Welcome to Legal Information Management and the first issue for 2017; a year that promises to be highly significant in the history of the political and legal landscapes of the United Kingdom as it moves towards the Brexit trigger and Article 50. I begin this editorial with my own personal view. Brexit, as a concept and as a piece of terminology, is everywhere and, as someone who voted to remain, it is almost oppressive. The conversations, debates and arguments continue daily about the implementation of Brexit and the likely impact of this course of action on so many aspects of our lives. I write at the very moment that the government has been defeated in the Supreme Court, meaning that Parliament must vote on whether the government can start the Brexit process. Regardless, the course seems to be set and by the time this issue of LIM is published, Article 50 may well have been triggered if the government's timetable remains on schedule. The future of the UK, and indeed Europe, will have changed forever as a result. It's a moment in political history and the legal landscape is about to shift considerably. The period when the UK was an integral part of the EU will be the domain of legal historians in years to come. At the time of writing the constitutional scholars and EU lawyers are in the thick of it as the legal and parliamentary processes are determined. And then, once we begin in earnest, so all the extensive changes to our UK legislation will need to follow. Our commercial law colleagues who work in fields such as competition law, intellectual property and investment and trade could see their commitments increase like never before. Business clients will need to be advised about the legal changes; and business contracts will need to be re-drafted. The consequences will be far-reaching and will take decades to unfold. Inevitably, as we leave the Europe Union it will prove to be a busy, indeed lucrative, time for so many in the legal profession with knock-on effects for those in supporting roles. Potentially it will be a challenging period for some of us who work in higher education as participation in EU research programmes, and research grant funding opportunities, are threatened and as European researchers and students are less attracted to come to UK universities. So, how will the Brexit factor influence our own profession and the work of law librarians and legal information professionals? As we embark on the year ahead I hope that we can include some contributions in LIM reflecting the impact on our own profession. But for now, on with the spring issue…
DEREK WAY 1929–2016
We begin again with a note of sadness as we mark the death of Derek Way. It is always a great privilege to learn about the many contributions made to our profession by BIALL members. In this case we learn about the immense commitment given by Derek. He worked initially in public libraries and then as librarian at the Birmingham Law Society before becoming sub-librarian at the University of Liverpool's Faculty of Law. He was a founder member of BIALL, playing a significant role in the early development of the association; he was made a life member in 2002. This obituary reveals the full extent of Derek's work and involvement with the profession and it is a true pleasure to read about his life and achievements. I am immensely grateful to Mary Blake for writing this obituary with help from David Way (Derek's cousin) and Barbara Tearle.
WAYS OF WORKING
Under the theme, we focus on approaches to the working environment as seen from several perspectives. To begin with there is an article written from the academic world by Lee F. Peoples. who looks at the concept of ‘placemaking’. Next, we take a view from the commercial law sector with a piece by Dawn Jones who describes flexible and agile working approaches used in the law firm environment. Karen Waldron describes the experiences of LexisNexis in implementing agile working as a framework in product development and across the organisation. Finally, Jackie Fishleigh also writes about the concept of agile working but also looks at the emergence of the ‘entreployee’ and generational issues as the office environment moves towards a very different and more flexible outlook.
OCCASIONAL SERIES
I am, as always, very grateful to Lesley Dingle for writing about another contribution to Cambridge's Eminent Scholars Archive. The archive includes biographies, bibliographies, photographs and recorded interviews. On this occasion, we hear about Lesley's conversations with Professor Tony Smith and his journey through academia, both in the UK and in New Zealand, as well as his notions of criminality in common law jurisdictions.
BIALL STUDENT AWARD 2016 – DISSERTATION
Renewed congratulations are due to Steve Mishkin with regard to his achievement in winning the BIALL Student Award 2016 for his dissertation on the subject of ‘How can law librarians most effectively provide legal research training?’
CURRENT AWARENESS AND BOOK REVIEW
As always, considerable gratitude goes to Katherine Read and Laura Griffiths of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies for the current awareness section. And the content of this LIM finishes with a book review thanks to Jo Beaumont.
