Career Paths and Choices in a Highly Differentiated Profession: The Position of Newly Qualified Solicitors

Differences in the working lives of solicitors have become increasingly marked in recent years. Growing numbers of lawyers are employed in the public and corporate sectors and, with the increasing size and wealth of City of London commercial firms, there are significant differences between these firms and those 'high-street' firms that serve local communities. These differences impact on lawyers throughout training and beyond, both in terms of rites of passage into the profession and in conditions of employment. This research, the final stage in a longitudinal survey spanning the 1990s, combines quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the reactions of newly qualified solicitors to their work. Building on the project's previous surveys, which charted the nature of disadvantage suffered by many prospective entrants to the legal profession, the research finds a large measure of satisfaction regarding careers. It also identifies causes for concern, including increasing specialisation in legal education and the potential separation of the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards of professional practice.     

法学教育的历史使命与重新定位

法律人才的培养取决于法学教育的正确定位和不断创新。应摈弃狭义的法学教育的概念 ,重新界定和建构法学教育的新概念。法律人才培养体制改革的当务之急是 :第一 ,与法律职业部门的教育培训机构共同构建法律职业教育共同体 (如组建国家司法学院和省级司法学院 ) ;第二 ,尽快建立与司法考试制度相适应、相配套的法律职业教育制度和法律职业培训制度 ;第三 ,尽快制定法律人才培养质量评价制度 ,组建法律教育专家委员会     

On the Improvement of China＇s Judge Selection System

司法是社会正义的最后防线,司法正义的实现必须拥有一批高素质的司法官队伍。在构建我国司法官选任制度时,应当借鉴法治发达国家的有益经验和做法,提高司法官任职的最低学历条件,明确司法官的法律职业经验要求,完善国家司法考试制度,强调司法官的品行操守,建立司法官任职培训制度,完善司法官的选任机制和程序。     

论我国司法官选任制度的完善

司法是社会正义的最后防线,司法正义的实现必须拥有一批高素质的司法官队伍。在构建我国司法官选任制度时,应当借鉴法治发达国家的有益经验和做法,提高司法官任职的最低学历条件,明确司法官的法律职业经验要求,完善国家司法考试制度,强调司法官的品行操守,建立司法官任职培训制度,完善司法官的选任机制和程序。     

构建以法律职业为目标导向的法律人才培养模式——中国法律教育改革与发展研究报告

改革开放30年来,在依法治国方略的推动下,我国逐步建立起布局、结构层次比较完整和发达的法律人才培养体系,为建设法治和繁荣法学做出了贡献。但目前仍存在着法律人才培养的层次和结构、数量和质量不能适应或满足政法队伍建设的实际要求,特别是管理体制混乱等诸多矛盾和迫切需要解决的问题。要深化法律教育体制改革,必须立足我国的历史和现实,借鉴发达国家法律人才培养经验,建立以法律职业为目标导向的法律教育管理体制和法律人才培养模式,即强化政法机关对法律教育的指导和管理职能;建立以五所政法大学和若干著名大学法学院为主干的国家级政法人才培养基地;建立学术型和职业型法律人才分类培养管理机制和基本统一的法律人才培养模式;建立二段式司法考试模式并完善考试通过之后的职业培训制度;优化全国法科学科专业布局。     

Training of legal professionals in DNA evidence

The South African Criminal Legal System is based on Roman Dutch law. Court proceedings are led by a single presiding officer of the court. Prosecutors and defence advocates present the court with evidence in an adversarial manner. This system has inherent advantages and disadvantages and therefore the training of legal professionals in handling DNA evidence in court is important. The prosecutors resort under the National Prosecuting Authority and the defence advocates act independently or e.g. under the auspices of Legal Aid South Africa.Education curricula of legal professional do not include forensic science evidence. Principles such as evidential value in the forensic context are not addressed. Training of legal professionals with our Essential DNA Evidence™ Course has been a multiplier of forensic science knowledge in the legal profession in South Africa. We present prosecution and defence perspectives in an unbiased manner, compensating for the possible subjective interpretations of evidence that may be presented in court. Forensic evidence is subsequently carefully evaluated prior to being court presentation thus improving court efficiency, and allowing for a more focussed approach to the presentation of evidence. Approaches to the customisation of course content that adds value has been identified via evaluation of training programmes.Experience has shown that legal professionals have the ability to incorporate relatively complex scientific concepts into their legal arguments if provided with the appropriate training opportunity. Appropriate training in DNA evidence has made the court process more effective, both in terms of time and costs, and ultimately serves justice.     

