Regulator publishes details

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has referred for prosecution international law firm Baker McKenzie and two former partners plus its former HR director over sexual misconduct allegations.

The regulator alleges that Gary Senior, a former managing partner at the global giant’s London office, “sought to initiate intimate activity” with an unnamed female at the firm.

As well as laying charges over the incident itself, the SRA accuses Senior of improperly using his position in the firm to influence the conduct of an internal investigation. The allegations will be heard by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal at a hearing to be arranged.

The Bakers HR director and partner who carried out that investigation, Martin Blackburn and Thomas Cassels, will also face the tribunal. Both are accused of allowing Senior to influence what should have been an independent investigation and failing to tell the alleged victim of Senior’s involvement.

The pair are also alleged to have failed to report the “serious misconduct” to the SRA. Baker McKenzie itself faces similar charges.

The charges state that Senior “attempted to embrace and kiss” Person A, without her having “indicated consent to such contact”. He is said to have “persisted in said conduct despite Person A indicating that such conduct was not appropriate”.

The SRA stresses that the allegations are unproven, while Baker McKenzie pointed out that all three ex-partners have now left the firm. Senior now works as a consultant at executive recruitment firm Helix Management Services, while Cassels is a commercial litigation partner at Linklaters.

In a statement issued this morning, Baker McKenzie said that “As we have previously disclosed, we have been co-operating fully with the SRA since the beginning of this process last year”. This cooperation included passing on a review of the incident carried out by Simmons & Simmons, which found a “number of shortcomings” in the way it was handled.

The statement goes on to say:

“As we said last September both publicly and privately to the SRA, we fully accept there were significant shortcomings in the procedures that we followed in 2012 and subsequently. This is something which we very much regret. We could and should have done much better in handling the issue at the time and subsequently, we have since introduced and reinforced robust processes to ensure these shortcomings can never be repeated.”

A Baker McKenzie spokesperson added that the firm had beefed up its “internal due diligence processes, including around the way we vet candidates for promotion”, and now encourages a “speak up culture across the firm”.

In a statement Linklaters said: “We note the SRA’s decision to refer this matter to the SDT and Tom has the firm’s full support. Tom is a hugely respected and distinguished lawyer who, since joining us in 2016, has become a trusted and valued partner. He has a long track record of championing diversity initiatives, including our own internal ‘He for She’ campaign and as a mentor for the 30% Club”.

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Testing skills during SQE1 doesn’t really work, says examiner

Aspiring lawyers looking to sit the upcoming Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) should have their legal knowledge and practical skills assessed separately, the results of a pilot have suggested.

Kaplan, the legal education giant tasked with delivering the new super-exam, has recommended that the skills element of SQE1, under its current format, be ditched.

The pilot, run by Kaplan, saw over 300 candidates from across the UK, Singapore and France, sit a preliminary version of SQE1 earlier this year. The assessment itself was split into two sub-sections: three multiple-choice papers of 120 questions each covering black letter law, followed by a practical skills test consisting of one legal research and two legal writing exercises.

Responding to Kaplan’s feedback, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said it had decided to take some time to discuss the findings with stakeholders and to explore whether there are any other suitable ways to assess skills in SQE1. Marks for each of the three pilot skills assessments ranged from 8% to 100%.

The regulator accepted the results of the pilot raised questions about the “validity” of the skills assessment, pointing to the low number of practical exercises (three in total) as the reason for this part of the exam not reaching the “high standard of accuracy required”. It added:

“The results also suggested that the skills part of the SQE1 may set an unnecessary barrier to qualification which disadvantages BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) candidates, which would be unacceptable.”

As a result of this, the SRA confirmed it will not go ahead with the proposed approach to assessing students’ skills in SQE1.

While it remains to be seen whether the practical element will be removed from part one altogether, the SRA did stress that lawyer-hopefuls will still be tested extensively on these as part of SQE2. Under the current proposals, part two will cover a range of practical skills including client interviewing, advocacy and legal drafting.

Elsewhere in today’s announcement, the SRA said it had accepted Kaplan’s recommendation to “further enhance the effectiveness” of SQE1 by amending the design to two 180 MCQ assessments rather than three 120 MCQ ones. This, according to the regulator, “will improve the reliability and accuracy of the exam, helping to ensure that those who pass deserve to pass and those who fail, deserve to fail”. Marks on the pilot MCQ tests ranged from 17% to 85%, with an average mark of 50%.

Commenting on the update, Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said:

“The pilot was also about understanding what does not work, and there is clearly more to do to establish whether an early stage skills assessment can be sufficiently robust. We will continue to work closely with stakeholders to explore the best options for assessing legal skills through the SQE.”

The SQE, due to come into force in September 2021, will replace both the Legal Practice Course (LPC) and Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL). A pilot on SQE2 is due to run in December.

