The 15 podcasts all law students should listen to

Reading time: six minutes

The popularity of podcasts has soared in recent years with more than 19.1 million podcast listeners in the UK as of January 2023, according to cybercrew. Aspiring lawyers can use podcasts to engage with information through a different medium that offers a new way to learn about issues within and outside of the legal profession, while also supporting their commercial awareness.

Looking for a training contract? Use LCN's training contract deadlines page to keep track of when your target firms have their deadlines.

Being able to listen to podcasts on a commute, walk or run, or while cooking enables aspiring lawyers to make the most of the little spare time that they have between studying, applications and vacation schemes. LCN’s Bethany Wren said: “I think podcasts are a great way to top up your knowledge on a subject without even really trying, and to find out something new from those in the know.”

Here are the 15 podcasts we think all aspiring lawyers should listen to:

1. Law Pod UK – this podcast is brought to you by barristers at One Crown Office Row. It covers developments across aspects of civil and public law in the UK. With more than 180 episodes already, you can stay up to date with recent developments in medical law, and gain insights into the role of law in tackling climate change, whether AI can become a patent inventor, advice on how to get pupillage and interviews with leading professionals, including Robert Keller KC.
    
2. Nothing But The Truth with Elizabeth Bowden – a fairly new podcast, this one is aimed at anyone interested in a career at the Bar and provides honest insights into life as a barrister, helping to decode and demystify the world of the Bar.
    
3. The Linklaters Podcast (Linklaters LLP) – with nearly 350 episodes, this podcast is brought to you from leading global law firm Linklaters. Recent episodes include conversations with experts and legal innovators on a number of topics, including greenwashing from an EU perspective and which Financial Conduct Authority rules apply to crypto promotions.
   
   
    
4. The Intelligence, The Economist – this is a great podcast for aspiring lawyers looking to delve beyond the news that’s making the headlines worldwide to impress firms at interview. With episodes just over 20 minutes long, you can learn rising borrowing costs and Microsoft’s AI push.
    
5. BBC Radio 4 Best of Today – the Best of Today podcast challenges key policy makers on the latest news stories and features insight, analysis and expert debate, which will support your developing commercial awareness. The latest episodes include conversations on an experiment in “open justice” in the family courts, the housing market and how death can go unnoticed in modern society.
    
6. The Judges: Power, Politics and the People – a landmark new podcast series brought to you by Frances Gibb in partnership with The University of Law. Launched on 24 October, the podcast series will feature conversations with 10 of the most senior former judges in England and Wales from the past three decades. The judges will provide their view on politics, power shifts and prospects for the legal system.
   
   
    
7. Talking Law – Sally Penni, founder and chair of Women in the Law UK and a multi-award-winning barrister, hosts this podcast. It provides insights into the careers of leading figures in UK law, with discussions focusing on the highs and lows of their careers, as well as the challenges and realities they’ve faced in the legal profession. Recent guests include Susanna McGibbon, Michael Mansfield KC and author of Without Prejudice, Nicola Williams.
    
8. Legally Speaking Podcast – this podcast is hosted by Rob Hanna, an expert in legal careers and content creation. It provides listeners with accessible insights from reputable guests, including Dana Denis-Smith, lawyer and founder of the First 100 Years programme, on empowerment of women in the legal profession, Mx Oscar Davies on non-binary recognition in the legal system and Jacqueline Schafer on how AI is reshaping legal writing.
    
9. UK Law Weekly – a weekly podcast on legal decisions and news. Find out about the latest cases and reviews from the courts with Marcus Cleaver, a former university lecturer in law. The latest episodes include a look at Republic of Mozambique v Privinvest Shipbuilding (a case involving a serious allegation of bribery on an international scale) and Philip v Barclays Bank UK Plc (regarding a couple who were defrauded £700,000 and claimed that their bank owed them a duty).
    
10. Get legally speaking with Hatti Suvari – this is a multi-award-winning podcast with insights on various matters, including divorce, children disputes, employee and employer rights, and building or neighbourly disputes. With more than 150 episodes featuring jargon-free legal knowledge on a variety of topics, this podcast is a great place to start for aspiring lawyers.
     
11. The Legal Room UK – featuring a diverse range of specialist lawyers, this podcast’s most recent episodes include an introduction to unfair prejudice claims, TUPE and environmental, social and governance. 
    
    
     
12. Commercial Awareness with Watson’s Daily business and financial news – former stockbroker Peter Watson hosts this commercial awareness podcast, which offers accessible insights into important business and financial markets news, including consumer trends versus Amazon drone deliveries, a fall in billable hours, Metro Bank’s rescue and lots more!
     
13. FT News Briefing – straight from the Financial Times newsroom, this podcast provides regular updates to global business news. The latest episodes are: ‘Biden urges Israel to take caution’, ‘How will Egypt handle Gaza’ and ‘How Microsoft beats the odds’.
     
14. The Irwin Mitchell Podcast – a fortnightly podcast, brought to you by full-service law firm Irwin Mitchell. Covering a range of topics, including everything you need to know about pensions and the impact of cyber crime, this podcast provides advice and updates from the firm's experts. 
     
15. Obviously we couldn’t write an article about legal podcasts without mentioning our very own The LawCareers.Net Podcast, which is designed to cover a different topic each month, and features interviews with lawyers, recruiters, students, and members of the LCN team. Make sure you listen and subscribe on your favourite podcast app and let us know what you’d like us to talk about by tweeting us with #LCNpodcast. We have various series including our Practice Area Profile series, which offers students insights into various practice areas with interviews from lawyers at leading law firms across the UK and our Commercial Connect series in which LawCareers.Net’s Niamh Gray analyses recent issues, including no-deposit mortgages and worker strikes. 

Listen to the latest episodes now!

Looking for more? Here are some other LCN Says articles that you might like:

• 'Six legal books by Black authors to entertain, fascinate and inspire you’;
• 'How aspiring lawyers can succeed with no legal work experience';
• ‘How to make the most of LinkedIn as a law student’; and 
• 'More than just careers advice: five things your university’s career service can help you with’.

Olivia Partridge (she/her) is the content manager at LawCareers.Net.