Podcasts and influencers you should follow to boost your commercial awareness

Reading time: five minutes

It’s so easy to consume regular, up-to-date information in our modern world. Listening to podcasts and browsing social media are easy and interactive ways for candidates to work on their commercial awareness. And, as the world becomes increasingly digital, there are more podcasts and influencers than ever on the legal scene for you to follow and learn from.

As you know (and as we try not to sound like a broken record!), commercial awareness is a key skill that all law firms look for in their future trainees. It’s imperative that you can demonstrate this skill at each stage of the application process. So, rather than sitting down the evening before your interview and frantically scouring the Financial Times website for interesting articles in a bid to impress a law firm with your new-found knowledge, start early. Not a week early – but months or even years early. Commercial awareness must become a way of thinking.

Here's a non-exhaustive list of some of the podcasts we think you should listen to and social media accounts we’d recommend following. Don’t forget there are lots of other excellent legal content creators out there to investigate too!

Podcasts

FT News Briefing

The FT News Briefing gives a rundown of important global news stories every weekday morning. If you want to keep up to date with business, finance and politics but you don’t have time to look through news pages, these brief 10 to 12-minute episodes are an excellent way to understand current affairs. Recent episodes look at the US-UK trade deal and updates in AI.

Talking Law with Dr Sally Penni MBE

Presented by barrister Sally Penni MBE, Talking Law profiles key figures in law in the UK. Previous guests include former senior judge Lord Sumption, author and part-time Crown Court Judge Nicola Williams, and Brabners LLP’s managing partner Nik White. Each podcast discusses current events and challenges facing the legal profession.

Mayer Brown International LLP Podcast

Mayer Brown’s podcast provides insights into current events and legal practice areas from lawyers working at this international law firm. The podcast covers a range of topics from financial services to corporate M&A. Split into different subsections, there’s something for everyone no matter their interest. Many aspiring lawyers may be interested by the NextGen Talk series, which explores the future of legal work, next generation leadership, sustainability and much more.

BBC Radio 4’s The Law Show

BBC Radio 4’s weekly law show aims to provide listeners with an in-depth understanding of important political decisions and law-related stories that are making the news. Recent episodes cover the impact of court delays, the new Renters’ Rights Bill and the family court system.

The LawCareers.Net Podcast

Last but not least, LawCareers.Net’s very own podcast has a variety of focuses. If you want to boost commercial awareness, check out our Commercial Connect series, which runs through topical events, and our Practice Area Profile series, where we speak to lawyers about what’s going on in their practice areas, from construction and engineering to environment.

Social media

In addition to podcasts, social media is a great tool to improve your commercial awareness. There’s increasingly more information on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok every day. Following legal influencers and vloggers is a great way to include a dose of commercial awareness into your daily life and can help you to broaden your knowledge and learn more about the profession more generally.

Newspapers and websites are arguably the best tools for developing commercial awareness. That said, it can sometimes be hard to find the time, or even to remember, to read recent stories. Incorporating some news outlets into your daily social media feed is a low-effort method for boosting awareness. So, consider adding the Guardian, the BBC and Harvard Business Review to your follow list, along with financial publications like the Economist or the Financial Times.

Additionally, following #commercialawareness on social media could help you to gain insights into current events. But which influencers and specific accounts should you be following for high-quality commercial awareness content?

ZipLaw

Ziplaw is brought to you by Ludo, a qualified solicitor who was once told his commercial awareness knowledge was causing his training contract applications to fall short. To remedy this, he created Ziplaw, which offers insights into key stories in a bid to help you develop your commercial awareness ready for application season. Originally, Ziplaw was a YouTube account, but now Ludo primarily produces a range of content on Instagram and TikTok. Recent content looks at Apple’s fine for breaking EU streaming law and rising shipping costs, as well as general advice for standing out on applications.

Simple Politics

Simple Politics is another great account on Instagram for staying on top of the news. It posts ‘nightly news’, rounding up the top daily stories and outlining recent political and economic changes in an easy and accessible way. This is fantastic if you’re approaching a topic with minimal knowledge. Recently, the account has highlighted new data from the Office for National Statistics on the labour market, as well as insights into the UK and US trade deal.

UKfactcheck politics

The clue’s in the name here – UKfactcheck politics is an incredibly popular account to keep up with political happenings in the UK. Much like Simple Politics, this account is a great way to keep up with big developments and breaking news. However, it also provides a range of useful video content, from important political speeches to clippings of interviews with key figures.

LawCareers.Net

LCN’s social media has a range of commercial awareness content. Take a look at our Instagram Stories to keep up to date with our daily news and our weekly newsletter, which is full of insights from firms – including Commercial Questions and Practice Area Profiles. Plus, every Friday we post our commercial news round-up on Instagram Stories to keep you up informed on all the key updates in the news. In addition, we produce a range of content on LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok to help you stay up to date with LawCareers.Net’s content across social media.

Plus, if you’re looking for more commercial awareness content, check out our Commercial awareness hub, sponsored by Mayer Brown, and our monthly Commercial Connect newsletter for everything you need to know about developing your knowledge of the business world and its impact on the law.