Presented at LILAC 2019

1. New barristers’ information
literacy during their
transition from education to
the workplace.
LILAC 24/04/2019
ANNE.BINSFELD@GMAIL.COM
TWIT TER: @ANNE_BINSFELD

2. Aim of study
How do new barristers experience the transition from education to the
workplace in terms of their IL experiences?
- current and past legal research
- impact of difficulties at work on transition experiences
- IL training
- information use to mediate transition

3. Introduction
Workplace IL is understudied.
Transition from university into work is important career step.
So far new barristers’ IL has not been studied from their perspective. (Soanes,
2010, p. 151)
Insights can benefit academic law librarians and those supporting lawyers in the
workplace, legal education providers and workplace IL researchers.

4. Background from the literature
Definitions
‘Information literacy incorporates a set of skills and abilities which everyone
needs to undertake information-related tasks; for instance, how to discover,
access, interpret, analyse, manage, create, communicate, store and share
information.’ (CILIP, 2018, p. 3)
Workplace IL

5. Legal education
Undergraduate
degree
Graduate
Diploma in Law
Masters
in Law
BPTC
Pupillage

6. Background from the literature
Development of legal IL standards
Transitional phases about ‘learning’ (Fenwick, 2013, p. 357).
Soanes ‘the transition away from [...] learner to [...] professional [...] is a little-
investigated area’ (2010, p. 151).
Barristers’ learning in the workplace

7. Outline of research methods
Literature review
Qualitative research method
Semi-structured face-to-face interviews (30-45 min) with 9 participants
Open and focused coding
Iterative and inductive data analysis
Limitations
Ethics

8. Findings
The difference between new barristers’ past and current research behaviour.
Their strategies to mediate the transition in terms of research problems.
Their strategies to mediate the transition to professional practices.

9. Difficulties around research
New barristers struggle with research.
Why?
But they don’t all struggle or struggle in a similar way.
Pupil 1

10. Difficulties around research
Pupil 1

11. Other IL challenges
For many new barristers research is a minor worry in comparison to other
information-related challenges.
A “safe territory […] is doing research because that’s what you’ve been doing as a
pupil […], so when you’re given a research task, you’re almost ‘ah, I’m
comfortable’” (barrister 3).

12. Professional practices
“Being a barrister is a very social endeavour” for pupil 2.
As a new professional, barrister 3 needed to learn “subtle things like how to
respond to clients, what clients want, making your advice client-friendly”.
Pupil 2 feels “like pupillage is about developing your style”.
Barrister 4 highlighted “there is no way before your first proper professional job
[to] learn [...] how to handle yourself”.

13. Mediation of information problems
The mediation of the information problems is far more interesting than the
information problems themselves.
New barristers’ IL practices are far more complex than expected.

14. Mediation of information problems
Mediation strategies for research:
- training
- self-led practice
Barrister 4

15. Mediation of information problems
Mediation strategies for research difficulties:
- using pupil supervisors as information sources
Pupil 1 explained that often “you’re left completely on your own [...] the first
step is always to abandon me and to let me work it out”.
- using other people in chambers as information sources
e.g. “our chambers librarian” (barrister 1)

16. Mediation of information problems
Mediation strategies for professional practices:
- pupil supervisors as role models and connectors to professional network
Pupil 2 explained they “learnt a lot [...] about the practical and tactical
application of the law” from their supervisor.
- pupil supervisors as connectors between new barristers and professional
network
- others such as clerks, “roommates” and senior barristers

17. Complex social learning
Collaboration
Barrister 4

18. Complex social learning
War stories are “the osmosis kind of approach” (barrister 3).
A big issue “you have is that as a pupil you lack the experience […] so them telling
you all their war stories […] is a great way of getting that experience much more
quickly” (pupil 1).
“We being very boring people we only ever talk about our work, and that way
you find out if something important happened” (barrister 4).

19. Complex social learning
“There are particular barristers that I get on with very well, who [...] wouldn’t
judge me for not knowing” pupil 1.
Pupil 2 would “start with my colleagues who are of a similar call to me [...]
because [...] they won’t have a go at me”.

20. Conclusion
The IL new barristers developed at university is dissimilar to the IL they need in
the workplace.
Their IL challenges at work include research and professional practices.
People play a crucial but complicated role as information sources.

21. Further research
How do other legal professionals or other new professionals experience
transition in terms of their IL competencies?
More holistic legal IL definition and rethinking of common workplace IL
definitions.
Importance and complexity of social learning for developing IL competencies in
new professionals.

22. Some implications
For law librarians: IL training needs to focus on authentic practice and include
situated learning.
For legal educators: ensure pupils are given support outside of the traditional
pupil-supervisor relationship.
For workplace IL research: social tensions in the workplace impact on new
professionals’ IL needs and transition experiences.

23. Thank you!
Any questions?
Connect:
anne.binsfeld@gmail.com
Twitter: @anne_binsfeld

24. References
American Association of Law Libraries. Archive: AALL Legal Research Competencies and Standards for Law Student Information Literacy. [online]. Chicago: AALL; July 2012
[Accessed 31 March 2019]. Available from: https://www.aallnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Law-Student-Info-Literacy-and-Research-Standards-July-2012.pdf.
British and Irish Association of Law Librarians. BIALL Legal Information Literacy Statement 2012. [online]. [Accessed 31 March 2019]. Available from:
https://biall.org.uk/careers/biall-legal-information-literacy-statement/.
Bruce C. Workplace Experiences of Information Literacy. International Journal of Information Management. 1999;19(1):33-47.
Bruce C. Information Literacy Programs and Research: An International Review. Australian Library Journal. 2000;60(4):326-33.
Coonan E, Jacqueline Geekie J, Goldstein S, Jeskins L, Jones R, Macrae-Gibson R, et al. CILIP Definition of Information Literacy 2018. [online]. London: CILIP Information Literacy
Group; April 2018 [Accessed 31 March 2019]. Available from: https://infolit.org.uk/ILdefinitionCILIP2018.pdf.
Fenwick T. Understanding Transitions in Professional Practice and Learning. Journal of Workplace Learning. 2013;25(6):352-67.
Forster M. New concepts, new perspectives? In: Information literacy in the workplace. London: Facet; 2017. p. 1-9.
Secker J, Emma C. A New Curriculum for Information Literacy: Transitional, Transferable, Transformational. [online]. Cambridge: Arcadia Project; July 2011 [Accessed 31 March
2019]. Available from: http://ccfil.pbworks.com/f/ANCIL_final.pdf.
Soanes M. The Legal Questing Beast: Vocational Students' Research Strategies, Motivations and Emotions. The Law Teacher. 2010;44(2):149-68.
Lloyd A. Information Literacy Landscapes: Information Literacy in Education, Workplace and Everyday contexts. Oxford: Chandos; 2010.
Lloyd A. Learning Within for Beyond: Exploring a Workplace Information Literacy Design. In: Forster M, editor. Information literacy in the workplace. London: Facet; 2017. p. 97-
112.

25. Anne Binsfeld
Assistant Librarian
Lincoln’s Inn
Email: anne.binsfeld@gmail.com
Twitter: @anne_binsfeld