Staying In The Know

Dear Rookie Advocate,

As you’ve obviously come to learn, the study and practice of Law, requires that you have a firm (or somewhat firm) grasp of the regulatory changes happening around you. This is true regardless of what field or sector you are in, whether in public, private or corporate practice. It goes without saying that some forms of practice allow you to have a front row seat as far as law development and regulatory changes are concerned. If your work largely involves court work, legal representation and providing legal advice, the law (or where to find it) should be on your fingertips.

Leaving the realm of private practice to pursue alternative legal work such as academia, corporate advisory, compliance or risk management usually means leaving the mainstream law practice and, depending on what your work actually entails,  it’s easy to fall out of touch with the happenings in the legal space. I’ve been a culprit of being completely oblivious to what seemed to be the obvious “legal” talk of the day. At the beginning of my Compliance career, I learned (the hard way) the importance of staying in the know and being able to provide regulatory advice on the basis of the current status of the law.

It’s a no-brainer. As lawyers our value is tied to how best we can express our knowledge and skills. Keeping abreast of legislative changes speaks to our competence and our ability to represent and advise our clients appropriately.

There’s a lot of great advice online on how one can keep abreast of changes in the regulatory environment – I’ll share a few that I practice and find most helpful.

1. Check Regulatory Sites periodically: Schedule time to check updates on regulatory sites of Interest. Make use of the various tools available (such as your Calendar Tasks or reminders) to block out time specifically to check for new content on these sites. Some of the sites I have bookmarked and make regular use of are:

• Bank of Zambia – www.boz.zm
• Financial Intelligence Centre – https://www.fic.gov.zm/
• Zambia Information & Communications Technology Authority – https://www.zicta.zm/
• Competition & Consumer Protection – https://www.ccpc.org.zm/
• Securities & Exchange Commission – https://www.seczambia.org.zm/
• Zambia Revenue Authority – https://www.zra.org.zm/
• National Assembly – https://www.parliament.gov.zm/acts-of-parliament
• Various sites for Agencies and Ministries

2. Create Automated Regulatory Change Alerts: There are several providers of subscription based or free notification alerts of content from across the web. Google Alerts, for example can be used to receive feeds via email whenever new regulatory changes in subjects of interest are made on various sites online. All you have to do is specify a search term that defines the content you want an alert on and the service will send an email when it finds new results on the web that match your specification. Take note however, that you are likely to receive A LOT of emails through this service so try to be as specific as possible about the alerts you want. Visualping is another great tool to monitor website changes and obtain alerts. Read about how it can help you monitor regulatory changes here.
3. Subscribe to Regulatory Alert Services: A better option to a general content and notification service like Google Alerts is to subscribe to a regulatory alert service like Lexis Assure (offered by Lexis Nexis). This online system will send automated alerts on actual Legal content and may even provide summaries of the changes or new legislation.
4. Make use of free information sites that offer Regulatory Content: Websites such as the Zambia Legal Information Institute (ZambiaLII) and E-notices have been very helpful though they may not be updated immediately new legislation is enacted.
5. Subscribe to Government Printers and uplift periodically: For the Zambian environment, a subscription to the Government Printers is key as it allows you to have access to Gazettes and other Statutory Instruments that you may not find online. Make it a point to uplift periodically, at least fortnightly or once a month.
6. Network and create contacts who can assist with regulatory information: Even in the Legal environment, Tim Sander’s words are true; “Your Network is Your Net Worth“. The people in our circle can be the best sources of regulatory advancements you may not have heard of otherwise. Be deliberate about networking and ensure that your circle includes people you can always turn to for regulatory information and try to be that person for somebody else. It’s important for these relationships to be mutually beneficial so offer information that may be relevant to the other person as well.
7. Strategic Connections: Our profession is such that you will almost always be connected to someone who works at Court, in regulatory Agencies, Authorities or Commissions and even Parliament. Just one strategic connection could be the difference between being in the know and being in the dark.

• Join industry associations: Being an active member of the Law Association of Zambia is a sure way to receive information on regulatory changes. You can also venture out and join other local and international associations in different sectors; networking with industry experts helps to get first-hand information about existing and incoming legislation.

• Take Keen Interest in conferences, trainings, seminars and webinars: These can be a great way of getting new information without much effort on your part. As with being a member of Associations, you get to hear from experienced people on the subject matter and in some cases you may be accorded the opportunity to ask pertinent questions to help you gain a better understanding of the regulations. I find that LinkedIn is a great place to find such opportunities, but you can also get information from your network and regulatory sites.

• The News, Blogs and Social Media: Undeniably in this information age, any source of information will allow you hear (or read) about regulatory changes. You may, however want to be more deliberate about the content you receive and which posts are reliable and accurate (especially for social media). Follow regulatory agencies, experts and senior counsel on professional sites such as LinkedIn and get their insights in real-time. You can also subscribe to blogs (#DearRookieAdvocate 😉) and Newsletters for a wider perspective on pertinent issues.

I hope you find the above tips as useful as I do and I’d love to hear any other ways in which you stay in the know.

Till next time.

Jo-An

Joan is a skilled legal and regulatory advisor, who is proficient in compliance and legal risk management in the financial sector. Because of her unique position in the industry, Joan has gained skills in a broad range of subjects including corporate governance, regulatory compliance, ethics, anti-money laundering and venture capital investment. A global citizen at heart, Joan believes that she has a part to play in making the world a better place. She is passionate about youth advocacy, leadership and development, and start-up ecosystem building. She loves music, art, laughter, good food and quite recently developed a liking for the color pink.