This article is a summary of a parallel session delivered by Stephen Gregory at the BIALL Conference 2022. We may frequently work with amended legislation but have we ever stopped to think about the processes involved in identifying and implementing amendments? Drawing on experiences of working with government lawyers this article explores how government legal information professionals can assist in identifying candidates for consequential amendment. The complexities of searching for references to specific legislation provisions are described, providing some suggested search solutions. A risk-based approach is suggested. He concludes that by working collaboratively government information professionals may add significant value and benefit.

The purpose of this research is to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the legal information profession within law firm libraries in Britain and Ireland. As the pandemic only began the year before commencing this research, few studies had been conducted on the topic, thereby a clear opening for this study emerged. This study uses a survey research strategy comprised of a mixed methods research approach. Desk research in the form of a literature review opens the study. A questionnaire and 5 semi-structured interviews were subsequently conducted. To understand the impact of the pandemic on the legal information profession within law firm libraries, the research objectives break the topic down into 4 areas that give insight into the consequences of the pandemic. The research found that A) working from home was the major impact faced due to the lockdown in spring 2020; B) use and spending on print resources declined; C) the role of legal information professionals has not significantly changed; and D) future legal information professionals will need to upskill due to technological developments and improve the image of the profession. Owing to the recent outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to compare the findings of this research to similar future studies to determine the validity of the results.

Easy-to-use software and apps have made video creation achievable and affordable for many library and information professionals. While there are parallels between delivering library training in-person and via a pre-recorded video, video creation does present additional challenges as well as exciting opportunities. This paper, by Charlie Brampton, uses Clark and Mayer's model of cognitive processing as a framework, and explores how video watching can lead to extraneous, essential and generative processing. These three concepts are explored individually, and practical advice is given about controlling each type of processing. The related topic of video accessibility is discussed, from both a legal and a practical perspective.

In this article Matthew Leopold, Head of Brand and Communications at LexisNexis, discusses the rise of the legal consultant and concludes that while the platform model is positioned well as a disrupter, the traditional law firm model is not going away anytime soon, with talent retention likely to become the biggest challenge for all legal firms over the next few years.

This article, by Jas Breslin, is a summary of a panel discussion held at the BIALL Conference in July 2022, an in-depth and absorbing debate with a focus on the changes in legal research across the globe over the last decade. Entitled ‘Thoughts on the ever-changing landscape of international legal research’, the discussion saw four panellists from different working environments explain exactly what international legal research meant to them, and what significant transformations they have witnessed in recent years. Interestingly, some universal key themes emerged during the discussion, regardless of the jurisdiction or sector the speaker worked in.

In this article, based on his presentation at the BIALL Annual Conference in July 2022, the author Greg Bennett, a law librarian, discusses the insights he gained by becoming a student of law, and so, a user of a law library.

This article, written by Kate Faulkner and Wendy Lynwood, considers the skills of law librarians and shows how they can assist those who also hold a copyright specialist role. Most librarians encounter some aspects of copyright within their role. However, the understanding that law librarians have with regard to law, legal research capabilities, teaching and liaison skills equips them to take on copyright, sometimes in addition to their law library role, or to move into a full-time copyright specialist role.