The Flex Legal Blog

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Spread of pages from the report, 'SQE Insight Report'
July 29

What the SQE route means for your in-house legal team

As in-house teams across the legal world steadily adopt the SQE, many are left unsure of how their organisation can get involved. To this end, our free report covers the full spectrum of SQE knowledge – from the basic facts of the new framework, all the way to advanced insight on the current implementation challenges.
Tony Hewitt, a lawyer, smiles warmly to the right of frame. Behind him, the Flex Legal branding abounds.
January 18

How we helped Tony to diversify his legal experience

Tony, a commercial solicitor with four and a half years' PQE, came to Flex Legal in June on the lookout for a new challenge. Keen to diversify and broaden his legal experience, he's adapted to an entirely new industry whilst on an interim placement at a global automotive company. Take a read to hear all about his experience of using Flex.
Flex Legal's 2021 Christmas Gif
December 21 2021

Flex Legal's 2021 Wrap-up

After overcoming the challenges of 2020, Flex Legal has come back with a bang in 2021. From winning prestigious awards, to launching a brand new social mobility training scheme, it’s been a big year for the team at Flex HQ, so we wanted to take a moment to look back on our fave highlights from the year.
Blog banner - Modern slavery hidden in plain sight
December 7 2021

Modern Slavery: hidden in plain sight

Modern Slavery - it's everywhere and probably closer than you think. Everyone in the legal community understands the importance of human rights - but do we know about human rights abuses happening right under our noses?
Rudolph Benade, Paralegal of the Month, smiles at the camera. Behind him, the edges of the Flex Legal branding lightly caress his shoulders.
July 30 2021

July '21 Paralegal of the Month: Rudolph Benade

July 2021's Paralegal of the Month is Rudolph Benade! We're really pleased to recognise Rudolph here, who is a globe-trotting Future Trainee Solicitor. We put some big questions to Rudolph, such as how he got into law, what the future holds, and how he feels about working through us!
July 15 2021

Delivering Net Zero and in-house lawyers’ pivotal role

The legal sector has an opportunity to be on the right side of history in helping keep a liveable planet for all.  When it comes to delivering climate action, the most important part of the sector are in-house lawyers, due to their direct interface with their organisation; a trusted advisor who can act as a moral compass.
What does 'being commercial' mean? A Virtual Lunch follow up
May 13 2021

What does 'being commercial' mean?

'Being commercial' is one of the most important aspects of professional life in law - but what does this actually mean? Our most recent Virtual Lunch delved into this huge topic, so read our comprehensive summary of the main takeaways here.
Professional hands write an SQE blog header that leaps from the page
February 4 2021

The SQE Explained

The SQE is here, and it means big changes to the solicitor qualification process. We've broken down the main points about the SQE, Qualifying Work Experience, and the Professional Development Record. Learn all about them here!
October 1 2020

How Flex Legal Helped Tyler Secure a Training Contract

We are thrilled to announce that Tyler Felix, a Flexer who onboarded with us in 2018, has accepted a training contract at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner commencing September 2021! Tyler has been a fantastic ambassador for Flex Legal over the years and is also September’s Paralegal of the Month. How timely! We are delighted to have played a small role in Tyler’s success and wanted to share her journey with you.
August 28 2020

Innovation and Legal Tech: Part 1

This is the first of a three part series examining legal technology and how junior lawyers are driving innovation. Harry spoke to three of The Legal Technologists’s top 10 most innovative junior lawyers to ask them about their journey, experiences and advice they would give.
August 27 2020

A transatlantic remote working adventure!

In 2016, the oil and gas industry crashed, and by the time we entered 2017, my employer advised that she was closing the office and needed me to work remotely. I was elated. No more 40 minute drives each way to complete work that could be done at home!
August 13 2020

Maximising Law Firm Relationships: A How-to Guide for In-house Counsel

On our latest GC call we were delighted to welcome Will Long, Client Partnership Director at Alacrity, who shared some valuable insights into how general counsel can get more value out of their external law firms. For Will, three key areas must be considered when trying to drive valuable relationships between the two: controlling costs; transparency; and evolving relationships through data.
July 24 2020

Why didn't I do this years ago?

My particular leap of faith to head off into the unknown may not be possible for everyone, but I can highly recommend taking a chance on flexible working as a lawyer. The benefits are many for the flexible worker, and for clients needing some extra help without having to take on an employee and all that this brings in terms of extra costs and legal responsibility, using the highly professional team at F-LEX brings many advantages too.
July 9 2020

How In-house Legal Teams are Innovating

We were pleased to welcome an excellent panel of speakers to join last week’s GC call in collaboration with LexisNexis and Crafty Counsel, including Dinesh Jadav, Director of Legal Operations at Royal Mail; Manu Kanwar, Co-founder of LexSolutions; and Madeleine Graham, Head of Product Design at LexisNexis. The discussion continued to build on the theme of legal innovation within the in-house community, with the panel sharing excellent insights from their own experiences.
May 28 2020

How one law firm are preparing for a return to the office

These unprecedented times have thrown up challenge after challenge. With the government starting to ease restrictions, for many law firms the next challenge is how to get the office prepped for the return of their staff. I was able to catch up with Nigel Coates, Deputy Senior Partner at Russell-Cooke to get his thoughts of life in lockdown and the steps that his firm are taking to prepare the office for life after lockdown.
April 30 2020

How to cope with COVID

These sessions connect paralegals, trainees and junior lawyers, and encourage top tips, resources and camaraderie to be shared in the legal community during these challenging times.