韩国的法学教育及律师资格考试改革

韩国最近开设的法科大学院和即将实施的新的律师选拔、培养制度是韩国法律界的一大革新。在大陆法系色彩强烈的韩国法律体系里,能否成功地建立起美国式的法学院制度和律师选拔制度备受关注。尤其是韩国的法学教育以及司法改革制度,是在没有充分的协商和准备的基础上出台的,从一开始就存在很多争议,因此需要设计相应的补充方案。     

Changes to the training of English and Welsh lawyers: implications for the future of university law schools

The focus of this article is upon the plans by the Bar Standards Board and, in particular, the Solicitors Regulation Authority to remodel the education and training processes for barristers and solicitors. Introducing the most radical changes to legal education in recent decades, the proposals present Anglo-Welsh law schools with dilemmas in terms of their future educational models, student recruitment and issues of equal opportunities and accessibility. However, opportunities are also present, should some law schools wish to utilise the momentum for change to move away from constraints necessitated by following an, in part, professionally determined syllabus. Research Excellence Framework, professorial expertise and doctoral degree data are used to demonstrate that some law schools have moved away from focusing on areas most relevant to professional practice, but have retained a dependence on qualifying law degree status to recruit students in comparatively large numbers.     

Threats to internationalised legal education in the twenty-first century UK

What are the prospects for internationalised legal education in the contemporary UK? Our reflections on this question were prompted by three relatively recent publications dealing with a variety of aspects of the internationalisation of legal education, as well as discussions in and outputs from “Brexit and the Law School” events in Liverpool Law School, Keele University, Strathclyde University, and Northumbria University during 2017. We argue that, although law is often assumed to be state based and jurisdiction specific, there are significant reasons to internationalise legal education but that in the current climate of Brexit, marketisation of higher education and the Solicitors Qualifying Examination such internationalisation is under threat.     

Third Way Regulation? Community Legal Service Partnerships

This article examines recent changes in the civil legal aid scheme in England and Wales (now called the Community Legal Service) and the creation of Community Legal Service Partnerships in particular. The article explores three main interests: it illustrates how third way thinking has been applied to the reform of the legal aid scheme under the Access to Justice Act 1999; it explores how partnership fits within theories of public regulation; and it illustrates how professionalism is being re-shaped by a combination of new public management, contractualism and partnership. It points to important limitations in new public law theories of extended accountability and democratised governance as manifested in partnerships.     

改造权力——法律职业阶层在中国的兴起

统一司法考试有利于法律职业者素质的提高和法律职业阶层的形成。世界各国都注重通过法律职业的建构来保证司法产品的高品质。中国传统社会权力结构的二元冲突体现在司法上 ,即是司法政党化、行政化和地方化。法律职业阶层的兴起是中国向现代社会转型的结构力学 ,是司法独立的保障。     

The EU law “core” module: surviving the perfect storm of Brexit and the SQE

This article seeks to examine the potential impact of the vote to leave the European Union (EU) in the UK referendum in June 2016, together with changes to professional training, notably the imposition of a new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) from 2019/20, on the teaching of EU law in law degrees in England and Wales. The history of the qualifying law degree (QLD) and the place of the EU law core module within it are explained. The likely continuing effect of EU law in the English Legal System is summarised, and the reduction in EU law content in the requirements for professional training as compared with that customary on a QLD is noted. In the light of these apparent threats to the EU law module, possibilities are explored for rethinking approaches to teaching law which would reinvigorate the significance of EU law in law degrees which may well undergo redesign in the light of the changes considered here.     

Legal skills and the SQE: confronting the challenge head on

Whether the teaching and assessment of practical legal skills and professional conduct should be focused at the academic or vocational stage of legal education has been considered numerous times, with recommendations made and varying degrees of implementation carried out. With the approval of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination being granted by the Legal Services Board this issue is once again being brought into focus. The end of the Legal Practice Course will result in the required compulsory teaching and assessment of core practical legal skills and professional conduct being removed from legal education. The question therefore is whether legal education should incorporate practical legal skills and professional conduct into teaching and assessment at the academic stage and, if so, how can this be achieved in a way that complements rather than distracts from the study of academic law. This study will consider the recommendations made in relation to practical legal skills and professional conduct over the last five decades and identify possible options for the embedding of practical legal skills and professional conduct in the law curriculum at undergraduate level.     

