news CBA NATIONAL MAGAZINE
Anti-Racism as Part of Continuing Professional Development IT’S ESSENTIAL TO ADVANCE SYSTEMIC CHANGE AMONG LEGAL PROFESSIONALS.
CBA NATIONAL MAGAZINE
Adapting to the Times IF LAW FIRMS DON’T, MANY ARE GOING TO GO UNDER.
Prior to COVID-19, the legal industry was going through significant changes. A growing number of clients sought to be more in control of their files and billing. Meanwhile, external lawyers increasingly provided legal coaching to their in-house counterparts, instead of on the record representation. Indeed, Big Law has been downsizing for years, with many corporate clients growing their legal departments. The lucrative days of law in the 1980s seems to be over. Many lawyers have been offering flat fees and unbundled packages to attract clients. Then COVID-19 came along and blindsided the legal industry. Government relief measures have become critical for many people, law firms and businesses to pay their bills. However, the government cannot afford to keep the economy on life support indefinitely. Lawyers are going to have a tough few years ahead of them. A further squeeze on the legal market is that there are too many lawyers and not enough clients. Universities like Bond University in Australia doesn’t require an LSAT. Many law students are going abroad to law school, and then returning to the US and Canada to practice law.
Racial disparities exist in the law: in its application and its impacts, as an access to justice issue and in the experiences of legal professionals. Continuing professional development — an essential part of ensuring professional competence among legal professionals — must address this reality. It is all the more pressing that this be done, given the anti-racism and diversity issues that have come to the surface in recent years. There’s more to competency than getting training in anti-racism, beyond merely diversity, and developing the cultural competency to address client needs. Lawyers must have the knowledge and understanding if they are to take part in changing and disrupting systemic racism and racial disparities.
Many of these students graduated in a few years, come back to North America, and complete their exams to get licensed. They eventually become sole practitioners and compete with lawyers that went to law school locally. The straw that broke the lawyer’s back — COVID-19 was the final straw for many law firms. With tight margins, staff on payroll, and rent in central areas, they could not afford to continue with their practice. Since the coronavirus spread, lawyers and their firms — of all sizes — are increasingly desperate for leads. Managing partners are just trying to meet their payroll obligations and rent while waiting to see how long it will take the economy to recover. Read the full article 26 BARTALK / OCTOBER 2020
Read the full article
