When I first enrolled onto the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), I knew it’d be a challenging journey. I was working and studying part time, and was determined to do well in an exam that people knew little about.

There’s a theme to this week’s commercial news round-up and that’s carmakers announcing that they will be cutting jobs in the UK, and high street department stores reporting a fall in sales as the retail slump continues. 

The small window of time between the football-related jubilation of Tuesday night and the football-related anxiety of Saturday afternoon is the perfect opportunity to distract yourself with some of this week’s biggest business stories. Here is our collection for this week.

When my place for LawCareersNetLIVE London 2025 was confirmed, I expected useful conversations and a better sense of different law firms. I didn’t expect the day to shape how I approached future applications and assessment centres – or that it’d help me secure a training contract with one of the sponsor firms – but that’s exactly what happened.

Professions embracing apprenticeships has grown considerably and the legal sector is one of those that has recognised the opportunities these apprenticeships provide, not only to the apprentice, but also to the firms that employ them and nurture their skills and passion for the profession.

Japan has introduced a new streamlined registration process to make it easier for British firms to access Japan’s legal services market. The changes will save time and money, while bolstering “collaboration” between the legal sectors and “boosting bilateral trade in legal services”.

Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, one of Japan’s biggest law firms, has opened a new office in London and is set to target UK and European companies entering the Japanese market.