada Way, The Justice Project saw HHJ Paul Darlow and HHJ Miranda Robertshaw working closely with painter Ann Chester King and seven students from Plymouth College of Art’s BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing & Printmaking degree to bring plans for an exhibition of justice-related work to fruition. The exhibition will be open from Monday to Friday from 19th June until 21st July 2017 from midday until 4pm.
The Judges said: “All of us who work in the Court Service see this exhibition as our chance to show the importance we attach to the part the Criminal, Family, Civil and Tribunal Courts play in the Plymouth community. We hope as many people as possible will come to see the art on display. The enthusiasm with which the artists have embraced the project is truly humbling.”
Ann Chester King is a Registered Intermediary, working with vulnerable witnesses whilst they give evidence to the police and in court. She has created a body of work in response to her experience that portrays the impact of the criminal justice system on everybody involved. Ann said, “It has been really valuable and inspiring to see how individual students have developed their responses to and interpretations of the justice process.”
The students exhibiting work are Guy Barkley-Smith, Nigel Coles, Hannah Davis, Cherie McMillan, Ratna Saksena, Kate Targett and Jane Trevan. The theme of justice informs the work, which has been created specifically for the exhibition by all seven students, whose involvement with Ann in all aspects of the project complements both the creative and the professional practice elements of their study programme at Plymouth College of Art.
(Source: Plymouth College of Art)
Efficiency is vital when working on multiple legal cases, and the last thing you need when you’re busy is to be slowed down by your computer. For young professionals just entering the industry, you’ll be wanting to get a head start and get stuck in with casework, however if you’re being hindered by your computer, this can be frustrating. Jonathan Weech, Sr. Product Line Manager at Crucial lists 7 ways you can improve the health of your computer device.
Most people can relate to the feeling that you only get when waiting on slow technology. A recent study by Crucial.com found that the average Brits’ patience with slow technology lasts 60 seconds before we start to get irritated. Among the top things that cause people most grief are frozen (47%) and slow computers (40%).
Anyone that works with a computer has at some point had to deal with it slowing down. It’s a familiar problem, but how can young law professionals solve it? We’ve outlined some practical tips to speed up a slow PC and improve the reliability of computers, to ensure technology doesn’t hold you back.
When you work with a new PC, you expect it to arrive with a clean slate. However, they sometimes feature software that can clog you up. If you find programmes installed that you’ve never used before this could be bloatware, which can slow down your system and take up storage space. You can uninstall this via the control panel. Also ensure that you regularly update your essential software to address security glitches and improve performance.
Your browser tends to hold on to everything you do online. Cookies are helpful, storing usernames and passwords from websites, but they can also cause problems on your PC. The cache is used by internet browsers to speed up page loading, but this process saves itself down as a file on your computer. This folder will build up over time and will eventually slow down your computer. The best thing to do is to clear all your browsing data, cache and cookies in your settings regularly to prevent this from happening.
You should run antivirus programmes regularly to check for viruses and other malware, as they will significantly slow down your computer and can lead to security faults. Make sure your antivirus software is always up to date, schedule regular scans, and only have one version installed as two can slow you down.
One of the reasons why some PCs take so long to boot up is the number of applications running when your computer is turning on. You can easily disable programmes you don’t need on start-up using Task Manager on Windows 8 and Windows 10, which identifies programmes that have a high impact on start-up and can be disabled. For older versions of Windows, you’ll need to search for MSConfig and make the change within the System Configuration tool.
Hard drives have spinning parts which have data stored on them. As this data builds, the hard drive can become overloaded and ultimately slows down the performance of your computer. Most operating systems have a disk defragmentation programme that easily allows you to boost the efficiency of your PC by reorganising your data so that your computer performs better.
Almost everything your computer does (turning on, moving the mouse, opening and running Word, typing, and more) requires the use of memory. Older computers struggle to keep up, but a memory refresh can perk it back up to its old self. Installing memory might seem intimidating – but no computer skills are necessary and it’s as simple as replacing the batteries in your TV remote.
