Artificial intelligence is set to play an important role in legal education, as BPP University Law School unveils a new AI-powered learning platform to help prepare tomorrow’s lawyers for success in their examinations.

 BPP has announced new learning technology to help students succeed in their centralised Solicitors Qualifying Examinations (SQE), Bar Standards Board (BSB) assessments and in their careers as practising lawyers.

The new technology, which has been in development over the last year and has cost the legal training giant over £1.5 million to develop, will underpin every stage of each student’s learning. The technology, which will initially be available to students studying for the BTC and PGDL from this September, will ensure that students benefit from the optimum balance of expert teaching and feedback, collaborative peer learning, and reflective self-study. Regular testing integrated across the programme will help ensure maximum retention, recall and multiple-choice question assessment practice.

The first of the new tools being introduced is an innovative, machine learning-driven, study platform called BPP Adapt.

Complementing face-to-face teaching, BPP Adapt will give tomorrow’s lawyers access to a rich range of resources including recorded presentations, online texts and primary and secondary sources of law that will help embed and build up knowledge with regular testing and instant feedback. 

Developed in partnership with leading AI education developers CENTURY Tech and using the latest findings in educational research, neuroscience and artificial intelligence applied to learning, BPP Adapt will create a unique, personalised learning path for each student that will identify the specific materials that an individual student needs and allow them to move through those materials at their own pace.

Priya Lakhani OBE, Founder CEO of CENTURY Tech, said: “AI is transforming education across the world, from schools and universities to training providers. As a former barrister, I know how important it is for legal education to maximize the talents of each student while ensuring lecturers are equipped with the tools and data they need to succeed.

“AI has the potential to give every student education and training personalised to their needs. It also assists trainers and lecturers by providing them with helpful, in-depth data on their students’ performance, in turn improving their teaching.”

BPP Adapt will also support the Law School’s increasing focus on student wellbeing by providing tutors with insights on study patterns that may be impacting a student’s mental wellbeing. Tutors will be able to work with individual students to review their study plans and, where required, coach them through a more sustainable approach to their studies.

Andrew Chadwick, Dean of BPP University Law School, said: “The BPP Adapt platform will generate a personalised learning plan for every student to ensure that each individual is presented with the right resources, in the right way, at the right time. This, along with tutor guidance, will help every student to build, apply and consolidate their knowledge and be better prepared for the centralised assessments and for practice.” 

Having acquired new knowledge, students will then engage in the second of BPP’s new EdTech investments – a virtual practice environment, which has been purpose-built to deliver a series of online experiential learning tasks for each student to contextualise and embed their learning.

The virtual practice environment will replicate a typical law firm or barrister’s chambers intranet, emulate real-world practice and help keep students motivated and engaged as they identify with the typical tasks of a future trainee or pupil barrister.  It has been designed to familiarise students with the interface they will typically use in practice, simulate realistic document handling and case management, and crucially provide them with the opportunity to consolidate and apply their new knowledge.

Mr Chadwick added: “We believe that both our new learning platform and our virtual practice environment are unique in legal vocational education. This is not about shiny tech that just offers a dry ‘drill and test’ approach where content is learned, regurgitated in an assessment and then forgotten.  Our investments will underpin every stage of a student’s learning and help them achieve long-term, deep learning which will both prepare them better for assessment and for practice through applying new knowledge to realistic, simulated, case-based experiences. 

“We know that collaborative peer learning that is guided by an expert tutor is still the core of the highest quality teaching programmes around the world.  Our enhancements will provide students with the opportunity to collaboratively construct their new learning and exchange their grasp of it with both peers and tutors to really refine their understanding.

 “Technology will not isolate our students – it will bring them closer together, both with each other and with their tutors.  That personal relationship of tutor, student and peers, will continue to remain at the heart of our learning strategy.”

As the lockdown continues in the UK, the legal industry has started to make changes to the way it continues its recruitment process, whether this is through delaying vac schemes until it is safe to conduct them or changing their format altogether.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP have announced that their its London office summer vacation schemes will proceed this year on schedule, remotely. It will host four virtual vacation schemes, each lasting for one week.

David Herlihy, our Graduate Recruitment Partner announces, ‘Our teams have worked creatively to ensure that the schemes will continue to provide a meaningful opportunity for candidates to learn more about our firm, people, culture and work. We are committed to keeping our talent pipeline strong.’

There have already been other changes in this season’s recruitment cycle with a few firms starting to change their strategy. Burges Salmon have announced that they are cancelling their general applications for the 2022 intake and will only be recruiting from their vacation scheme candidates for that round. Additionally, Russell-Cooke have ‘paused’ their graduate recruitment for the 2022 intake year entirely.

Other firms may follow suit, particularly those with generally small trainee intakes. But, the news from Skadden shows that innovation in terms of vacation scheme format makes continuing recruitment possible in what may be a new normal way.