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City outfit to ensure outsourced cleaning staff get London living wage

Addleshaw Goddard has pledged that its outsourced cleaners will all be paid the London living wage as a trade union plans a protest at its City office.

The Cleaners and Allied Independent Workers Union (CAIWU) says that cleaners on the Addleshaw Goddard night shift are paid below the London living wage of £10.55 an hour. The cleaning is outsourced to facilities management company Incentive FM, but the union has targeted Addleshaw Goddard for a protest on Friday 9 August.

The London living wage, which is higher than the legally required minimum wage, is what charities calculate as the minimum someone needs to get by on.

In addition to its wage demands, CAIWU claims that night shift cleaning staff are being short-changed on annual leave days and a contractual sick pay agreement.

Incentive FM is accredited by the Living Wage Foundation as a “recognised service provider”. This means that, while it doesn’t pay all staff the living wage, it tenders a Living Wage bid alongside a market rate bid to potential clients. According to the Living Wage Foundation, “this means the client always has the choice to implement the Living Wage at the point of tender”.

A spokesperson for Addleshaw Goddard said:

“We are in regular dialogue with our 3rd party suppliers and Incentive FM will be bringing the night shift team in-line with the LLW [London Living Wage] when salaries are reviewed in the early Autumn”.

Incentive FM did not respond to our request for comment.

Addleshaw Goddard is hardly the only big business under fire over pay for outsourced support staff. The CAIWU protest on 9 August, for example, will move from Addleshaws in the morning to office space provider WeWork in the afternoon.

Over 130 firms and chambers are accredited by the Living Wage Foundation. While many big names are included, that represents a tiny minority of the legal sector.

Cleaners at the Ministry of Justice itself, employed by outsourcing firm OCS, walked out over pay last year and are set to vote on renewed strike action.

Tonight I joined striking Ministry of Justice cleaners on their picket line to show solidarity with their campaign to be paid £10.20 not £7.83 an hour for cleaning Justice Secretary Gauke’s office

When Labour is in Government all my MoJ colleagues will be paid a REAL Living Wage pic.twitter.com/Iou2Kp5CZb

— Richard Burgon MP (@RichardBurgon) August 9, 2018

Legal Cheek has previously revealed that top London barristers’ chambers continue to pinch pennies by recruiting junior clerks at below the living wage. But pupil barristers, at least, will have enough to put food on the table, with the Bar Standards Board enforcing a minimum pupillage award in line with the living wage from September 2019.

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Seven speedy tips for last-minute TC seekers

With less than 12 hours until the deadline, every hour, every minute, every single second counts towards your final lap of this summer’s training contract competition — the last lap you’ll ever have to do (well, unless you’re unsuccessful of course!). And yet, here you are, procrastinating away on Legal Cheek. Frankly, we’re honoured — and as a sign of gratitude, we’re sharing with you our top dos and don’ts for training contract deadline day.

Don’t give up hope

At your lowest, you will ask yourself questions familiar to all procrastinators: Why did I leave it this late? Why am I not more organised? What’s the point in even submitting this application? Should I just wait until next year, when I’m more prepared? Once you’ve finished your pitiful recital, just remember: law firms have deadlines for a reason. Sure, some take applications on a rolling basis and you may have already missed out. However, you’re not the only one leaving it to the last minute — and employers know that. So, stop your nay-saying and get back to work!

Do your research

Oh, so you’re still here! Well, while we have you, why not make it an educational experience? Law firms are looking for candidates that know them inside and out. From recent big-ticket deals to strategy in the City pay-war and trendy AI initiatives — you should know exactly where your chosen firm sits within the legal market. But how? Check out the Legal Cheek news feed for the latest legal scoops, our busy careers section for tip-top advice and our comprehensive Firms Most List for an in-depth guide to each outfit.

Don’t skip on the H2O

Are your palms sweaty? Knees weak and your arms are heavy? Well, take a moment. Catch your breath. But more importantly, stay hydrated. Water not enough to keep the searing stress at bay? Move onto a cheeky chai latte or a gritty espresso for an express dose of caffeine.

Do take your time

With pressuring piling as the clock relentlessly ticks away to midnight, there will be a temptation to cut corners. What did I get in my GCSEs again? My A-Levels? Did I get a 68 or a 64 on my land law module? Rather than guess your way through important sections, take your time. Don’t forget the small details can make a big difference to graduate recruiters. Otherwise, risk having to back-pedal later down the line.

Don’t do what you’re doing right now

You heard me. You’ve got until midnight tonight and you’re out there spending your minutes like you ain’t the time-poorest applicant out there. Avoid the temptation to take a ‘it-will-only-be-20-minutes-nap’ and definitely do not seek out inspiration from fictional legal characters. Suits may have provided comfort when skipping your 9am, but Harvey can’t help you now!