Coronavirus virtual sessions for in-house general counsel

This morning Sophie Gould, Head of Learning and Development at F-LEX, chaired a fantastic virtual discussion in collaboration with LexisNexis UK and Radius Law between in-house counsels on the prominent issues surrounding COVID-19 and the legal industry.
Gunnercooke Logo
March 20 2020

When remote working is business as usual

With most of the U.K. encouraged to work from home during this pandemic, teams have been separated and isolated like never before. While many of us get used to multiway video calls and our new home offices, some F-lexers and Clients have been practicing this way of working for a while. We catch up with Louise Wolfson, Legal Counsel at Gunnercooke and Kemi Feyisetan, F-lex Paralegal to learn more…
February 28 2020

Coronavirus and Force Majeure

With the outbreak of Coronavirus spreading at a rather alarming rate, the world’s economy is starting to feel the effects as governments take action, impacting on global supply chains and other commercial relationships. Stocks have fallen continuously, in what has been the worst week of trading since the 2008 crisis. However, from a legal perspective it has seen a rise in the use of an oft forgotten but at present vital boilerplate clause, the force majeure.
August 23 2019

Study and Work Abroad: My time in China

In this article one of our Manchester team Sam tell us all about her time in China. She discusses the merits of working abroad and the potential impact that an experience like that can have on your training contract applications and future career.
July 25 2019

Diversity in Law: The Quick-fire View

This month we were able to sit down with Chris White Founder of the UK’s leading legal diversity platform, Aspiring Solicitors to tackle the topic of Diversity. In a month where we have celebrated difference and inclusivity we wanted to explore a topic that is hot on the lips of every law firm in town! We asked Chris some quick fire questions on the topic.
May 23 2019

Reflections on the LPM

In London, Bristol and Leeds, Mary and Harry represented F-LEX at the LPM Conferences. We would firstly like to say a huge thank you to the team at LPM for inviting us on to the panel. Over the course of the three panel discussions we covered a variety of topics related to the future workforce. Below are our reflections on what we feel are the biggest takeaway points.
March 28 2019

The Flex Legal guide to Training Contract success

We sat down with Hashim, Marija and Naoise, three of our wonderful Bookings Team, to talk through their hints and tips for the application process! All three have secured training contracts and have been through the process from start to finish with many failed attempts between them. Here is what they’ve learnt and want to pass on to you.
January 9 2019

Optimising legal services delivery – Legal Operations and the business of law

As 2018 began to wind down and at F-LEX we looked ahead to the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) London Institute in January 2019, F-LEX co-founder and CEO, Mary Bonsor, met Sarah Barrett-Vane, Legal Operations specialist and Consultant from SBV Consulting to discuss all things Legal Operations, how the legal market is changing and what lawyers of the future can do to ensure they move with the change.
October 24 2018

5 tips on transitioning to law from a non-legal background

I knew a friend who told his interviewers he “always wanted to be a lawyer.” His interviewers cut him off. “Always?” they asked. “But you weren’t always on this planet!” He stuttered. Got agitated. Went red. His palms got sweaty. It was as though every second lasted a hundred seconds longer. He just couldn’t wait for it all to be over.
June 5 2018

What do Ignition Law look for in a candidate?

We look for people who can demonstrate they are: fast learners, are interested in our clients and the legal industry, have managed some interesting projects (either at work or at uni) and have experience of an office environment - not necessarily in a law firm, though.
Blog banner for document review - two people reviewing documents ona. colourful background
September 2

What is eDiscovery and Document Review?

Ever wondered about the difference between eDiscovery and document review? Or puzzled over what it means to 'tag' a document? These are common questions for those stepping into the legal world. With the rise of AI, these processes are becoming faster and more precise, making them essential in today’s legal practice. Read this blog to discover everything you need to know.
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Tesco Case Study Banner
June 6

Flex Legal & Tesco: Unlocking diverse legal talent

Following the success of a legal internship scheme aimed at diverse aspiring lawyers, Adrian Morris, Group General Counsel at Tesco, was keen to further explore this untapped pool of talent. Flex Trainee offered the perfect solution - a scheme designed to improve social mobility across the profession. Take a read to see how we took individuals from the shop floor on their way to legal qualification.
Future Lawyers Report Blog Banner: A display of faded-out faces of junior legal professionals on a dark green background, with the O Shaped and Wealthbrite logos
January 15

Flex Legal's Future Lawyers Report 2023/24

The legal industry is changing. A new generation of legal professionals are sweeping into the corridors of law firms and the seats of in-house legal teams. But who is this new generation? How are they engaging with the expected norms of the legal world? How does the generational divide impact their approach to work?