New dawn for legal profession Mark Said from Msida writes: The legal profession’s great strengths have always been consistent, dependable and offering certainty. But, now, the world around us is disrupted and ambiguous. Unlike many other sectors, our law firms have, perhaps, felt a glancing blow when it comes to dramatic disruption. The business model has (mostly) been remarkably resilient and profitable. However, the future of the sector is challenged by new technology opportunities and other professional services eating into market share and meeting client needs. We have reached a point where evolution is no longer a choice. But I perceive that some law firms may be faced with a shortage of key talent and specific skill sets to bring about the kind of transformation that will ensure their position as leaders in their market and, most importantly, meet client expectations. The most evolving subject in which a student can pursue his higher education is law. Every day, there are new proceedings happening in our courts, with new judgments emerging, creating a constant change in how we understand the law. There is a need for budding lawyers to understand issues that will be the talk of the town in the coming years. The need for such lawyers trained in modern legal issues is growing tremendously because, each day, we hear about new loopholes in the law that make it possible for an organisation or a person to exploit them. A principal reason for the rising pressure to implement change in the legal sector is the expansion of elite firms and the introduction of new competitors. As the law has increased in complexity, firms have reorganised to embrace specialisation, and niche firms have emerged. They have the technology, the consulting skills and the deep pockets to offer something different. The legal profession is at a point of inflection. It is struggling to deal with the dissonance between the stringent and demanding traditional expectations of professional services and the new, modern expectations of clients and future talent. These changes will, ultimately, become a priority as the sector faces an exciting era of change, innovation and evolution. Bombs don’t work Dennis Fitzgerald from Melbourne, Australia writes: There are a number of countries attacking each other at the moment and frequently in the past, with the basic intent of bombing the hell out of each other. The countries in the Middle East include some with strong religious foundations but why are they fighting? Religions provide a set of guidelines to live by and also promote living with your neighbours. There have already been many conflicts but more do not help improve anything. It’s time to back off and back down, take some time to breathe and to heal. Talking might not work but bombs don’t either. Hell might be the final place for those that hurt others, and it currently looks like it won’t be a lonely place.