Do keep it specific

Last thing law firms are wanting to read are dreary sob-stories about how you’ve always dreamed about being a lawyer since reading your first statute book. Instead, they want to hear about why you want to be a solicitor at their firm. Identify their unique cultural values and then match them to your own — backed up by transferrable skills picked up along the way.

Don’t forget to profread proofread

So you’ve made it to the final hurdle: the submit button. But before you take that ultimate leap, have you proofread your application? Have you cut the waffle and kept it concise? Have you checked the spelling of firm names and got on top of ghastly grammar? There’s a place for applications riddled with bloomers and blunders — and it’s not in the trainee-to-be pile.

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Ordered to pay £8,500 in costs

A London lawyer who attempted to steal two mobile phones from a check-in desk at Dubai airport has agreed to be struck off the roll.

Shashi Gorsia, a former director of Pindoria Solicitors, was found guilty by a Dubai court of attempted theft of two iPhone 7 mobile phones taken on 4 October 2016. He was jailed for one month.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) heard how Gorsia, who qualified in 2004, was travelling back to the UK with a friend at the time of the incident. Whilst at check-in, they are said to have picked up two boxes containing iPhone 7 devices belonging to another passenger who was pre-occupied with unloading his cases of excess weight. They then, according to the judgment, placed the boxes in their hand luggage before passing through security.

When stopped by officers at the gate, Gorsia and his friend claimed they had placed the phones in their luggage with a view to returning them to their owner.

In mitigation, the tribunal heard how Gorsia had voluntarily notified the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) of his conviction upon returning to the UK and previously had a clear regulatory history.

Gorsia also told the tribunal that he’d been advised his conviction could be challenged if he had been charged with the same offence in the English courts and, as a result, strict liability should not apply. This point was not endorsed by the regulator.

The SRA found Gorsia’s conduct to be “a significant departure from the ‘complete integrity, probity and trustworthiness’ to be expected of a solicitor”. In an agreed outcome, approved by the tribunal, Gorsia was struck off the roll and ordered to pay £8,500 in costs.

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A rise of 4%

CMS has confirmed its newly qualified (NQ) talent will be 4% better off.

Those qualifying into the global giant’s London office were previously remunerated a base rate of £70,000. Their salaries have now grown to £73,000, with bonuses of up to 20% (£14,600) based on performance and “contribution to the firm”. This means newbie associates can receive a total pay package worth up to £87,600 with bonuses applied.

Legal Cheek’s Firms Most List shows NQs at CMS now out earn their peers at a plethora of London-headquartered outfits including Addleshaw Goddard, Mishcon de Reya and Osborne Clarke — all of whom award junior lawyers £70,000. CMS’ lot draw level with those at Squire Patton Boggs (£73,000).

The firm confirmed regional pay remains unchanged. Bristol and Sheffield NQs are paid £50,000 and £41,000 respectively, while those in Scotland earn £40,000. CMS — which offers 65 training spots each year — remunerates its London-based trainee solicitors £43,000 in their first year rising to £48,000 in their second year.

CMS became the sixth largest firm in the UK by revenue and the sixth largest in the world by lawyer headcount in 2017 thanks to a three-way tie-up between CMS Cameron McKenna, Nabarro and Olswang.

In November 2016 we revealed CMS trainees-to-be had been offered sizeable sums of money if they agreed to defer their training contract start dates to February 2018. It is understood this was an attempt to accommodate the intakes of two additional firms. In April 2017 CMS confirmed 25 of its 46 would-be trainees had taken up the voluntary deal, equating to a pay out of £250,000.

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Disruptive departure could damage UK’s ability to attract and retain world’s top legal talent

A no deal Brexit will be disastrous for those seeking to enter the legal profession, a new report produced by the Law Society has warned.

The professional body, which represents 140,000 practising solicitors in England and Wales, has raised fresh concerns over the impact “Brexit disruption” will have on law graduates and junior lawyers’ moving around Europe.

According to the Law Society’s UK-EU future partnership and legal services report, published this morning, a no deal Brexit could also damage the UK’s ability to attract and retain the world’s top legal talent. It said:

“This has an impact on the attractiveness of qualifying in England and Wales. Their rights to provide services under their home title, to establish and practise in Europe and to requalify in host state law will all become more complex under an FTA [free trade agreement] or in case of a no-deal Brexit.”

The report added: “The prospective candidates from the EU may no longer be attracted to studying in the UK and getting an English and Welsh qualification since they cannot use it in their home country to the same degree as under the current regime.”

Aspiring lawyers wouldn’t be the only ones left worse off from a no deal departure. According to the Law Society’s president, Simon Davis, a crash-out Brexit could cost Britain’s legal services sector an eyewatering £3.5 billion, nearly 10% higher than under an “orderly Brexit”.

