SCL Chair Clive Davies opened the successful SCL Conference in Bath, attended by more than 70 leading SCL members, with an announcement highlighting three exciting new developments.
First, there was the new SCL logo and the ‘tag line’ that goes with it. The new logo offers a refreshing change, which you can now see in all SCL e-mails and reflected on the SCL web site. SCL believes that it better encapsulates the dynamic nature of the organisation and that its circularity reflects the community spirit that permeates SCL. That community spirit is explicit in the new ‘strap line’. The use of the phrase ‘the IT Law Community’ is a recognition of both old functions and new aims and encapsulates the renewed focus of SCL. While SCL has long been an IT law community, as was perfectly demonstrated by the SCL Conference itself, the renewed emphasis on that role will inform future initiatives and influence SCL policy.
The second new development springs from SCL’s community function and has spawned two initiatives. A new SCL group is to be formed – the SCL Junior IT Lawyers Group. The Group will have its first meeting in 2011 and will aim to provide a forum and meeting place for those with less experience of IT law practice. The second initiative involves a more informal arrangement but also recognises the specific needs of some SCL members. There is to be a series of SCL events with a special focus on matters of interest to in-house lawyers.The first meeting, Providing Legal Support Smarter – the In-house Perspective, is on 2 December. The events aim to attract the increasing number of in-house SCL members, and of course they offer a further incentive to join SCL to those in-house lawyers with an IT law role.
The third new development is the creation of a scheme for accreditation and certification of IT lawyers. There will be both basic IT Law Certification and, for those with proven experience in the field, the more advanced SCL IT Law Accreditation. The full scheme will be announced in the New Year but it will add even more value to SCL membership as accreditation by SCL will be available only to SCL members. Accreditation and certification will have increased significance too once the SCL Members’ Directory is online.
Clive Davies said:
‘These new initiatives are central to the way in which I see SCL developing through 2011 and beyond. The accreditation/certification scheme is a new and exciting venture and involves a recognition of how far SCL has come and how central it is to IT law practice in the UK. I am keen to listen to more suggestions from members as to how we can serve their needs.’
