Legal regulators face new challenges from a rapidly changing world, which is exerting new social and political demands on the legal services sector and altering the dynamics within the profession itself.
This 8th International conference of legal regulators will provide the opportunity to step back from the day-to-day concerns of regulation and look strategically at some of the significant trends that are emerging in different jurisdictions. It will also offer participants the chance to reflect on how they can continue to perform their core regulatory tasks, of upholding standards and sustaining trust, whilst being flexible and responsive to the changing world around them.
We look forward to warmly welcoming you to Edinburgh in September.
Mercat Cross, High Street, Edinburgh
Parliament House
John Mulholland, President, Law Society of Scotland
Ash Denham MSP, Minister for Community Safety, Scottish Government
Moderator: David Lee
Speakers:
Anna Bradley, Chair, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Dr Heike Lörcher, Head of International Relations, German Federal Bar
1 x VACANT
This session will join by video-link with TechLaw Fest, Singapore
www.techlawfest.com/
- National and supra national regulation
- Sectoral regulation
- Interdisciplinary challenges
Moderator:
Jerry Larkin, Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission, Illinois
Speakers:
Kerrie-Anne Millard, Legal Services Board & Commissioner, Victoria
Steve Brooker, Legal Services Board, England and Wales
Carol Brennan, past Chair of Scottish Legal Complaints Commission Consumer panel
- What do consumers want from their legal services providers?
- Conducting a consumer needs survey
- The growing pressure of client expectations
Hosted by Law Society of Scotland
Moderator: David Lee
Speakers:
Professor Stephen Mayson, leading Independent Review of Legal Services Regulation
Stephan Göcken, Executive Director, German Federal Bar
Frederica Wilson, Executive Director & Deputy CEO, Federation of Law Societies of Canada
- Regulation and independence
- Entity and market regulation
- Role of the state
- Access to justice
Moderator: Jane Malcolm, Executive Director of External and Corporate Affairs, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Speakers:
Catriona Watt, Association of Regulatory & Disciplinary Lawyers
Mary Ollivier, Director, Regulatory, New Zealand Law Society
Niels Hupkes, Manager Policy & Regulation, The Netherlands Bar
- Price transparency
- Winning confidence
- Complaints and publication of findings
Moderator: Victoria Rees, Director, Professional Responsibility, Nova Scotia Barristers Society
Speakers:
Ellyn Rosen, ABA Regulation and Global Initiatives Counsel
Iain Miller, Partner, Kingsley Napley LLP and Chair of Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers
Rebecca Magorokosho-Musimwa, Regulatory Services Manager, Law Society of Zimbabwe
As recent events have shown, regulating the conduct of lawyers who serve as elected politicians or in public office, as well as those who provide legal services to others in public office, is a minefield. It is a challenge to properly balance the interests of the public, lawyers and the administration of justice when potential ethical violations occur. This workshop will provide practical case-based guidance (including a take-away you help develop) on:
- What factors should regulators consider when assessing risk and determining when/ whether to take action in these circumstances?
- How can regulators effectively balance all relevant interests when engaged in these assessments/investigations?
Moderator: Fiona McLeay, Legal Services Commissioner and CEO, Victorian Legal Services Board
Speakers:
Sara Carnegie, Director, Legal Projects, International Bar Association
Zelda Perkins, Campaigner and formerly Weinstein Company
- Me Too and sexual harassment
- Make up of the profession
- Role of the regulator
Moderator: VACANT
Speakers:
Sara Jagger, Director of Professional Conduct, Bar Standards Board
Alvin Chen Yi Jing, Director, Legal Research and Development, Law Society of Singapore
Professor Laurel S Terry, The Pennsylvania State University
- Separate business interests
- Social media
- Lawyers on lawyer selection platforms
- Gig economy lawyers
Moderator: Ian Messer, Director of Financial Compliance, Law Society of Scotland
Speakers:
Sarah Wheeler, Manager, OPBAS, Financial Crime Advisory and Transformation
Cathy McKay, Law Society of Northern Ireland
Motlatsi Molefe, Attorneys Fidelity Fund, South Africa
Hosted by Law Society of Scotland
Moderator: David Lee
Speakers:
Stephanie Spiers, Federation of Law Societies of Canada
Peter Lawson, Chairman, Burness Paull LLP
Ciara Murphy, Chief Executive, The Bar of Ireland
- Why is it so difficult to engage the profession in this significant agenda?
- Which demographics are most likely to be affected by poor mental health and how can we best target support?
- How do we create open and supportive legal workplaces that promote well-being and positive mental health?
- How can we monitor what we offer and evaluate its success?
- What are the implications of this agenda for regulators and the public, as well as individual lawyers and the profession as a whole?
This panel will aim to draw together lessons from each workshop and set the scene for Day 2, which will focus in more depth on how innovation might affect the traditional tasks of the legal regulator.
