The legal scene
and insolvency, insurance, employment, life sciences and sports. As aspiring lawyers, you should identify the ways in which your preferred practice area has been affected by the pandemic, as well as the impact on businesses, clients, the legal profession and how lawyers work. Here is some food for thought to help get you started: • As governments across the globe implemented lockdowns to limit the spread of covid-19, businesses (where possible) were forced to transition to remote working, which resulted in an influx of cybercrime, including financial scams in the form of phishing emails, pension liberation scams and investment and Ponzi scams. Why did cybercrime increase, what impact did this have on businesses and what can businesses do to protect themselves from cyber-attacks going forward? • Consumer habits have been adapting for many years, with customers increasingly shopping online. However, as many businesses had to close their doors during lockdowns, the UK high street became a ghost town. As well as the immediate financial burden on the retail sector, firms have been exploring the wider impact that covid-19 had on commercial lease terms and how businesses can better prepare for the future. • Meanwhile, the rail industry is also adapting to the newworld. With the daily train commute suddenly replaced with rolling out of bed for many, rail use ultimately fell last year. As restrictions ease in the UK, the future of office work remains uncertain with some businesses encouraging employees back into the office, others taking a hybrid approach and some continuing to work remotely for the foreseeable. One change to UK rail came into place on 21 June 2021, which enabled UK railway passengers to purchase flexible season tickets, with additional pay-as-you-go options. The
This chapter examines the key issues facing the UK legal profession of which future lawyers should be aware, as well as headline- grabbing cases and mergers. Lawyers interact with companies, national and local government, institutions and individuals in almost every area of life, so it is no surprise that wider economic and political issues affecting their clients often have a knock-on effect on their work. Of these, six key issues are pressurising the sector and driving profession-wide change in various ways. They can be divided into: • external factors – covid-19, technology, access to legal aid and Brexit; and • internal issues – diversity and inclusion in the profession, and changes to training for solicitors and barristers. Covid-19 At the start of the pandemic, the Coronavirus Act 2020 was published, giving the government powers to implement emergency measures to deal with covid-19, including national lockdowns. The restrictions imposed were subsequently challenged in Dolan and others v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care . Dolan and others submitted “that the regulations imposed sweeping restrictions on civil liberties which were unprecedented and unlawful on three grounds”, arguing that the restrictions were an infringement on basic human rights. However, permission to bring a judicial reviewwas denied. As a result of government restrictions, the impact on the UK economy was severe, with GDP plummeting by nearly 10% – the worst fall since 1948 when records began. Much like other sectors, the legal profession felt the wrath of the pandemic, but it also remained broadly stable – turnover for the UK legal sector surged to record heights, reaching £4.06 billion in March 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Practice areas that saw an influx in work as a result of the pandemic include restructuring
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