法律人的职业化及其实现状况-以九省市实证调查数据为基础

法律职业人员的职业化是培养高素质法律职业群体的重要途径,也是衡量一个国家司法文明程度的重要内容。在法律职业人员职业化进程中,职业准入门槛的建立、职业培训的规范化和职业保障措施的完善是最为核心的三个内容。通过对全国九个地区的实证调查,我们发现在法律职业人员的职业化进程中存在不均衡格局。职业保障措施尤其在职业待遇、职业压力、职业前景、职业队伍稳定方面都存在较为严重的问题。法官、检察官、警察三个职业在职业化程度上存在显著的差别,不同地区在职业化进程上也存在很大的差异。这种不均衡的职业化格局对于司法改革的设计和实施上都提出了差别化要求。     

Back for the future: a client centred analysis of social welfare and family law provision

The landscape of legal advice provision is entering a period of significant change in England and Wales. Whilst there is a great deal of uncertainty about how the future landscape of advice service provision will evolve, there are lessons to be drawn from past delivery models.

This article first looks back at the period following the Access to Justice Act 1999, setting out a range of delivery models initiated following the Act, as well as research and evaluation conducted in the millennium decade. Findings are then presented from a comprehensive qualitative study on how people experience and deal with social welfare and family problems, and on facilitators and barriers to integrated advice provision, including inter-organisational working. This is explored through the lens of a delivery model which emphasised partnership and the pooling of resources and specialisms to meet client needs: the Community Legal Advice Centre model.     

法官职业的方法论特质

人类司法经历了由“神性法官时代”向“理性法官时代”的发展 ,而法官裁判的方法论一直是受到关注的问题。近代以来 ,法官裁判的方法论已成为法官职业自治乃至于整个法治的基本前提之一。这种方法论不能以单一特质来加描述 ,它是逻辑、经验、技艺、哲学和艺术五大要素的复合体 ,这些特质的整合与统一可以造就出理想的法官 ,塑造法官职业的辉煌。     

系统法学在中国——纪念全国首届法制系统科学讨论会召开15周年

1 98 5年全国首届法制系统科学讨论会的召开 ,标志着系统法学在中国的崛起。其历史背景是多种社会文化因素作用于法制建设和法学研究的结果。运用系统法学的“结构目标”和“效果目标”对其反馈检验 ,发现虽然成果累累 ,但是“目标差”巨大。系统法学面临着非常规意义上的挑战。     

算法歧视的司法审查——意大利户户送有限责任公司算法歧视案评析

意大利户户送有限责任公司算法歧视案所涉及的众多理论问题中,以户户送有限责任公司平台使用的算法是否对骑手造成歧视为核心。博洛尼亚法院的判决从骑手是否受反歧视法律的保护、歧视的含义以及平台算法对骑手的影响是否构成歧视等角度层层深入说理论证,最终认定该平台使用的算法构成间接歧视,并要求户户送有限责任公司支付原告三个工会组织5万欧元的惩罚性赔偿。该判决是欧洲针对算法歧视做出的第一个判决,在认定算法歧视、保护骑手权利以及确认惩罚性损害赔偿方面具有重要意义。     

论鉴定人的法律地位及其责任机制

鉴定人的法律责任是司法鉴定制度的一个重要的组成部分。从比较法角度分析在英美法国家和大陆法国家鉴定人法律地位的两种基本样式及其特征 ,比较不同程序结构下鉴定人承担的法律义务和相应责任的性质及内容 ,从而对我国鉴定人责任机制进行宏观建构。     

企业改制中资产评估的法律问题探析

我国目前资产评估法律环境有待完善,资产评估相关法律体系还没有建立起来。企业改制中资产评估主要遵守的是《国有资产评估管理办法》,不能满足资产评估业发展的需要。评估法律规范实质上是法律规范在评估中的具体应用,即评估法律规范是指由国家立法机构或国家行政机关依法制定的,是评估人员必须实施的行为规则,其最终目标是调整评估法律关系。