LOCAL LAW SOCIETY FORUM -DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Samantha McLeish and Chris Seel The Law Society, Diversity and Inclusion Advisers

On 29 September 2022 Chris Seel and Samantha McLeish, who are members of the Law Society’s Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Team, provided a preview of upcoming D&I work including how local law societies and their members can get involved in two particular projects: the 100 Year Centenary of Women in Law and the Law Society’s D&I Framework. If either of these topics are of particular interest to you or to segments of your membership, and you would like further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at membershipengagement@lawsociety.org.uk

100 Year Centenary of Women in Law

In 1922 the first woman to officially qualify as a solicitor was admitted to the profession. The Law Society will remember and celebrate this milestone of 100 years of women in law through a campaign with three phases, running from December 2022 to March 2023.

Phase One will begin with a historical article on the first four women solicitors and a launch event at 113 Chancery Lane. This will be an invite only event and shall be livestreamed to those who wish to attend from further afield. This will coincide with a social media campaign profiling 100 inspiring women in law from the past and member profiles articles.

Phase Two will run from January through to February. The focus of this phase will be on informing, educating and guiding firms and organisations on the changes that still need to be made. We hope, as part of this phase, to record members of the profession speaking about their hopes for the profession, create member profiles on hybrid and flexible working and alternative career paths, to develop a D&I dictionary entry to assist with things like gender neutral drafting and promote the D&I Framework to encourage firms to focus on gender equality

Phase Three will run from the end of February through to March. We intend for this phase to coincide with International Women’s Day on 8 March 2023. The exact outputs of this phase are under discussion, but planning is underway, and we are keen to hear from interested partner sponsors for this phase who would be interested in hosting an event with us. Should your Law Society or any of your members have an interest in being involved with the 100 Year Centenary project or are already making plans to celebrate this centenary then we’d love to hear further from you.

The D&I Framework

Figures released from our Annual Statistics Report 2021 found that while there has been some improvement with increasing diversity in the legal profession, there’s still work to be done. Solicitors from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds reached 18%, while Black, Asian and minority ethnic solicitors working in private practice increased by 6%. However, nearly a third of sole practitioners are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. These solicitors often make the move to sole practice due to barriers to progression to senior levels at larger law firms. Disabled people and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds are not even getting into the profession in sufficient numbers.

The Law Society has developed a new framework to provide firms and organisations with a three steps approach to tackling D&I challenges and creating a lasting impact. As part of this framework, we have created an action plan template as well as links to additional guidance and resources for more detailed help. For those organisations new to the issue this framework will help you to create a systematic, well resourced, approach to meet these challenges. If you are already taking action, it will help you review and identify gaps or areas that need further thought. Further information about the framework is available here:

Press Release

www.lawsociety.org.uk/contact-orvisit-us/press-office/press-releases/ diversity-and-inclusion-frameworksets-out-how-the-legal-profession-cancreate-lasting-change

SHORT OVERVIEW www.lawsociety.org.uk/campaigns/ diversity-and-inclusion/features/threesteps-to-a-diversity-and-inclusionstrategy-that-creates-lasting-change

FULL FRAMEWORK www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/diversityand-inclusion-framework systems link directly into public services such as the Land Registry to check property deeds. This instantly reduces the potential for fraud – and removes the risk to important documents.

We encourage local law societies to look at this and to signpost it to your members.

Our initial primary audience is medium to large firms, but we are looking to continually develop the framework to suit our members’ needs, so will be gathering feedback from small firms and in-house lawyers on what other resources they would find helpful. In any event, most organisations can benefit from the strategic approach recommended by the framework.

This framework builds on and replaces our D&I Charter, which was developed over a decade ago. Changes in the workplace and wider society have encouraged us to update our approach.

As part of this project, we are keen to share examples of best practice from across England and Wales. If you or your members are interested in submitting a D&I case study to be featured on our website, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

The digital data vision

How technology innovation is supporting regulatory compliance and reducing risk for you and your clients - Chris Handford, SRA Director of Regulatory Policy

Hello Cambridge Law Society. It’s nice to get the chance to be the one that writes for you. I’m going to use this opportunity to talk about some of the innovations that the greater use of technology is bringing to the profession.

