29 July 2020
Survey reveals strong interest of legal professions in online training
A survey conducted by ERA with the support of 54 partners at
European and national level in June-July 2020 has revealed the strong
interest of judicial and legal professionals in online training.
The Covid-19 pandemic has put most face-to-face professional training on hold but many judges, lawyers and other professionals in the legal sector have been willing to make the switch to online formats.
More than 10,000 legal professionals from all EU Member States responded to the survey, which revealed significant differences in the number of professionals with experience of online training. More than 70% of lawyers in private practice had already participated in online programmes, for example, but only just over half of judges and even fewer prosecutors or civil servants.
Approximately a quarter of law enforcement officials and court staff reported that they were simply unable to follow online training from their workplaces.
Overall, of those who had not yet participated in online training, 77% said they would be interested in doing so in future.
The most used platforms for online training and videoconferencing were Zoom, Microsoft Teams, CiscoWebex and SkypeforBusiness in that order. Zoom was also the platform that respondents were most likely to be unable or advised not to use.
The most important feature of online training for legal professionals was "ease of use", with 80% describing it as important or essential. "Data security" and "data protection (GDPR compliance)" came next, with 75% and 70% respectively. The least important feature was the visual presence of other participants, with only just over 25% of respondents describing it as important or essential.
As to when legal professionals might return to international face-to-face training, the most significant obstacle was unsurprisingly the travel restrictions imposed by public authorities to combat the Covid-19 pandemic (cited by 36% of participants). The next most significant factors were a lack of budget for training (33%) and a lack of time for travel due to heavy workload (32%). Personal reluctance to travel internationally was cited by only 20% of respondents.
The survey was distributed with the help of 54 partner organisations, including judicial training institutions, bar associations and notary chambers. Each partner received the detailed results for their respective professional group and/or country.
To download the selected results mentioned in this article, please click on the link on the right.