The UK stands as the EU’s largest exporter of legal services. According to Davis, the sector contributed £27 billion to the UK economy in 2018 and produced a trade surplus of £4.4 billion in 2017 — this largely the result of the UK’s access to European markets through directives. Davis continued:

“That is why we are urging the UK government to negotiate a future agreement that enables broader access for legal services so that English and Welsh solicitors can maintain their right to practise in the EU.”

Newly-installed Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to negotiate a better exit agreement with the EU, but maintains the UK will leave on 31 October with or without a deal.

This isn’t the first time the Law Society has shared its bleak Brexit fears. Last year, Chancery Lane’s number crunchers predicted that a no deal scenario could cost the legal market up to £3 billion by 2025, with growth slumping to 1.1%.

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£48,000 in year one, rising to £54,000 in year two — 3% boosts across the board

Clifford Chance has bumped the salaries of its trainee solicitors by 3% — topping the magic circle rookie pay league table in the process.

Trainees at the firms’ Canary Wharf HQ will now receive £48,000 in year one, up 3% from £46,600, while those a year ahead will earn £54,000, up from £52,500, again a rise of 3%. The new rates are effective from 1 September.

The uplifts mean Clifford Chance’s first years are now on the same levels of cash as their opposite numbers at Akin Gump, Cleary Gottlieb and White & Case (which upped trainee pay earlier this summer), while second years are now a full £1,500 better of than those at their nearest magic circle rival Linklaters.

The money move also sees Clifford Chance, which takes on between 90 and 100 trainees each year, jump to the top of the magic circle trainee pay table.

Magic circle trainee salary standings:

Legal Cheek‘s Firms Most List shows that Davis Polk continues to be the top trainee payer in the City with a year one salary of £55,000 rising to £60,000 in year two.

The boosts come less than two months after Clifford Chance upped the pay packages of its newly qualified (NQ) solicitors to £100,000. It’s worth noting, however, that the improved six-figure-sum includes discretionary bonuses. The other members of the magic circle — Allen & Overy, Freshfields, Linklaters and Slaughter and May — have all made similar NQ pay moves this summer.

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Turnaround in fortunes for aspiring real estate lawyer

A young woman who was left homeless after escaping a forced wedding has spoken publically about her turnaround in fortunes after landing her dream legal job and winning an apartment worth £150,000 in a competition.

Kat Demarchelier Du-Bois, 25, from Teesside, was left homeless and battling depression aged just 17, after her grandmother, who was from the travelling community, informed her she was to marry a man 13 years her senior.

Despite spending years in refuges and hostels, along with the passing of both her parents, Du-Bois didn’t let her incredibly tough personal situation get in the way of her aspirations of working in law.

Du-Bois, who excelled academically, studying for A-levels in law, Spanish, English Language, psychology, theatre studies, and art, is now a paralegal apprentice at Addleshaw Goddard.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Du-Bois, who now lives with her partner, Zak Billingham, said:

“I got in with the wrong crowd and felt my life was going nowhere. I had six A-levels and kept thinking I could do more with my life.”

Du-Bois joined the firm last September and is currently enrolled on its two-year paralegal apprenticeship programme. The qualification is level 4, the equivalent of the first year of an undergraduate degree and is delivered by BPP University Law School. After completion of the paralegal apprenticeship, she has the opportunity to progress on to the firm’s solicitor apprenticeship.

The aspiring real easte lawyer continued: “When I went for the interview last year at the law firm I borrowed a blouse from Zak’s mum and bought a £2.50 skirt from Primark. That is all I could afford.”

“I love my job, and I think it is important that there is diversity in the law as it can be quite middle class. The company has been very supportive,” she added.

If that wasn’t enough, Du-Bois recently won a competition which saw her collect the keys to a new luxury apartment in Manchester’s Blackfriars development.

The aim of the competition, run by property developer Salboy, was to find a winner who is passionate about the local community. Du-Bois launched a campaign to help homeless people in Manchester, creating a charter for local business to join to pledge support for the homeless.

And the cherry on the cake? Du-Bois is marrying Billingham today. “It is amazing timing as we are getting married on Monday [5 August] at Manchester Registry Office. I have had so much bad luck in my life and then this happens. I can’t believe it,” Du-Bois said.

Mike Potter, head of Addleshaw Goddard’s transaction services team, which Du-Bois works in, told Legal Cheek: “Kat’s story is a prime example of why these apprenticeships work, and we have been proud to support her in her recent successes, such as her recent receipt of the Inspiring Young Woman Award at the 2019 Inspiring Women Awards”.

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Free service includes guidance on NDAs and settlement agreements

A free helpline backed by British actor and activist Emma Watson will offer free legal advice to women in England and Wales who have experienced sexual harassment at work.

The expert guidance is supplied by legal charity Rights of Women, whose female volunteers and employment lawyers will offer callers guidance on what behaviour constitutes sexual harassment, how to bring a claim at an employment tribunal, as well advice on settlement and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

Kickstarted from donations from members of the public, including Watson, the specialist service enjoys backing from Time’s Up UK Justice and Equality Fund, and is managed by Rosa, the UK Fund for Women and Girls. It stands as the UK’s only free legal helpline for women facing sexual harassment in the workplace.