Even before the pandemic accelerated digital transformation across legal services, our Standards and Regulations, introduced in 2019, provided you and your firms with greater clarity, agility, and flexibility. This helped some of you to quickly switch to technology-enabled remote and online working and continue providing legal services throughout the pandemic.

Post-pandemic, many of you have permanently adopted a hybrid model, combining online and in-person customer interaction. In addition to video conferencing and electronic signatures, there are online services and apps for standard processes like customer onboarding, whereby the client submits an online form with their personal details and the nature of their case. These are increasingly linked to triage systems which automatically direct client inquiries to the department or lawyer with the appropriate specialism.

Automation supports compliance

As well as making it easier and quicker for customers to instruct a lawyer, online and automated services support regulatory compliance. Now clients can use an app to upload a photo of their passport or driving licence and take a selfie to verify their identity. Practice management systems link directly into public services such as the Land Registry to check property deeds. This instantly reduces the potential for fraud – and removes the risk to important documents.

Empowering customers

We are exploring how technology and innovation can empower consumers and increase access to justice. For example, we examined the possibilities for unbundled legal services, whereby lawyers and customers divide the legal tasks between them. Unbundling, powered by collaboration platforms that share information gives consumers more control over their cases and reduces costs, extending access to legal services. Our unbundling pilot found no significant difference in consumer satisfaction when services were unbundled: indeed, unbundling helps firms attract more clients.

Customer-facing apps are making legal services easier to access and more straightforward, giving customers more control over their data, and enabling them to check progress on their case 24/7 from multiple devices. There is more choice around customer interaction – websites, apps, chatbots, online consultations via Zoom or Teams, and messaging platforms – in addition to the traditional telephone and in-person meetings.

However it is important to allow people to choose how they interact with you. While some are more comfortable taking the time to fill in an online form, others prefer an initial meeting for information gathering – either in person or online. This will depend on the individual, and the type of advice they are looking for – whether it is a business or property transaction, or a sensitive personal or family matter.

The digital data vision

Digital transformation enables you to capture and access the data you handle. Systems, tools and apps automatically gather and leverage data which can be used to achieve efficiencies and cost savings. When a client submits an online form, the data is replicated across the firm’s operation and finance systems removing the need for additional data entry. The details can be seamlessly checked and verified. Automation saves human effort, reduces staff costs and removes the risk of human error. Therefore tech integration isn’t just for the customer – it also helps you maintain your margins, as you can decide how much of the savings gained from tech and automation to pass on to your clients, and how much to reinvest into more innovative services.

Digital transformation introduces realtime, comprehensive audit trails as the data captured is not just the data that is consciously shared to the system, but underlying metadata like the time it takes to progress each case. Systems record every customer interaction, from emails through to voice messages and video consultations. That data can be used to monitor and improve processes and ensure consistency throughout and across cases. It can also be used to protect the firm against complaints and disputes.

Tech and automation remove potential misunderstandings. And reduced risk has a direct effect on professional indemnity insurance (PII) premiums. One firm found that customers inputting their own details rather than a lawyer or paralegal taking meeting notes led to lower PII premiums because this unbundling mitigates the risk of customer disputes/claims due to inaccuracy or misunderstandings. Another firm developed an automated claims management system which lowered the cost of processing motor claims enabling it to remain competitive while maintaining its margins.

Digital transformation is a win-win for all stakeholders. Tech and automation benefit operations and profit margins, and support customers by providing a better, clearer, more verifiable, audited service. SRA Innovate supports and promotes transformational ideas, products and services that deliver these improvements through initiatives like the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund and LawTech UK’s Regulatory Response Unit.

But as law is a social framework, we need to empower all consumers, not just people who are competent and comfortable with using online services. So we also need to focus on exception handling – the human in the loop who is there to support people who need legal advice but are unable or uncomfortable with a wholly digital interaction.