REUTERS | Kacper Pempel
June 21, 2021

The Hearing podcast: Ep.78, Stevie Ghiassi (Legaler)

Episode 78 of the Hearing is now available.

Question: What do the Iranian national football team, NFTs, Hotel Rwanda and Andy Murray have in common?

Answer: Stevie Ghiassi, Co-founder of Legaler and Legaler Aid. And Joe’s guest this week!

In this episode, Stevie chats to Joe about his unlikely journey from running a chain of souvenir shops to becoming a legal tech entrepreneur. He also talks about the important work that Legaler Aid is doing, and ways in which legal tech and blockchain have helped them pivot after the COVID-19 pandemic took away traditional fundraising streams. Yet again we’re seeing innovative ways that cryptocurrency and blockchain are being used, and how they offer real opportunities for the legal industry.

REUTERS | People enjoy the sunset at the seafront in Marseille, France, June 29, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
June 14, 2021

Company secretary: overcoming the key challenges of the next 12 months

This video provides advice around some of the key challenges that company secretaries are likely to face over the next 12 months, due to the pandemic. This includes identifying effective and innovative ways to conduct board meetings, and tips to help improve stakeholder engagement.

REUTERS | The sun shines in a field as Belgium is undergoing it's dryest April-May period since the end of the 19th century, according to local media, in Diksmuide, Belgium May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Yves Herman
June 7, 2021

Structuring and resourcing your legal team

Last month, The Centre for Legal Leadership hosted the second in a series of webinars in conjunction with Practical Law on structuring and resourcing your legal team. This post highlights some of the themes discussed.

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REUTERS | Gloabl Creative Services (no copyright)
May 27, 2021

The Hearing podcast: Episode 77, The impact of AI and algorithms on the fairness of our justice systems

Episode 77 of the Hearing is now available. We, along with the rest of the legal industry, have talked at length about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on our profession. But this time we concern ourselves not with the efficiencies of machine learning and automation, but instead with potential injustice and the need for vigilance in the face of seismic developments.

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REUTERS | Chris Helgren
May 24, 2021

What’s on the agenda for in-house lawyers in June 2021?

The government hopes to remove all legal limits on social contact in England from 21 June 2021, at the earliest. In May a new data sharing code of practice was laid before Parliament and, in the absence of any objections, will come into force after 40 sitting days. In-house lawyers may also be interested in two connected Law Commission consultations on digital assets and electronic trade documents.

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REUTERS | Tulips bloom in Bryant Park in New York City, U.S., April 29, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RC15C0A16600
May 20, 2021

My Big Fat Cancelled Wedding: Frustration in the age of the pandemic

The pandemic and consequent government restrictions on social gatherings have left the wedding industry in disarray. Couples have been forced to reschedule their weddings – in some cases repeatedly – as a result of an ever-changing landscape of lockdowns and prohibitions. This has resulted in countless disputes between couples and suppliers that have been unable to agree on a new date. A great many of these disputes revolve around couples trying to recover deposits paid to suppliers.

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REUTERS | Ajay Verma
May 17, 2021

Why autonomy is important to the happiness of lawyers

According to the Penguin English Dictionary, autonomy means “self-determined freedom and independence, especially moral independence.” Research on lawyer happiness and wellbeing indicates that this is an important concept. If you experience autonomy in your working life, then your chances of experiencing happiness and wellbeing are increased. Two interesting pieces of research address this question and explain why autonomy is so important and how it links to happiness.

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REUTERS | A wind farm generates electricity near bales of hay in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains near the town of Pincher Creek, Alberta September 27, 2010. The non-polluting source of renewable energy is fed into the provincial electrical grid that powers Southern Alberta industries and residences. REUTERS/Todd Korol (CANADA - Tags: ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS ENERGY IMAGES OF THE DAY)
May 11, 2021

ESG: how in-house teams are responding to the challenges

Earlier this month I chaired a meeting of the Practical Law In-house Consultation Board focusing on environmental, social and governance reporting (ESG). Across the spectrum of industry sector and organisation size, our members agreed that the various and fast-paced developments in this area presented multiple challenges for in-house teams. 

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REUTERS | Mike Blake
May 10, 2021

The Centre for Legal Leadership webinar series: Structuring and resourcing your legal team

Please join us for a discussion hosted by the Centre for Legal Leadership (CLL) on 19 May 2021 (2.00pm-3.30pm) about how in-house legal teams can best be structured and resourced to deliver an effective service to their organisation. Whether you lead a team or work within one, it’s important that you understand the context in which structuring and resourcing decisions are taken.

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