It’s that time of year where many eager first-year students submit applications for places on open days at law firms. In the next few weeks and months, some lucky students will receive coveted invitations to such events, and for many it will be their first chance to interact with such large and high-profile firms. Of course, many ‘meet the firm’ style events this year will be online instead, but this does not prevent them from being useful!

How should you prepare for the big event, so that you make the most of it?

Most trainee-hiring law firms run work experience schemes and events specifically for first-year students. So, if you’re seriously considering becoming a solicitor, you’ll be doing yourself a big favour by making sure you attend one or two during your first year at university. Use this list of firms offering opportunities to first-year students to get you started!

Most trainee-hiring law firms now run work experience schemes and events specifically for first-year students, so if you’re seriously considering becoming a solicitor, you’ll be doing yourself a big favour by making sure you attend one or two during your first year at university. Use this list of firms offering opportunities to first-year students to get you started!

An important part of going to university is having a great time, meeting new friends and making the most of the wide variety of opportunities that being a student has to offer. That being said, focusing solely on fun and not paying attention to your academics is likely to result in a few missed opportunities. A healthy balance of work and socialising during your first year will have long-term benefits that you’ll appreciate later down the line.

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London-based commercial firm Fladgate has agreed an exclusive training partnership with The University of Law. 

London-based commercial firm Fladgate LLP has significantly boosted its trainee recruitment, in a welcome development for aspiring solicitors.

Two UK firms have announced they are getting behind the growing apprenticeship movement, recruiting apprentices to join their firms in September 2016.

Leading medical negligence firm Fletchers Solicitors is accepting applications for its 2018 trailblazer solicitor apprenticeship scheme.

Extended court sitting hours in the early mornings and evenings will be tested for the first time from 2 September, which marks the start of a six-month pilot scheme.

In moves to offer greater flexibility to students, The University of Law will launch a four-year, part-time law degree from September, while The City law School has unveiled an online LLM In International Business Law for distance learners.

More than 80% of lawyers consider flexible working to be more important than salaries when job hunting, according to a recent report. 

Radical changes to firms’ approach to flexible working, improvements to parental leave and new mentoring and sponsorship programmes should be made top priorities to improve gender equality in the legal profession, according to women on the frontline.

It’s vacation scheme application season and subsequently a crucial time to think about the commercial issues affecting businesses and the legal industry. By considering the below news stories and working out how these issues could affect law firms and their clients, you are thinking commercially.

It’s been another week of political upheaval with several MPs from the Labour and Conservative parties breaking away to form the new Independent Group. With just over a month until B-Day – the day Britain officially leaves the EU – and with nobody really sure what will happen afterwards, the business world is already facing the repercussions. More on that, and other issues, in this week's commercal news round-up.

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