In this section...
Taking Legal Services under our wing
We are delighted to announce that we are expanding to add Legal Services into our remit, meaning employers providing legal services will be able to benefit from the wide range of workforce development services and skills solutions we currently provide to Justice & Community Safety organisations.
The move comes at a time of considerable change in the legal world, following the Legal Services Act which has brought changes to the regulation of the profession and introduced Alternative Business Structures - the globalisation of legal services, consideration of new routes to professional occupations, and the growing use of paralegals by firms of solicitors.
In this period of change it is important that there is a strong focus on skills to ensure that standards are maintained and that the 450,000 people in the legal sector have the right skills at the right time to deliver world class legal services and preserve the UK's position as a recognised international centre of legal excellence.
Desmond Hudson, Chief Executive of the Law Society said
'The Law Society looks forward to working alongside Skills for Justice to ensure the needs of the legal workforce are both recognised and addressed. We are confident that those of our members who are employers will benefit from the inclusion of legal services in the Skills for Justice portfolio. The move will also benefit staff involved at all levels of the profession.'
'This is a very positive step and will open up opportunities in terms of developing skills and sharing expert knowledge throughout the workforce, for the benefit of the public and the profession.'
Our Chief Executive Alan Woods OBE was equally pleased with the agreements made and said
'I am delighted with this decision. This is a really positive step and with more and more work heading the way of those people working in Legal Services who aren't fully qualified solicitors, a focus on ensuring the skills of these people are at the level they need to be is extremely important. I am looking forward to working closely with the Law Society and employers to open up new opportunities for people working in this area, not just in terms of qualifications, but standards and skills.'
We will now be working closely with employers and key stakeholders across legal services to understand what their key skills and workforce development challenges are, which will help with the delivery of an initial programme of work.
Read more on this in our press release.
The move comes at a time of considerable change in the legal world, following the Legal Services Act which has brought changes to the regulation of the profession and introduced Alternative Business Structures - the globalisation of legal services, consideration of new routes to professional occupations, and the growing use of paralegals by firms of solicitors.
In this period of change it is important that there is a strong focus on skills to ensure that standards are maintained and that the 450,000 people in the legal sector have the right skills at the right time to deliver world class legal services and preserve the UK's position as a recognised international centre of legal excellence.
Desmond Hudson, Chief Executive of the Law Society said
'The Law Society looks forward to working alongside Skills for Justice to ensure the needs of the legal workforce are both recognised and addressed. We are confident that those of our members who are employers will benefit from the inclusion of legal services in the Skills for Justice portfolio. The move will also benefit staff involved at all levels of the profession.'
'This is a very positive step and will open up opportunities in terms of developing skills and sharing expert knowledge throughout the workforce, for the benefit of the public and the profession.'
Our Chief Executive Alan Woods OBE was equally pleased with the agreements made and said
'I am delighted with this decision. This is a really positive step and with more and more work heading the way of those people working in Legal Services who aren't fully qualified solicitors, a focus on ensuring the skills of these people are at the level they need to be is extremely important. I am looking forward to working closely with the Law Society and employers to open up new opportunities for people working in this area, not just in terms of qualifications, but standards and skills.'
We will now be working closely with employers and key stakeholders across legal services to understand what their key skills and workforce development challenges are, which will help with the delivery of an initial programme of work.
Read more on this in our press release.