One member of each breakout will join plenary panel to highlight the key issue identified in workshops and explain why delegates/regulators should take this away from conference.
- 16:05: Workshops A & B
- 16:35: Workshops C & D
The Rt Hon Lord Carloway, Lord President of the Court of Session
Waldorf Astoria
Moderator:David Lee
Speakers:
Prof Alan Paterson, Professor of Law, University of Strathclyde
Paul Philip, Chief Executive, SRA
Judith Gundersen, President, National Conference of Bar Examiners
- Benchmarking the profession
- Assessments and measurements
- Raising standards and improved outcomes
- Proportionate regulation
- Quality and competence
Moderator: Joan Janssen, Director of Legal Services, Ministry of Law, Singapore
Speakers:
Sarah Sutherland, Director Programmes and Partnerships, CanLII
Ivan Mokanov, President, Lexum
John McKinlay, Partner, DLA Piper and Convenor, Technology Law and Practice Committee, Law Society of Scotland
- Digital content
- Big data
- Overcoming resistance to change
- Artificial intelligence and regulation
Moderator:
Jayne Reardon, Executive Director Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism
Speakers:
Art Lachman, co-chair, Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers’ Future of Lawyering Committee and attorney in Washington
Bridget Gramme, Administrative Director, Center for Public Interest Law, University of San Diego School of Law
John Lund, Parsons Behle & Latimer
This “reverse panel” session will address the emerging legal tech industry, and principles and best practices for effectively regulating new methods of delivering legal services. Our goal for this session is for audience participants to learn from one another’s experiences in their respective jurisdictions, gather data regarding best practices, and bring this information back to our home jurisdictions.
- Reform efforts underway in the US (California, Utah, Arizona and APRL)
- Data/burdens to justify regulatory changes, including “access to justice” rationales
- “Independence”/self-regulation/separation of powers issues
- Multi-jurisdictional practice
Moderator: Patricia Schwartz, Office of Disciplinary Counsel, Supreme Court of State of Delaware (confirmed)
Speakers:
Alison Hook, Consultant
David Levy, Avocat
Sylvie Champagne, Secretariat of the Order and Legal Affairs, Barreau de Quebec *(video link)
Mary Mugure, Council of Legal Education/ Kenya Law Society
This panel will discuss foreign legal consultant rules in the United States and France, Mutual Recognition Agreements in Quebec, the European Union, and East Africa, and Memorandums of Understanding in the United Kingdom. Are they working, what are the pitfalls and what are the Brexit implications?
- Scope of understanding
- Efficacy of processes
- Expansion
Hosted by Law Society of Scotland
Moderator: Philip Yelland, Executive Director of Regulation, Law Society of Scotland
Speakers:
Melinda Bentley, Legal Ethics Counsel, Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri
Malcolm Mercer, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault’s Litigation Group
John Elliot, Director of Regulation and Registrar of Solicitors, Law Society of Ireland
- Client trust funds and third parties
- Alternative legal services providers
- Code of conduct
- Referal fees
Moderator: Jenny Mittelman, Deputy General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia
Speakers:
Angela Latta, Legal Services Board
Chris Harte, Chief Executive, Morton Fraser
Rob Marrs, Head of Education, Law Society of Scotland
- Tech skills
- Millennial working attitudes
- Gig economy
Moderator: Gordon Jackson QC
Speakers:
Brenda Grimes QC, Executive Director, Law Society of Newfoundland & Labrador
Janet Welch, Executive Director, State Bar of Michigan
Moderator: David Lee
Speakers:
Johan Riijlaarsdam, President, The Netherlands Bar
Patrick Dillen, Secretary General, Federation of European Bars
Victoria Rees, Director, Professional Responsibility, Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society
Hosted by Law Society of Scotland
Moderator: Michael P. Clancy OBE, Director of Law Reform, Law Society of Scotland
Speakers:
Jolyon Maugham QC, Good Law Project
Sheila Kumar, Chief Executive, CLC Consumers v clients
- Regulation, regulators and the regulated
- Empowering consumers
- Ethical questions and challenges for regulators, including NDAs
Moderator: David Lee
Neil Stevenson, Chief Executive, Scottish Legal Complaints Commission
Cori Ghitter, Law Society of Alberta
Paule Armeneau, Law Society of Alberta
Moderator:
Dr Vanessa Davies, Director General, Bar Standards Board
- Interactive and participatory session
- Crafting a code of conduct
- Public expectation in modern age
Jolyon Maugham QC, Devereux Chambers and Good Law Project
- Regulation across borders post Brexit
- Why law matters in ‘post truth’ world
Lorna Jack, Chief Executive, Law Society of Scotland
Waldorf Astoria Caledonian Hotel