The new dedicated telephone line follows findings by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, that as many as one in two women experienced sexual harassment at work.

“While sexual harassment is one of the most common forms of violence against women, it has remained a hidden issue with many women believing it was an inevitable part of their jobs or that it would jeopardise their careers to assert their legal rights,” explained Seyi Newell, a senior legal officer at Rights of Women.

By plugging the gap in workplace protection, it is hoped that women will be empowered to hold their harassers and employer to account. Harry Potter star Watson said:

Understanding what your rights are, how you can assert them, and the choices you have if you’ve experienced harassment, is such a vital part of creating safe workplaces for everyone, and this advice line is such a huge development in ensuring that all women are supported, wherever we work.

In the wake of the global #MeToo movement, which has seen women come forward with their stories of sexual harassment and sexual abuse, Watson regards this service as a step in the right direction. She continues:

“It finally feels like people are realising the scale of the problem, and I’m certainly hopeful that with global standards such as the recent International Labour Organisation treaty on harassment at work, we’ll start to see a new climate of prevention and accountability on this issue domestically.”

A rise in the number of sexual misconduct cases across the legal profession has resulted in an increased workload for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), according to a recent report.

The regulator has also recently faced mounting pressure from MPs to clampdown on the ‘cover-up culture’, which sees lawyers draft up questionable NDAs to prevent alleged victims of sexual assault or harassment from speaking out.

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Career changer ‘clearly unable to accept he was a trainee’

Is it worth winning a couple of grand in the employment tribunal if your reputation takes a battering in the process?

That’s the question solicitor Richard Attoe could be asking himself this week after an employment judge described him as “aggressive”, “disingenuous,” and “defensive” in a scathing published judgment — even though Attoe won some parts of his claim.

Attoe, a former journalist in his 40s, sued the firm at which he had been a trainee solicitor after the training contract went up in flames in less than a year, with his former supervisors describing him as “untrainable”.

The dispute went down at tiny provincial outfit KJL Solicitors, based in the Norfolk village of Blofield. Only two qualified solicitors work at the firm, with Attoe taken on as the sole trainee in March 2017.

But things almost immediately turned sour, with Attoe’s colleague complaining that she was “having trouble with training him as when I do try and explain anything he seems very reluctant to listen to me and sometimes seems to get frustrated if I pick up something that I am not happy with”.

Just weeks into his training contract, Attoe was raising concerns about the quality of his training and had begun sending out correspondence without it being checked by his supervisors. Employment judge Postle commented that “the claimant seemed to think that within a matter of days into his training that he should be dealing with conveyancing files from start to finish”.

By the end of April — still less than two months in — Attoe was complaining that having all his emails reviewed was “seriously impeding any degree of efficiency”. By that summer, according to the judgment, he had “had enough of conveyancing” and “simply would not listen or accept supervision”.

In July, Attoe’s original supervisor gave up, saying that she was “no longer prepared to train the claimant as when she tried to engage him in joint meetings or for file reviews, the claimant would assert he was always too busy”.

When the other solicitor in the office took over, Attoe’s relationship with her became “tense” in turn. Judge Postle concluded that “it seems to be the case that the claimant cannot accept constructive feedback or supervision” at all.

After several unpleasant incidents, including a row about underbilling a client in which Attoe became “somewhat aggressive and confrontational”, the firm had begun to conclude that he was “untrainable”. Attoe sued following his eventual acrimonious departure from KJL, alleging that his complaints amounted to whistleblowing. He also claimed for various other breaches of employment law, including unpaid wages and breach of contract.

Giving judgment, employment judge Postle noted that the firm “were concerned that the claimant had become difficult to train, almost impossible and did not take criticism of his work as a trainee well. He would be defensive and confrontational without cause or reason”. Nor did he think much of Attoe as a witness, describing him as “evasive”, “disingenuous”, “obstructive” and “confrontational”.

While it was “patently clear” that the situation didn’t amount to whistleblowing in the legal sense, Attoe did win £120 in unpaid expenses, £550 in unlawfully deducted wages and one month’s pay for breach of contract. He also successfully qualified as a solicitor at another local firm in April 2019.

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Commercial property law specialist was jailed for three months after lying to avoid speeding points

A former MP jailed for perverting the course of justice has been struck off the roll.

Fiona Onasanya, a commercial property law specialist, was found guilty last year of lying to police about who was driving her car when it was snapped by a speed camera in Thorney, near Peterborough, on 24 July 2017. The 35-year-old ex-Eversheds (now Eversheds Sutherland) lawyer was jailed for three months following a retrial.

