The current legal landscape might be comparable to an alien world in a sci-fi movie, exceedingly complex and constantly changing. Myriad statutes, regulations, rules, ordinances, case law, and other sources of law create a legal multivariate calculus problem. Due to practical necessity and ethical requirements, attorneys are required to understand applicable law in order to provide guidance to their clients.
Regardless of the preparation that law school provided, that preparation will be insufficient for legal problems that attorneys eventually face due to changes in the law and the legal environment. This article discusses methods for keeping pace with changes in the law, including the use of continuing legal education, professional organizations, networking, publications and legal software.
Continuing Legal Education
To meet ethical requirements to provide competent legal counsel, and to provide valuable and accurate guidance to clients, attorneys need to maintain current expertise in relevant subject areas.
Wisconsin’s attorney licensing requirements reflect the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s recognition of this issue with the requirement of continuing legal education for Wisconsin attorneys.
Continuing legal education requirements are designed to help Wisconsin attorneys maintain and improve their legal knowledge and skills.
Peter S. Trotter, Illinois 2000, is vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Mason Companies, Inc., in Chippewa Falls.
So, a fundamental method for attorneys to keep pace with legal developments is to participate in continuing legal education opportunities offered by the State Bar of Wisconsin and other providers.
Unlike in the past, when in-person attendance at legal conferences was the standard method of obtaining continuing legal education, there are many alternatives available today. In-person conferences are still quite valuable in that they can provide targeted, meaningful training, the concurrent ability to raise questions, and opportunities for networking and other tangential benefits. But in-person conferences may present challenges such as logistics, scheduling and expense. Among the numerous alternatives to traditional in-person legal conferences are live webinars, scheduled webinar replays, and a variety of on-demand educational opportunities.
Resources for continuing legal education include state and local bar associations, law firms, trade associations, and professional education providers. Crucial factors when using continuing legal education to maintain and enhance legal knowledge are the selection of relevant, trustworthy sources, and a commitment to participation for educational purposes.
Professional Organizations
Membership in professional organizations can provide excellent opportunities for keeping pace with the law.
Relevant professional organizations include bar associations, trade associations, and other organizations with a specific audience such as attorneys practicing in certain areas of the law.
Trade associations may be business-oriented but allow participation by attorneys, or they may specifically target legal practitioners. Professional organizations can provide opportunities to stay current through the dissemination of news, educational publications, networking, and other offerings.
Networking
Professional networking provides another way to keep pace with the law. Networking activities can be valuable to any attorney, but they can be invaluable to solo practitioners, including solo in-house attorneys, since these attorneys do not regularly work with other attorneys.
Traditional networking opportunities include the State Bar and local bar associations, trade associations, conferences, and similar activities. Social media has radically altered and significantly expanded opportunities for professional networking. LinkedIn membership represents networking table stakes for legal professionals, and other social media platforms may also present networking alternatives.
Occupational activities can also provide excellent opportunities for networking. Every litigation or transaction presents the opportunity for an attorney to expand their network and identify another partner in the continued effort to maintain legal expertise.
In addition, coworkers can provide great networking resources. Of course, attorneys practicing in law firms with other attorneys enjoy relationships with other attorneys that can be leveraged to maintain legal expertise. However, even solo in-house practitioners can benefit from the expertise of coworkers with compliance duties, knowledge and resources, such as employees with tax or employment regulatory responsibilities. Relationships with these colleagues can produce mutual benefits and foster a companywide culture of compliance.
Developing a professional network should be a central component of any attorney’s effort to manage legal developments. Any seasoned attorney should have a network of professional resources. This network might include colleagues and friends who can serve as a sounding board for legal questions. It might also include law firms, consultants and other professional resources for whom a fee might be charged for services. Ultimately, an attorney’s network can help with proactive and reactive efforts to keep up with legal changes.
Publications
Another important method for keeping pace with legal changes is to take advantage of the enormous volume of legal publications available to attorneys.
Trade associations, the State Bar and local bar associations, law firms, and other organizations continually publish legal materials that can help an attorney remain up to date on relevant legal trends. And much of this material is available for free and accessible online.
Types of publications include treatises, journals, magazines, articles, white papers, newsletters, alert services, email distribution lists, online blogs, and social media discussions. It can be a challenge to filter this volume of material in the interest of efficiency. The length or complexity of the publication may not matter, and an attorney can learn about an important legal update merely from a short news article.
Key factors are to:
- identify reliable and relevant publications that are used repeatedly;
- read widely and be open to learning from a variety of sources; and
- filter and efficiently leverage appropriate resources.
Software
Legal and compliance software may provide a valuable alternative for keeping pace with the law. Legal research software has traditionally facilitated the development and maintenance of legal knowledge through legal research activities.
There remains a place for legal research software in the continual effort to keep pace with legal developments. However, a variety of legal compliance software tools have been developed, sometimes using automation, artificial intelligence, and human resources.
Legal compliance software can provide robust solutions for compliance needs and assist an attorney in maintaining legal expertise. This software can provide automated compliance, notification and other risk management solutions for attorneys.
Conclusion
The challenge facing attorneys to maintain legal competency in a complex and changing legal environment can be daunting. However, continuing legal education, membership in professional organizations, networking, review of trusted legal publications, and the use of legal and compliance software can help attorneys keep pace with the changing legal landscape.
This article was originally published on the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Business Law Blog. Visit the State Bar sections or the Business Law Section webpages to learn more about the benefits of section membership.