Slow, outdated technology not only wastes time and money but it can be incredibly frustrating. Unlike regular hard drives, solid state drives (SSDs) have no moving parts. Replacing an old hard drive with an SSD enables near-instant load and boot times, so your computer can power on and immediately load apps – enabling you to get more done.
Some SSDs can also protect you from accidental data loss, which can happen to anyone at any time. You can lose more than just a valuable laptop, with criminals able to access personal information such as email logins, passwords, personal records, or in the case of a legal professional, confidential case information. Installing an SSD can be an efficient way of reinforcing data security, as some SSDs come with government grade encryption technology which, once enabled, protects every file stored on your computer in the case of accidental loss.
There’s plenty you can do to avoid being slowed down by your PC when working, and the last thing you want to happen is for your computer to freeze when you’re doing something important. So when things do slow down, consider trying the above tips to give your PC a refresh.
Following on with Lawyer Monthly’s new series dedicated to law school, recruitment and careers, Jayne Harrison, Partner and head of employment law at Cleggs Solicitors, gives her top three tips on how to specialise in employment law.
These days it is very unusual to be an all-round lawyer as there are so many changes in case law that practitioners cannot keep up with every area. Therefore, choosing a specialism is very important and will forge your future career path.
My top three tips that I always recommend to students and graduates are to ensure employment law is the right fit for you, get some training and don’t underestimate the value of experience.
Make sure when you’re thinking about specialising in employment law that you are actually interested in the area. It sounds like common sense but employment law is a fast-paced area of the law and cases are often very time sensitive and need to be sorted as fast as possible. If a client has an issue they usually don’t have time to waste. As a result, two of the key skills needed to practice employment law are keeping calm under pressure, as there are tight deadlines involved and good communication skills because dealing with stressed clients is a large part of the job. You will be speaking with a range of people from fellow employment lawyers who understand the legal vocabulary to business people who don’t have specialist knowledge and just want the job done. I personally chose employment because of the variety of work, the nature of the litigation and the opportunity to experience both contentious and non-contentious work. Employment is also a very relatable and a human part of the law that nearly everyone has some experience of.
The time that you spend investing in training will fundamentally prepare you for qualification into employment law and as part of your employment training seat I would highly recommend finding as many opportunities as possible to learn. One of the most valuable experiences I had as part of my training seat was to shadow a tribunal judge. I visited countless hearings and asked lots of questions to gather inside knowledge from someone with years of experience - all of which were invaluable when thinking about qualifying into employment law. This experience definitely contributed to my interest in tribunal advocacy and influenced the direction of my career. Shadowing a judge obviously gives a fantastic insight into the mechanisms of tribunals and how cases are decided. Finding anyone with a wealth of experience in employment law to shadow for a few days is a fantastic way to gain inside knowledge and further cement the areas you enjoy most. Also some tribunal hearing centres offer a judiciary shadowing programme so that students can get experience of their local tribunal.
The most valuable piece of advice I can offer is to get as much experience as you can. I would recommend sitting in as many tribunal hearings as possible as they are great exposure to employment law in action. The experience of sitting in the tribunal room understanding the process of a tribunal, what questions are regularly asked, what the panel looks like etc. will not only help confirm your interest in employment law but also provide invaluable knowledge when qualified. As most tribunal cases are public hearing then you just need to ring your local tribunal to see if there is a case in the list that you can go and observe.
You can’t teach experience and putting in the time to research all aspects of employment law, seeking out training opportunities and grabbing any learning experience with both hands will put you in a much stronger position when you qualify and become a fully-fledged employment lawyer.
Small and medium sized legal firms both understand the importance of the use of AI (artificial intelligence), regard it as an opportunity to be embraced, and do not feel threatened by its impact on their business model, says Clayton Legal, after conducting qualitative research into this area.
