A YEAR IN THE LAW 2015-16
The legal landscape has changed dramatically over the last year. From Britain’s vote to leave the European Union – which has thrown so much of the legislation that lawyers rely on up in the air – to ongoing attempts to open up access to the law, much that previously seemed certain is now in a state of flux. Even traditional hot- button issues such as the entrenched gender inequality at the top of the profession and swingeing cuts to legal aid could soon be coming to the boil, as a new generation clamours to have its say. Meanwhile, the fluctuating fortunes of global financial systems continue to influence almost every aspect of commercial life. Recent years had seen a slow but steady recovery from the worst effects of the 2008 financial crisis, with mortgage lending rates climbing back to pre- recession levels and a rise in interest rates also looking likely. However, the fallout from the Brexit vote – a plunge in the value of the pound, a decision by the Bank of England to cut rock-bottom interest rates even further and ongoing uncertainty about the nature of the country’s future relationship with Europe and the new trade deals which need to be struck – has cast a pall over proceedings, while risky practices in the banking sector mean that another collapse is well within the bounds of possibilities. For more on the big business stories of 2015-16, see this section’s “The commercial year”; but let’s first look at the issues that have specifically been exercising the legal profession in the last 12 months.
The fight for equality Unfortunately, gender inequality remains rife in the highest echelons of the law. Although over 50% of new entrants to the profession since 1993 have been women, the Law Society’s most recent annual statistics report for 2014 shows that while women currently represent around 57% of all trainee solicitors and associates, only 24% of partners are female (dropping to 19% in the magic circle). The most senior ranks of law firms, barristers’ chambers and the judiciary are still overwhelmingly dominated by white, privileged men. Although this is widely acknowledged as a problem, calls for change have been met with intransigence at the top. Lord Justice Sumption – who as one of 12 Supreme Court judges (only one of whom is a woman) is one of the most senior lawyers in the country – said this year that women should be patient and that it will take another 50 years to achieve gender equality in the judiciary. Although the legal regulators have extensive rules and guidance on promoting equality, as well as professional and ethical behaviour, it would appear that these are not being taken seriously. A wide-ranging survey of women barristers found that discrimination and harassment are still rampant in the profession, prompting the Bar Standards Board to write to every chambers in the country to remind them of the rules on equality. Whether this will have any real impact remains to be seen. The achingly slow pace of progress has led some lawyers to call for the introduction of quotas for senior positions. The issue is deeply controversial, with many finding the very idea that this might be needed to achieve equality offensive. However, this argument presupposes that women are competing on a fair and meritocratic playing field, when the overwhelming evidence is that the system is structurally stacked against them.
Whatever your view on quotas, women lawyers are doing a lot to further the cause. Lawyers – both female and male – can now join the Feminist Lawyers Society, which was established relatively recently as a platform to organise events, scholarships and campaigns; while the First 100 Years project celebrates the pioneering women who have achieved success in this male-dominated profession. Education and training shake-ups The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is continuing its attempts to widen access to the profession by diversifying its training pathways. Last year saw the introduction of ‘equivalent means’, through which paralegals can qualify as solicitors without doing a training contract, provided that they can demonstrate that the skills and experience they have gained are equivalent to those of a trainee at the point of qualification. The SRA has also been consulting on a new Solicitors’ Qualifying Exam (SQE) which all budding legal eagles will have to pass in order to qualify, whether they go through the traditional training contract, the equivalent means route or a legal apprenticeship. This could potentially eliminate the need to study the Legal Practice Course (LPC) and make training as a lawyer more flexible. The move has proved controversial, with criticisms ranging from question marks over the value of testing rote learning so soon before qualification to fears that it will create even greater segmentation among law schools and students, as well as arguments that the exam-based criteria it focuses on are pretty similar to those of the current LPC. It is also worth pointing out that the SRA’s concerns over the cost and quality of the LPC are a direct result of its previous decision to cede any regulatory responsibility for the course. In any event, leading universities have decided to stick with the LPC for the foreseeable, while the SQE looks set
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