As part of my training as a trainee solicitor at Lyons Davidson, I applied to be seconded to ACSO. I decided to apply for the secondment programme because I am interested in policy and wanted to know more about the changes to the legal sector. The market insights I have been exposed to at ACSO have significantly increased my understanding on the legal services market and I would recommend the programme to future trainees.
The main goal of secondees is to construct a research report on a trending topic within the legal sector. These required substantial research and meeting with senior industry leaders to see how they think the legal sector should be reshaped. During my time at ACSO, I actually produced two reports and am grateful to the ACSO team for providing me with the opportunity to improve my knowledge in these areas of the legal services sector.
Whilst researching the legal framework surrounding e-scooters and making recommendations for how future legislation of e-scooters should be implemented, I met many senior lawyers, road user representatives and insurance leaders who generously shared their thoughts for how legalisation could work. A particular highlight for me was my report being reported in various media outlets, such as the Law Society Gazette and Insurance Times.
I have also worked on a report on transparency in the legal services market, which similarly involved meeting leaders at various law firms, societies, regulators, consumer groups and price comparison website. I was very grateful for their time and I hope the report will serve as a useful sounding board so that different stakeholders can understand each other's views as to how the sector is becoming more transparent, and how it needs to develop further for the benefit of those who depend on legal services being good value for money and of good quality.
I especially enjoyed producing online content that allowed me to share the latest research on changes to the legal sector, such as developments in self-driving vehicle technology, the use of 'buy now, pay later' to fund legal advice, and how the metaverse is affecting the way law firms operate. These initiatives are predicted to make a huge impact on access to justice and I feel fortunate to have been able to learn about them and impart this to ACSO members and the wider public.
I was involved in a variety of projects which improved my professional skills, such as working in the LEI Working Group, reporting on developments within the financial sector and creating briefing notes for policy exchange forums on the subject of Law Tech developments.
I thoroughly enjoyed working with the ACSO team and feel very much obliged for the support they have given me at the start of my legal career. I look forward to continuing these relationships these relationships in the future.