BARBRI Altior to deliver FBS exam online with SRA approval

Trainee solicitors can fully qualify for their PSC digitally for the first time

Training provider continues to enhance its Live Online offering 

Legal training provider, BARBRI Altior has announced the launch of its online Financial and Business Skills (FBS) exam for the very first time this week.

This compulsory Professional Skills Course (PSC) written exam was previously only available in face-to-face environments for security and regulatory reasons. However, BARBRI Altior has been working alongside the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in recent weeks to identify an effective alternative for this exam during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.

Following on from its successful pilot scheme in April, the training provider will be including the FBS exam via an online proctoring system.  This means trainees will be able to fully qualify for the PSC digitally with Altior for the very first time.

Speaking of the launch, Jody Tranter, head of BARBRI Altior explains: “We’re thrilled to be able to announce the launch of our online FBS exam. We’ve been working closely with the SRA over the past few weeks to identify the most secure and effective way to introduce this digitally, whilst maintaining the integrity and security of the assessment and the experience for the delegate.

“Given our experience with online delivery to date, digitising this exam was a natural development for us and ensures that delegates can complete all of their PSC training and assessment as planned and in line with their training contract deadlines.  We felt that offering the FBS exam online was truly essential to the UK legal industry and the SRA very clearly agreed with this – we couldn’t be happier.”

Launched in 2018, BARBRI Altior’s Live Online platform has supported over 250 firms to take their learning online. The platform offers technical functionality to ensure that learners are fully supported, including the ability to ask questions and revisit course materials and recordings at any time. By taking all of its courses online in the height of the coronavirus pandemic where more professionals are working remotely than ever before, demand has increased for online learning and is likely continue to grow.

Tranter continued: “By delivering the FBS exam online along with the recent launch of our Advocacy & Communication Skills PSC core module, our PSC suite is complete.  We’re passionate about helping our learners succeed and technology has certainly opened up an array of opportunities for those who prefer to learn remotely, as well as adaptability during lockdown to allow for continuous development online, no matter what stage of their career.”

BARBRI Altior has a number of exam dates scheduled in the coming weeks/months and is working closely with its clients and delegates to ensure that training is not compromised due to any financial constraints at this time.

 

BARBRI Altior launches Advocacy & Communications Skills online for the first time.

·      Now trainees will be able to complete the PSC training digitally

·      Launch supported by the Solicitors Regulation Authority

·      BARBRI Altior is enhancing its remote training library

Cardiff-based legal training provider, BARBRI Altior has announced the launch of its virtual edition of the Professional Skills Course (PSC) core module, Advocacy & Communication, via its Live Online platform for the very first time this week.

Following on from a successful pilot with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) last month, the inaugural Live Online Advocacy & Communication course is set to launch this April. Previously only available via face-to-face delivery, this virtual solution now means that trainees will be able to take the full PSC training online.

Speaking of the launch, Jody Tranter, head of BARBRI Altior said: “We’re thrilled to be able to announce the launch of our virtual Advocacy & Communication course this week. We’ve been working closely with the SRA over the last few weeks to make this a reality, and we welcome the fact that it has been receptive to us trialling this, supporting our ability to provide training for trainees to complete their training contracts in their own desired time. It’s something that we’ve seen a demand for previously, and I believe that with a greater number of firms and individuals looking to focus on development remotely, this virtual offering has become a necessity.”

With home working figures on the rise due to government guidelines, COVID-19 has seen a growing number of legal professionals searching for online training solutions during this period. BARBRI Altior’s announcement will help to ensure that trainees can continue their professional development effectively with accredited courses.

Tranter continued: “Since its launch in 2018, we’ve been working to expand our Live Online offering. However, in light of the coronavirus outbreak, our team and expert trainers have been working tirelessly to quickly adapt more of our legal and professional training courses for virtual classroom delivery. We couldn’t be more pleased about our latest addition and we are also currently working with the SRA to determine if there is a way to deliver the Financial & Business Skills (FBS) examination online.

“We recognise how important training and development time is to firms under any circumstances. However, given the current situation, with many professionals working from home for the first time or perhaps going through the stressful furlough process, training and development time is providing that added structure to the working day, supporting mental wellbeing and helping them to prepare for re-integration into office-based working routines in a post-COVID-19 world.”

BARBRI Altior is a leading legal and professional services training provider. Based in Cardiff with courses delivered across the UK as well as online through its Live Online platform, it supports delegates and firms across all stages of development.

For more information, visit: https://altior.co.uk/

Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) is asking its staff to agree to a 20% cut of weekly working hours and delaying profit distribution to partners in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

The firm announced today (20 April) it is asking its employees to sign up to a temporary change of their contract for one year from 20 April which will make them eligible to move to 80% of their working hours and base salary.

The scheme is similar to the one the firm adopted in 2009-10 in response to the global financial crisis and will apply to its offices in Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Participation to the scheme is voluntary, with NRF aiming to have 75% of its staff signed up to make it economically viable. If the target is not reached the firm will reassess its position.

The salary reduction will be tapered, with lower earning employees seeing their wages cut by 5%. The firm is also deferring the partner profit distributions and bonuses as well as salary rises and bonus payments for staff.

