Last year

This time last year, the British & Irish Assocation of Law Librarians (BIALL) met on the south coast of England for its annual conference in the setting of the Bournemouth International Centre to celebrate 50 years since the establishment of the Association in 1969. A highlight of the event was the 7^th Willi Steiner Memorial Lecture delivered by Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, the President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom who reflected upon some of the major changes in the law and access to justice over the last 50 years. It was a memorable event and to relive something of that occasion, her lecture can be found in Legal Information Management (LIM) at:

Brenda Hale, The Changing Legal Landscape. (2019) 19(4) Legal Information Management 217-223.

This year

What a difference a year makes as the Association meets again but this time, and for the first time, in a virtual space, and in the shadow of the Coronavirus pandemic and the tragedy that continues to take lives across the world. The language of today – Coronavirus (Covid-19), self-isolation, social distancing, furlough, WFH (working from home), PPE (personal protective equipment), remote working – was unthinkable twelve months ago. There have been many challenges for all of us during this period and the experience of lockdown may have altered much for the future, in both personal and professional contexts.

LIM: the autumn issue of the journal

In our professional world of law and legal information, adapting to the crisis has meant new ‘ways of working’ and taking the opportunities to adapt our approach to supporting lawyers as we continue to play our part in underpinning the rule of law. In the autumn issue of Legal Information Management it is hoped to present a range of published content that will highlight how we, as legal information professionals, are facing the challenges of remote working and supporting our legal communities in the commercial sector; how we are assisting our law students in universities; how we are making preparations for recovery and a return to a ‘new normal’; how the law courts are working during the lockdown and what is the future for virtual hearings; how the well-being aspects of working from home are impacting on us ….and much more by way of interesting perspectives in relation to our time in lockdown and as we re-emerge afterwards.

The autumn issue of LIM will be published around September 2020. Read the most recent issue here.

David Wills

LIM Editor