Lynn Sedgwick, Managing Director, of legal recruiters Clayton Legal, says: “Within larger law firms, the uptake of AI has been a recurrent theme. This may be due to the perception that larger firms have access to the money to finance its development and use, their appetite to risk is greater and the infrastructure they already have in place allows them to develop their use of AI. As the increased use of AI begins to take shape so the larger firms enjoy being early adopters of new technologies, but as the research shows, small and medium sized firms don’t wish to miss out.”
One of the respondents to Clayton Legal’s research project, Andrew Kwan, Solicitor Advocate at Clear Law, describes his firm as “…highly technological…” He sees its approach as allowing “…us some advantages including being agile within a changing legal market. Therefore, I can see the utilisation of AI as being an opportunity to deliver greater value to clients, both individuals and businesses, by removing some of the administrative elements of the process.”
But apparently, it’s not just senior people who think this way. One of Kwan’s colleagues, at Clear Law, trainee, Miriam Khan, makes the point that AI and the human skill sets should complement each other rather than take opposing sides, as she says: “The profound purpose of AI is to save the need for time, cost and energy on manual labour and increase efficiency. Why do a job that a computer can do for you?”
Lynn Sedgwick comments: “While firms such as Linklaters and Clifford Chance have moved to use AI in several different areas, this is very much about driving efficiencies, rather than eradicating jobs. The smaller practices that we spoke to are also hoping to generate higher fees and ensure that processes that can be and will be outsourced to machines.”
“For employers, this has huge benefits but it also offers their people more interesting work, making the workplace a more satisfying place to be in, in a marketplace where retention is key. For legal professionals at all levels, the introduction of AI represents an opportunity to develop new skills, and for those who are open to change, to increase their value in the marketplace. The interpersonal and technological skills required to adapt to the new AI infused working environment are likely to bring benefits to all that choose to engage with them.”
Lynn concludes: “The human element can’t, at least yet, be replaced by a robot. Andrew Kwan really sums it up when he says: ‘I do not see AI removing the elements where you are a compassionate human. You can’t remove this from a process and expect a great result for your client.”
(Source: Clayton Legal)
As part of Lawyer Monthly’s new series on law school, recruitment and careers in the legal sector, John Oxley, Barrister at Vardags relays an educational piece below on the journey from paralegal to managing partner, and everything in between.
Lawyers often have little idea what those above and below them in their firm actually do. Yet from paralegal to managing partner is a complex path, with each layer shouldering very different responsibilities.
As a paralegal and junior lawyer, your life is almost entirely dominated with fee-earning work, with some additional admin at the sides. Your priority is hitting targets and ensuring that your cases run smoothly, without much concern for the wider progression of the firm. As a partner or managing partner, you will be providing complex, high-level legal advice, but this will often be just a small part of your day. With seniority, one is much more likely to be concerned with the health of the firm and how work is generated. Even at large firms, where accounts, HR and marketing are vast, autonomous departments, leading partners should be acutely aware of what is going on across the business.
For many lawyers, this means a change from what they trained for and are good at – the law – to a range of new skills in business. Concerns about firm-wide utilisation, client generation and fees recovery are generally not the worries of junior fee earners, but should demand a lot of time from those on the higher rungs of the career ladder. A partner or managing partner, you has to think not only about what needs to be done by the end of the day, but also where the firm is set to be in five or ten years’ time. Some very well regarded firms have imploded and collapsed as a result of failing to stay on top of business basics such as cash flow and debt.
With this comes responsibility for the case work of everyone around them. Paralegals, trainees and NQs will largely be only concerned about their own performance – making sure deadlines are hit and their work is satisfactory. A lead fee earner or partner will have this worry for their whole team, ensuring the entire caseload remains on track and that everyone is pulling their weight and properly engaged.