EMEA managing partner Peter Scott said in a statement: ‘In this current crisis, we believe it is prudent to take pre-emptive action to protect our people and our business. The key for us is to ensure that we can respond rapidly to any future changes in levels and types of work at an unprecedented time for the global economy. We know this is a challenging time for all of our people and we want to safeguard jobs as far as possible.’

He added that because it was ‘likely that not all parts of the business will be adversely affected by the current situation’, it was possible that employees who have signed up to the scheme in some parts of the business will not be required to reduce their working hours.

Scott concluded: ‘Flex worked exceptionally well for us a decade ago, which is why we are proposing a similar flexible working strategy aimed at keeping our workforce intact. We believe that if we keep the firm together we will maintain the strength of the business to take immediate advantage of the upturn when it arrives and provide our clients with continuity of service.’

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This article originally appeared on Legal Business

Continuing on from last week’s round up, the situation has continued to escalate and the shock to the legal market caused by the pandemic has become more acute. Law firms are furloughing staff members, reducing partner dividend pay outs and taking other measures to protect their businesses and staff.

There has been further disruption to the vacation scheme calendar, as well as, delays and cancelations. In a statement about its summer vacation scheme, Cripps Pemberton Greenish say that:

‘In light of the current global coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions being placed on individuals and businesses, it is with great disappointment that we have decided to cancel our 2020 summer vacation scheme. This decision has not been taken lightly as we place great value on giving students the opportunity to gain an understanding of what life is like as a solicitor at a commercial law firm.

We look forward to being able to release details of our 2021 vacation scheme later this year.‘

Other firms have followed suit and this trend could continue as the crisis enfolds. Law firms are taking these measures now in order to prevent short notice cancellations if this period of social distancing continues into the summer. However, this does come at the cost of changing their normal recruitment pattern. Some firms are also looking into ways of moving the timing of their schemes and may be rescheduling them when it is possible,  and others will be working to operate them digitally in some way.

The Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) has announced changes to its rules on testing requirements for the Legal Practice Course (LPC) to reflect the government and NHS guidelines on coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic protection.

The SRA’s announcement came after it had initially advised for student exams to be postponed, which proved controversial. It has since changed its track and put forward this flexible testing approach.

Traditionally, the LPC has required face to face assessments particularly on subjects that are by their nature interactive, such as client interviewing and other elements of its ‘skills assessment’ and ‘elective subjects’ sections.

The SRA have said in a statement from its Q&A section titled ‘Coronavirus update – Education and Training Q&A.’

‘We need to be assured that students who pass an LPC have the necessary knowledge and skills for the early stage of their career in practice. One of the ways we do this is through our requirements for supervised assessments on the LPC. It will of course be challenging to meet these requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic and so for this period, we are relaxing our current assessment requirements for all parts of the LPC’

This change has empowered LPC providers to make adjustments to all elements of the LPC assessment, while still providing ‘supervised assessment’ as is stipulated in the new guidance. This has opened the door to proctored online assessments, take home assignments and other methods. Universities and LPC providers are currently planning their reactions and there will be forthcoming announcements about examinations.

At the end of the new guidance, the SRA includes another change to normal procedure allowing students who need to defer their exams due to illness to take up their training contract prior to completing the exams. It is important to stress that this is allowable in the eyes of the SRA but would need to be agreed by each relevant firm providing training.

For more information about the SRA’s changes please read its full guidance in the Q&A at this link below.

https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/coronavirus-questions-answers/

 

 

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to unfold, the impact on solicitor legal training has started to take shape. A growing number of firms are postponing their vacation schemes, open days and other work experience opportunities. For example, White & Case have confirmed that its spring vacation scheme, scheduled to run from the 23^rd of March to the 3^rd April, has been postponed until a later date to be determined. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP have postponed its April workshops, but are working under the assumption that its summer vacation schemes will proceed, as is Irwin Mitchell, which is monitoring its upcoming legal work placement scheme due to take place on June 15.

In a statement from Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, the firm lays out its reaction to the crisis saying that it will postpone its spring vacation scheme, which was due to run from the 14-24^th of April, until June. It has also confirmed that it will run three schemes of two weeks each in the summer, and that all other work experience opportunities – first year workshops and introduction to law workshops – will be postponed until later in the summer.

The firm also provide clarity to students unable to attend the delayed vacation schemes for reason of its amended schedule. For these students, it has made arrangements to offer direct training contract interviews, although, it adds that, the threshold for training contract offers via this route will be high and limited.

At the Lex 100 we are continuing to monitor this situation and provide updated information about the pandemic’s impact on legal training. As the situation extends into the coming months, more firms will be likely to take similar action and make changes to their spring and summer programs. As and when that happens we will continue to update you.

Please get involved by sharing with us your experiences regarding postponement or cancellation of work experience, vacation schemes or the longer term effect on solicitor training generally, whether you are a prospective trainee or law firm. Feel free to get in touch by email to [email protected]