General counsel attendees discussed the benefits of hiring an in-house trainee solicitor at a recent roundtable discussion hosted at the Law Society.

Ropes & Gray announced it will be retaining all its newly qualified (NQ) London-based trainees this month.

Ropes & Gray’s newly-qualified solicitors will continue to earn a minimum of £130,000 this autumn, including the five trainees being retained who are qualifying in September 2020.

William Allen is a solicitor in the private equity and transactions team. He outlines how his work experience prepared him for a career in law and the opportunities he’s got involved in so far at Ropes & Gray.

Maya Shah, senior early careers specialist at Ropes & Gray, outlines what the firm wants to see from candidates in their applications and at interview, as well how the firm is adopting the SQE and what candidates can expect from the vacation scheme. 

Ropes & Gray International LLP has confirmed that its deadline for training contact applications is now 22 August 2014.

International firm Ropes & Gray has launched a new contextual, CV-blind trainee recruitment process aimed at reducing unconscious bias to ensure that all applicants are assessed on their merits, not their backgrounds.

In this LCN Says, we speak to Rona Ankrah from Mayer Brown International LLP about building commercial awareness. Read this article for insights on how you can demonstrate commercial awareness in interviews, how Mayer Brown helps trainees to develop their commercial awareness and how Rona approaches learning about clients’ businesses.

We’re keeping the news round-up Brexit-less this week and focusing on commercial issues elsewhere – including the new Britbox online streaming service launched by the BBC and ITV to rival Netflix, and struggling fashion retailers Laura Ashley and Ted Baker.

The House of Lords constitution committee has launched an inquiry into the centuries-old office of lord chancellor, asking whether it is sufficiently independent of government and whether it should be held by a lawyer.

The University of Roehampton is launching a law school, with plans to recruit its first LLB intake for a 2015 start.

The University of Roehampton today celebrates the official opening of its law school, featuring a keynote speech from Baroness Helena Kennedy QC.