The Junior Lawyers Division has launched its annual essay competition.

Law firms and lawyers have a “collective responsibility” to reduce the pressure people feel to drink alcohol at social and networking events, the body representing junior solicitors has said.

The body representing junior lawyers has called for greater scrutiny of decisions made by the legal profession’s ‘super regulator’ after the Solicitors Qualifying Exam was approved amid widespread criticism.

Junior lawyers are being invited to apply for a short-term scheme with the High Court of England and Wales to assist judges with family and civil court cases.

Organised around the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta in 2015, a new scheme has been launched by Lord Dyson to send young solicitors and barristers into schools and encourage students to pursue a career in law.

Junior lawyers, with support from the Law Society, have announced that they will focus once again on the campaign for a minimum trainee salary.

Stress and long hours have long been considered part and parcel of a legal career. Junior lawyers in particular find themselves under immense pressure as they navigate the transition from academic study to the realities of practice.

Approximately 75% of junior lawyers have said they wouldn’t join a firm “whose values didn’t match with their own, even if they were offering more money”, a recent survey published by Obelisk Support reveals.  

A new report shows that two-thirds of junior lawyers want the right to refuse work for ethical reasons. However, the research, which was led by Dana Denis-Smith and published by Obelisk Support, found that this right is currently provided at only 18% of the respondents’ workplaces.

The Law Society is the independent professional body for solicitors in England and Wales. We’re run by and for our members. 

For the first time, juries will be allowed to hear cases remotely in England and Wales due to the rising backlog of trials. 

The age limit for jurors in England and Wales is to be raised from 70 to 75, the government announced last month.

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Research published by the Law Society shows that although proposed changes to the legal aid financial eligibility test are positive, the impact of the cost of living crisis and rises in inflation will continue affecting those using legal aid in the justice system.

Court hearings are becoming swifter and more effective, saving victims, witnesses and the police time through virtual courts and video technology, according to Justice Ministers Nick Herbert and Jonathan Djanology.

Promises to publish a review of the impact of legal aid cuts by Justice Secretary David Lidington have done little to raise the spirits of practitioners following the government’s latest fees decision, which slashed the amount of evidence that lawyers are paid to consider in legal aid cases. 

Justice secretary Chris Grayling has lauded the UK legal profession and the value of City law firms to the country's economy.

The justice secretary, Chris Grayling, has agreed to meet criminal legal aid lawyers to discuss the government's widely opposed plans for legal aid in person, after pressure to do so by the Law Society.

This year will see the launch of Justice Week, an initiative that will build on the format of National Pro Bono Week and which has the backing of the Law Society, the Bar Council and CILEx.