Morning Briefing: Mum says don’t become a lawyer

If you’re a parent would you advise your child to follow you into the legal profession or suggest another path?… International network welcomes Indian firm… Managing partners moderately confident in financial performance… UK regulator launches ground-breaking study…

Mum says don’t become a lawyer
If you’re a parent would you advise your child to follow you into the legal profession or suggest another path? A former costs lawyer, now working for an independent school in Melbourne says she won’t be advising her children to become a lawyer. Writing for womensagenda.com.au Liora Miller questions the purpose of studying at law school when many then struggle to find work. She highlights that in Australia there are around 12,000 law graduates each year but only 60,000 practising lawyers. She also says that of her alumni from 25 years ago many have left the profession and others are less than satisfied. Miller acknowledges that a career in the law can be right for some but asks whether gaining a law degree is as valuable as it once was and whether for many the core skills attained can be achieved through other courses.
 
International network welcomes Indian firm
The board of directors of the Lex Mundi international network of independent law firms has voted unanimously to admit Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. as the exclusive member firm for India. The firm has 350 lawyers and 65 partners and offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. The firm is one of the two formed from legacy Amarchand Mangaldas Suresh A Shroff & Co which closed following a court case which saw brothers Cyril and Shardul go their separate ways.
 
Managing partners moderately confident in financial performance
Managing partners of US law firms are moderately confident about financial prospects in the second half of this year according to Citi Private Bank. The bank’s law firm group polled managing partners at 39 big US law firms, 12 niche firms and three in the UK and found that overall economic confidence dipped eight per cent from the previous quarter with optimism in the legal profession’s revenue growth falling five per cent. 
 
UK regulator launches ground-breaking study
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has launched a study into professional standards. It has invited 10,000 solicitors to take part in a survey which aims to be a ground-breaking piece of research into standards by asking lawyers to assess 15 scenarios and suggest a solution. The poll is part of the SRA’s newly launched campaign “A question of trust” looking at what values mean to the profession. 
 

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