Striking her from the roll, a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) found she had “failed to act with integrity” and “uphold the rule of law and proper administration of justice”. It also said that Onasanya, who subsequently lost her seat as MP for Peterborough, had “acted dishonestly”, BBC News reports.

During the trial, the Old Bailey heard how the ex-Labour MP had plotted with her brother, Festus Onasanya, to deceive police by claiming a former tenant, Alek Antipow, was driving her vehicle at the time of the incident. Subsequent inquiries by police revealed Antipow was at home with his parents in Russia at the time.

Despite losing her appeal against conviction in March, the University of Hertfordshire law graduate told the SDT: “I maintain that I did not do an act tending or intending to pervert the course of public justice.”

Onasanya’s brother was jailed 10 months after he pleaded guilty to three counts of perverting the course of justice.

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SQE 1 performance reports lack technical detail, argues Professor Richard Moorhead — but regulator insists new exam will meet ‘high standards’

The incoming head of Exeter University Law School has criticised the pilot test of stage one of the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), claiming it “obscures as much as it reveals” and did not meet “basic reporting standards”.

Professor Richard Moorhead, who joins the Russell Group university next month, claims the lack of “technical but reasonably robust and open analysis” in the pilot reports “suggests potentially significant issues about validity, fairness, and reliability”.

The pilot, run by Kaplan, the legal education outfit tasked with delivering the SQE, saw over 300 candidates sit a preliminary version of SQE1 earlier this year. The exam featured three multiple-choice papers of 120 questions, followed by a practical skills test consisting of one legal research and two legal writing exercises.

Responding to Kaplan’s feedback, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) revealed last week it was considering ditching the practical skills element of SQE1 after it failed to reach the “high standard of accuracy required”.

Writing in a blog post, Moorhead said:

“I’d have hoped for some examples of questions (some that candidates found easy, some that they found hard) and a detailed, open, if rather narrow, analysis of a statistical notion of reliability… The example questions with pass/fail rates would also be enormously helpful in generating understanding and perhaps acceptance of the tests.”

Addressing the apparent lack of information regarding those who sat the exam, Moorhead said: “We are told that those selected to sit the test are broadly representative but this is cold comfort.” The report, the academic continued, tells us “about representativeness rather than showing us the data to help us evaluate that claim”. This, he argued, is a “frankly bizarre way to go about dealing with data”.

Referencing the SRA’s goal of delivering a rigorous, “world class” assessment, Moorhead concluded:

“It is world class in the way that British volleyball is world class. If the SRA really took a decision based on these reports, I’d be genuinely shocked. There must be a more open, honest, technical report and they should publish it.”

Speaking last week, Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said: “The SQE will help build trust that all qualifying solicitors are meeting consistent, high standards.”

The SQE, due to come into force in September 2021, will replace both the Legal Practice Course (LPC) and Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL). A pilot on SQE2 is due to run in December.

Update: 3:27pm

Julie Brannan, SRA director of education and training said: “We have discussed SQE design and development with stakeholders extensively since Kaplan was appointed and will continue to do so. We will also be publishing sample questions and an indicative pass mark on them, but it was never our intention to do that at this point.

“We are pleased to read that Richard accepts that MCQs can be more sophisticated than commonly accepted. As we said, we are pleased with how the SQE 1 pilot went. It provides confidence that the core part of SQE1 is appropriately rigorous, while helping us to improve it further.”

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93% result

Anglo-German giant Freshfields has posted an autumn retention score of 93%, confirming 38 of its 41 soon-to-be associates were staying put post-qualification.

Craig Montgomery, trainee development partner at the firm, said:

“We are very pleased to be keeping on a high proportion of our August 2019 qualifying intake, reflecting the firm’s continued commitment to recruiting, developing and retaining top talent.”

The firm, which takes on around 80 trainees annually, posted a spring 2019 score of 78% (32 out of 41) and an autumn 2018 result of 83% (34 out of 41).

On matters of money, Legal Cheek’s Firms Most List shows the firm’s latest recruits will start on a recently improved salary of £100,000. Trainees receive £45,000 in their first year, rising to £51,000 in year two.

Clifford Chance confirmed last month it had retained 41 of its 47 qualifying trainees or 87%, while Slaughter and May revealed an impressive 93% result (37 out of 40). Allen & Overy is the only member of the magic yet to reveal its autumn score.

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Aspiring lawyers value work/life balance over international career

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has topped a table of ‘most attractive’ employers for law students, seeing off competition from the City’s high-paying, perk-filled magic circle elite.

Ranked behind list topper the CPS, the agency which oversees criminal prosecutions across England and Wales, was Clifford Chance (3rd), Slaughter and May (4th), Allen & Overy (5th) and Linklaters (9th). The final member of the elite fivesome, Freshfields, placed 18th.

The Big Four accountancy giants, who continue to make inroads into the legal profession, also made the list which was compiled using the responses of almost 3,000 law students. Most appealing was PwC (20th), followed by EY (33rd), Deloitte (36th) and KPMG (37th).