The senior lawyer has to be a manager of people too – and brilliance at the law is no guarantee of management capabilities. Lawyers who reach the top generally do so because of their own ability and motivation, yet suddenly find themselves motivating and managing others. In this position the lawyer is challenged to become a leader. One has to find a way to inspire a team to pull together, and to get along, coping with all the personality clashes and personal issues which can come up from time to time. This people management can be one of the things lawyers find hardest, yet it is essential when in a position of seniority. It is vital to learn how to motivate the team when the odds are stacked and morale is slipping.
Trust in the team goes hand in hand with this. Lower down the legal ladder, there is an easy way to ensure things are done and done properly – to do them yourself. As a partner, or managing partner, this is no longer possible. There simply is not time to micromanage every aspect of a case, and to do so would impose unreasonable fees on the client. Senior fee earners have to learn what and how to delegate in a way that maintains quality and ensures that everything is done by the deadline and to the highest possible standard.
At the top of the legal ladder, one is likely to have far more freedom than at the bottom, though this can be a double-edged sword. Rather than simply following the instructions of a more senior lawyer, as is the paralegal’s lot, a firm leader has to prioritise and manage a wide-range of case and business objectives. This does mean more freedom in how to tackle and timescale problems, but equally means the pressure of fitting it all in.
The daily lives of managing partners and paralegals are hugely different. As part of the management team, the days of bundling and engrossing are over, replaced by providing high level advice and case strategy, whilst also managing your team and various aspects of the business.
There are, of course, some constants. For lawyers of every level there is the pressure of having to get things done well and on time, whether that is for a client, or for the firm. Dedication and intelligence is required from all levels of a law firm, even if new promotions mean new challenges and new skills being necessary. The challenge as an ambitious lawyer is how to manage your own performance to make the most of those changes.
Here below Lawyer Monthly has collated a number of short responses from highly esteemed legal professionals, in answer to the question: What is the mantra or motto you live by in the legal sector? Whether it's a deep seeded life lesson or a matter of professionalism or integrity, we each have something we could say is our core value.
The Bar Council is giving its backing to the The Lawyer Portal (TLP), a new education resource aimed at those considering a career in law.
The Lawyer Portal has been developed with direct input from experienced lawyers and legal education professionals, and features contributions from the Bar Council and other professional bodies and law firms. It includes free careers guides which highlight the various routes to legal practice and step-by-step guides on the study of law, work experience and training opportunities. In addition, there is advice on applying and interviewing for a career in law.
Rachel Davis, Managing Director of TLP said of the company’s partnership with the Bar Council: “Having the Bar Council on board sends a clear signal to anyone using The Lawyer Portal that the resources they have access to are accurate, up to date and from the professional body that represents barristers in England & Wales. The Bar Council’s commitment to diversity and inclusion reflects our own ambition of a law career being accessible to all, whatever their background. We strongly believe that anyone with great potential should have great opportunity and our platform aims to help make that belief a reality.”
Sam Mercer, Head of Equality & Diversity (Bar Council) added: “The Lawyer Portal will be a valuable source of information for a career at the Bar and other parts of the legal profession. It will allow anyone considering a career in law to look at all the options available to them, what’s involved in pursuing a legal career and case studies of those already working in the sector. Most importantly, the portal will be live, so any new developments or changes to qualifying as a lawyer will be available.”
The Lawyer Portal is the second platform created by The Career Portal. The group’s first venture, The Medic Portal, which is partnered with The Royal Society of Medicine, has rapidly become a highly respected resource, used by 400,000-plus aspiring medics and hundreds of schools across three continents.
With the backing of the Bar Council, The Career Portal is looking to replicate this success in the legal sector, ensuring that the best and the brightest individuals are exposed to all the opportunities available in law.
(Source: Bar Council)
Here below Lawyer monthly has collated a number of short responses from highly esteemed legal professionals, in answer to the question: What led you to embark on a career in the legal sector? Whether law runs in the family or a succinct moment in time gave them vision, these lawyers, from all around the world, all started somewhere.
