Professor Avrom Sherr, Woolf Professor of Legal Education and Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, has an important new role as a member of the Review Research Team in the major Review of Legal Education and Training ("Review 2020") announced by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and the Institute of Legal Executives Professional Standards (IPS).

Legal Education and Training Review (LETR)
Professor Avrom Sherr and Simon Thomson at IALS are conducting an online survey currently (May 2012) as part of the independent research for the Legal Education and Training Review:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LETR_Online_Survey

Please do share with others interested in the legal services sector. The more people giving their views to the survey the better. Thank you for your help.

LETR is a joint project of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and  ILEX Professional Standards (IPS). It constitutes a fundamental, evidence-based review of education and training requirements across regulated and non-regulated legal services in England and Wales: http://letr.org.uk/

Press release of 10th May 2011:

Key roles for major review

The SRA, BSB, and Ilex Professional Standards have announced key appointments to take forward their Education and Training Review.

'Review 2020' as it has become known, is a joint project involving the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and the Institute of Legal Executives Professional Standards (IPS).

UKCLE (UK Centre for Legal Education) has been contracted to conduct the independent research while Dame Janet Gaymer and Sir Mark Potter have been appointed to Chair the Consultation Panel.

The Review will take account of the future demands on legal services and the changes that will shape the legal services market of the future.

Dame Janet and Sir Mark will be joined by representatives nominated by key stakeholder groups to form the Consultation Panel.

"It was most important that we attracted the right people to lead the consultation with stakeholders," explained Charles Plant Chair of the SRA. "Dame Janet and Sir Mark have a vast experience both through the practice of Law and in issues related to Legal Education and Training."

Plant also praised the UKCLE research team which he said had the sort of expertise and experience needed for such an important and far-reaching project.

The Consultation Panel will provide the opportunity for key stakeholders to meet formally up to four times a year throughout the life of the review and provide advice and direction to the project.

Baroness Ruth Deech, Chair of the Bar Standards Board, said: "We are confident that Dame Janet and Sir Mark will work tirelessly to ensure that the review has a solid overarching framework and will be based on sound research."

Chief Executive at IPS, Ian Watson, added: "Their blend of skills and knowledge assures that the conclusions and recommendations which emerge from the review are relevant and practical for the whole of the legal services sector as it develops over the next few years."

The Review Research Team includes Professor Julian Webb, Professor of Legal Education at the University of Warwick and Director of the UK Centre for Legal Education, Professor Avrom Sherr, Woolf Professor of Legal Education and Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London, Professor Paul Maharg, Professor of Legal Education at Northumbria Law School and Dr Jane Ching, Reader at Nottingham Law School.

The team will draw on the expertise of consultants Dr Chris Decker of the Regulatory Policy Institute, Oxford, Professor Rob Wilson of Warwick Institute for Employment Research and Professor Richard Susskind, who is internationally known for his work on the legal services market.

Further information about Dame Janet, Sir Mark or any of the UKCLE team can be supplied if needed. Interview requests should be sent to SRA Media Relations Officer Colin Clark.
For further information: Contact Colin Clark 01926 487154