Google scooped 2nd place on the list, while the Civil Service, BBC and Apple finished 6th, 7th and 8th, respectively. You can see a full breakdown of the results below:

The marketing agency which compiled the data, Universum, found that the 39,900 UK students surveyed (including the 3,000 wannabe lawyers) expected a monthly salary of £2,271 — or £27,252 a year. A legal trainee at the CPS in London can expect to receive a salary of between £24,500 to £28,500, while Legal Cheek’s Firms Most List shows their counterparts at the magic circle can start on northwards of £45,000.

That said, a generational shift in career goals could explain the CPS’s winning charm. The research suggests students prioritise work/life balance, job security and serving a greater good over having an international career, working independently and being a technical expert.

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£46,500 in year one, rising to £52,500 in year two

Allen & Overy (A&O) has upped the salaries of its trainee by as much as 5%, as the magic circle player confirmed 39 of its 44 newly-qualifying (NQ) lawyers were staying put.

The firm’s first year rookies will now earn a salary of £46,500, up £1,500 or 3% from £45,000, while salaries in year two now sit at £52,500, up £2,500 or 5% from £50,000.

The move comes just days after fellow magic circle player Clifford Chance upped trainee pay to £48,000 and £54,000, respectively.

Magic circle trainee salary standings:

At the same time, A&O confirmed an autumn retention score of 89% (39 out of 44). The firm, which recruits roughly 90 trainees each year, received 43 applications and made 40 offers.

James Partridge, graduate recruitment partner at A&O, said:

“This is a great retention rate and reflects the quality of junior lawyers we have coming through the ranks and our commitment to training and retaining the very best legal talent. I’d like to congratulate all of our new qualifiers and look forward to watching their careers progress.”

Legal Cheek’s Firms Most List shows that A&O’s NQs will start on a recently improved pay package of roughly £100,000, comprised of salary and a “sign-on bonus”.

Yesterday, Freshfields posted an autumn retention score of 93%, confirming 38 of its 41 soon-to-be associates were staying put post-qualification. Clifford Chance confirmed last month it had retained 87% of its soon-to-be associations (41 out of 47), while Slaughter and May revealed a 93% result (37 out of 40). Linklaters posted a score of 91% (49 out of 54).

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Prompting legal Twitterati to share their sexism stories

A soon-to-be-married barrister who hit out at a male opponent after he said it wouldn’t be long until she became a “kept woman” has prompted other female lawyers to share similar experiences of work-related sexism on social media.

Taking to Twitter, Amy Rollings, an employment and personal injury barrister at Nine St John Street Chambers in Manchester, recalls being shocked at a sexist remark made by her male rival during a county court case. After hearing that Rollings is soon-to-be-married, the male barrister is said to have responded: “Well it won’t be long until you are a kept woman and you won’t need to do this.”

My (male) opponent today – on discovering I am getting married this month – responded with, “well it won’t be long until you are a kept woman & you won’t need to do this”. Wow.

— Amy Rollings (@amyvrollings) August 1, 2019

Rollings, who went onto win the case, gave this reserved response:

No, for some reason (shock?), I answered really politely and explained I don't like staying at home! #facepalm

— Amy Rollings (@amyvrollings) August 1, 2019

Left baffled by the barrister’s comments, she tweeted in frustration: “It’s so annoying that when this stuff happens to me (not the first time), I am so taken aback, I just respond with politeness rather than anything brilliantly witty.”

Rollings, 31, jokingly continued in her tweets: “I’ve just been killing time all these years until I found a husband!”

Rollings’ tweet prompted a number of lawyers to share similar encounters of sexism.

Criminal barrister Eleanor Mawrey, of London’s 9 Gough Square, was once told that some female lawyers simply practise law as a “hobby” — taking away cases from their full-time male peers.

I feel your pain! Last year a male barrister (admittedly a dinosaur) told me that why it hard at the crim bar was because women who were doing it as a "hobby" part time around child care took cases away from proper full timers [aka men]!

— Eleanor Mawrey (@EMawrey) August 1, 2019

According to CrimeGirl, an anonymous barrister, her commitment to her career was called into question while pregnant.

Yes, I’m sure you enjoy keeping yourself in all other respects! When I was pregnant a solicitor told me that they “thought I was a career woman” and pointed at my stomach. I said I am a career woman. Why can’t people just shut the f*ck up?

— CrimeGirl (@CrimeGirI) August 1, 2019

Amy Beddis, a family law barrister at 3 Paper Buildings, recalled a sexist comment she received upon returning from maternity leave.

So frustrating! When I first came back to the bar after mat leave, I was chatting to a male oppo about my baby who was 6 months old and his response,in horror, was- “your baby is barely sitting up and you are back at work? “-

— Amy Beddis (@amy_beddis) August 1, 2019

Rachel Chan, a Kent-based family barrister at 42 Bedford Row, also revealed sexist comments directed towards her stay-at-home husband.

