Seasons Greetings - what a year

There are other numbers that tell us how difficult our world is for so many people. Around 100,000 have died in wars and conflict in 2020. There are over 4 million stateless people in the world at present. Almost 10% of the world's population still lives on less that $1.90 a day - a number that rose in 2020. Bringing this closer to home, their are around 280,000 people in England that are homeless. 

For me this Christmas is a good time to reflect on the awful impact of the virus and to remember that there are so many other problems that I might be just a bit too hardened against. Legal services can't solve all these problems but they can help in some. So, as some of my readers know, I give 5% of my profits to two charities. Profits from 2019 were shared between Central England Law Centre and Each Other. This year I will do the same.

So Happy Christmas and seasons greetings to everyone. A particular thanks to all my clients, the great people I work with in those businesses and the many others that I collaborate with, chat to and learn from across the legal market, right around the world. Despite the pandemic and lockdowns, I have been lucky that my business has continued to thrive. The legal market is facing a new normal and many businesses are starting to develop new strategic directions. Regulatory change has increased opportunities in the UK and US, and the SRA's new path to qualifying as a solicitor presents more space for developing talent. The year ahead is as exciting for the legal market as it can be in such a difficult time, so I look forward to helping my clients seize the moment. A legal market that works more effectively for individuals and businesses is within reach in the UK and US. 

I won't make any predictions for 2021, but I will be back blogging a little more frequently in the New Year. Current planned topics include the SRA's Solicitors Qualifying Examination; digital onboarding and better customer journeys; this month's Competition & Markets Authority report on the legal market; the evolution of legal regulation in the United States; and, the post pandemic legal market.

To finish with, here are links to two podcasts I have recently contributed to.

          - with Alice Robinson of the Manchester Trainee Solicitor Group talking about SQE on Spotify and Apple

- with Dr Cord Brügmann, a German academic, discussing regulatory reform available here and starting 2m 27 seconds in.

Have a great Christmas break and see you for real next year!