Many of the items in this the third issue of 2017, exhibit the effects of recent forms of regulation of the legal professions.
Vaughan considers the effectiveness of reporting systems on diversity at the Bar of England and Wales and how regulation of reporting works out in practice. Gibbons looks at the suggested regulation of legal education in England and Wales through the introduction of new standardised multiple-choice tests. The potential pedagogical flaws and intellectual challenges of the new system are portrayed.
Ishida looks at a different element of lawyer regulation through the lens of disciplinary cases in Japan during 1988 to 2015, spanning the period of the major increase in the numbers of lawyers following the Justice System Reform of 2001. Contrary to the assumption that the influx of new lawyers had caused an increase in disciplinary cases, Ishida finds that it is primarily experienced, senior lawyers who have contributed to the increase.
Bado considers the appointment of judges in Hungary, noting a gradual increase in meritocratic appointments with less discretion to allow for nepotism or political leaning. Francot and Mommers continue the judicial theme considering how social needs for speed in judicial decision making vie with authority and legitimacy in the Netherlands and elsewhere.
Thomas , Cockburn and Yule open up an understudied area of regulation of admission, where a law student may be accused of plagiarism; and show how such issues can follow a student after admission in Australia.
In our Skills and Methodology section Cradduck and Thomas position the mooting psychomotor domain in context with cognitive and affective domains; and Toy-Cronin considers the effects of moving from practice into research, the use of anthropological curiosity and a tight-knit legal profession in New Zealand.