Wow. I had one where one male barrister on hearing my husband is a stay at home dad, asked 'is he a good house husband?'. This is just as inappropriate if I'd asked whether his wife was a 'good housewife'.

— Rachel Chan (@RachelChan42br) August 2, 2019

Earlier this year, criminal barrister Joanna Hardy advised her male colleagues not to “act like you’re on a stag-do” or “make repetitive jokes about breasts or skirts” as part of a nine-point action plan to improving the working lives of female barristers.

Comments on this article are now closed.

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Pro bono clinic hopes to ‘plug the gap’ left by legal aid

The University of Bristol’s student-led law clinic will offer bereaved families free legal help at inquests under a new initiative believed to be the first of its kind.

The clinic’s new dedicated inquest team, currently made up of seven students, will offer bereaved families free legal advice and even representation in coroner’s courts. Separate from the clinic’s general legal offerings, the specialised pro bono pack will focus only on inquests, which are typically document-heavy and long-running.

Although the service will not officially roll out until the new academic year, the team has already begun assisting bereaved families in the South West and welcomes those from further afield to get in touch. According to the team’s supervisor and inquest specialist Sumayyah Malna, the service is like no other. Speaking to Legal Cheek, the qualified solicitor explained:

“As far as we are aware, we are the only university law clinic to offer a dedicated inquest team, supervised by a solicitor with specialist inquest experience. Other law clinics may well take on the odd ad hoc inquest, but we do not believe there are any others offering a dedicated service as we are.”

Bereaved families are not automatically entitled to legal aid at inquests, leaving many to fend for themselves against well-funded legal teams acting for state bodies or large corporations.

Before joining Bristol’s law clinic, Malna, who trained at Irwin Mitchell before practising medical law at Bevan Brittan, saw first hand the vulnerability of bereaved families without legal support. “In my experience families often struggle to obtain legal representation for inquests, whether due to not qualifying for legal aid (which is extremely limited for inquests), being unable to afford a solicitor, or being unable to locate a solicitor with the necessary expertise,” she said.

Malna recalled seeing Bristol’s new service as a way to “plug the gap” for bereaved families:

“Joining the law clinic presented as a prime opportunity to try and plug the gap for bereaved families, and offer them support throughout what can be a difficult and prolonged legal process, where other organisations are often armed with solicitors and barristers leading to potential power imbalances in court.”

Matt Bennett, who currently undertakes a masters degree in law and is taking part in the project, believes that inquests is an area of law where students can have a “real impact”. He told us: “More often than not, the clients are families frustrated by the inquest process, which can seem confusing without legal training. All they want are answers, and if you can help deliver that, it can bring them the closure they need and deserve.”

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Early career changer requires readers’ advice

In the latest instalment in our Career Conundrums series, one career changer is looking to put down the calculator and pick up the law books.

“I am currently working in assurance at KPMG having graduated from university last year. I am looking, however, to make a career change into commercial law beginning with a vac scheme next summer. I was just wondering if you had an insight into whether there are any firms that are particularly keen on applicants with similar experience and conversely any law firms that are adverse to early career changers?”

If you have a career conundrum, email us at team@legalcheek.com.

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Pro rugby player Greg O’Shea stays true to himself and snubs post-Island influencer life

The University of Limerick law grad who won Love Island 2019 has revealed he still wants to qualify as a solicitor despite his new-found fame.

In a recent interview on ITV’s Loose Women, Greg O’Shea revealed that his head isn’t turned by the post-Island life of paid nightclub appearances and sponsored Instagram posts. O’Shea, 24, a professional rugby player for Ireland’s national sevens team, explained that he remains loyal to his lawyer dream and fully intends to crack on with the Irish bar. He said:

“So rugby is my first love and I also want to qualify as a solicitor, so that’s my life. And the only reason I got into the villa was because of that life.”

Despite being in the competition for only two weeks, late-comer O’Shea managed to couple up with original-Islander Amber Gill. Both went onto win the nation’s hearts as they were voted this year’s winners. Chatting alongside his co-winner Gill, 21, O’Shea reveals how he’s spending his half of the £50,000 cash prize:

“I had a really bad wardrobe going in and [Gill] noticed that, so she said I had to go and get myself a few pieces. So I did a little bit of shopping, got myself a couple of things. But the rest I’m going to invest it.”

O’Shea, staying true to the typical risk-averse lawyer personality, reveals the thinking behind his smart money moves: “You have to invest it and be smart with it, you can’t just blow it all.”

O’Shea, originally from Limerick, but who now resides in Dublin, isn’t the only legally minded contestant to seek out love on the hit reality TV show. Last year, Rosie Williams entered the Spanish villa just three months after qualifying with Manchester-based law firm Just Costs Solicitors.

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