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HR/Training
Employment tribunal vindicates law firm’s denial that former employee was disabled
A judge has dismissed a claim by a law firm paralegal that he was the victim of disability discrimination, finding he had “dishonestly” altered a document about his medical condition and that, in any case, he had not told his employer about his supposed post-traumatic stress disorder.
April 18th, 2018
Law Society faces JR over refusal to reaccredit mental health specialist
A London-based law firm has filed a claim for judicial review against the Law Society’s decision not to reaccredit a solicitor who had been on its mental health panel for nearly a decade. She said the decision meant she has had to stop working in an area about which she is “passionate”, and longstanding clients have had to find new representation.
April 10th, 2018
Legal Services Board approves SQE – for now
The Legal Services Board has approved an initial application by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to introduce the Solicitors Qualifying Examination. Despite intense pressure, LSB chief executive Neil Buckley said there were “no grounds” to reject the SRA’s application, setting out the framework for the regime.
March 27th, 2018
Pressure mounts on Legal Services Board to delay or reject SQE
The Legal Services Board has come under unprecedented pressure to reject plans by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to introduce a centralised Solicitors Qualifying Examination. City lawyers, law lecturers and Welsh speakers have called on the LSB not to approve the application, while MPs asked for the decision to be postponed for six months.
March 20th, 2018
Low salaries dog debt-ridden young legal aid lawyers, says social mobility report
More than half of young legal aid lawyers are earning less than £25,000 a year, yet more than a quarter start their careers carrying more than £35,000 debt as a result of their education, according to a survey of lawyers in the sector. It found low salaries were a “significant barrier”, although the sector still held an attraction for idealistic recruits.
March 14th, 2018
MoJ loses appeal against decision to award barrister forced to retire from bench £37,000
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has upheld the award of damages to a barrister whose application to continuing sitting as a part-time recorder beyond the statutory retirement age of 70 was refused, while a circuit judge’s was not. The original tribunal decided that he had been treated less favourably because he worked part-time.
March 13th, 2018
Women lawyers less ambitious for partnership, survey says
Women solicitors are significantly less likely to seek partnership and twice as likely to cite work/life balance or stress as the reason than men, according to a career satisfaction survey. The survey also found that employers are responding to the need to retain valued employees.
March 8th, 2018
Big gap between male and female lawyers in perception of gender equality progress, Law Society finds
Three-quarters (74%) of male lawyers believe there has been progress on gender equality in the legal profession over the past five years but less than half (48%) of their female colleagues agree, a global survey has found. It also said that unconscious bias was the most commonly identified barrier preventing women from reaching senior positions.
March 8th, 2018
Paralegal subjected to f-word tirades by senior partner wins harassment claims
A paralegal who was subjected to a “long accumulation of abuse” by the senior partner of a London law firm was the victim of harassment on the grounds of age and sex, an employment tribunal has found. However, most of the specific incidents cited did not amount to harassment because the paralegal received the same kind of general abuse that all staff did.
March 1st, 2018
Law Society and CBA float prosecution and defence career option to tackle criminal lawyer shortage
The Law Society and the Criminal Bar Association are discussing the possibility of a new career path for criminal lawyers involving both defence and prosecution work, it has emerged, after the CBA chair warned of the “decimation” of both the criminal Bar and the solicitors’ profession if no action was taken to tackle an “unprecedented recruitment crisis”.
February 21st, 2018
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Associate News
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