Large firms are misusing the apprenticeship levy to fund traditional graduate training, Law Society Council member James Kitching has said in a recent column for the Law Gazette.   

According to reports in The Lawyer, the Law Society has warned the owner of Solicitors from Hell to remove the website from the Internet or face High Court action.

Mega firm A&O Shearman has released guidance for students on the use of AI in training contract and vacation scheme applications.

Legal education provider The University of Law has revealed that it has entered six new university partnerships to guarantee Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) course places for future lawyers. 

Junior lawyers can now defer compulsory Professional Skills Course modules for 12 months, as the Solicitors Regulation Authority responds to the pandemic and relaxes professional training rules.  

Top law firms have announced their autumn retention rates, following the lead of Shearman & Sterling which revealed in June that it would keep on 11 of its 12 NQs.

Premier international law firm Milbank LLP has launched a new training pathway – leveraged finance track – for candidates with “a clear and committed interest in leveraged finance”. 

The University of Law (ULaw) and international law firm Taylor Wessing have revealed an exclusive partnership, which will see ULaw deliver its postgraduate courses with the firm.

Legal Aid Minister Shailesh Vara has told the All Party Parliamentary Group on Legal and Constitutional Affairs that the planned £220 million legal aid cuts will not reduce the quality of lawyers operating in the field.

Magic circle giant Linklaters is to offer its lawyers the opportunity to work fewer hours for a lower salary – but the scheme remains a pilot in four of the firm’s German offices for now. 

The Law Society’s annual Diversity Access Scheme is about to open for submissions, this year including 10 awards offering financial assistance and mentoring, plus one new award for a law centre worker that guarantees a training contract.

The University of Law (ULaw) has partnered with Newcastle University to offer students specialised postgraduate training courses at the leading Russell Group institution’s Law School.

Bridging the Bar’s (BTB) 2024/25 Academy is set to begin in September, with the aim of increasing diversity at the Bar by preparing 100 aspiring barristers from non-traditional backgrounds for pupillage applications.

The College of Legal Practice and the University of Winchester have joined forces to offer an innovative new master’s in law that’ll include preparation for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam assessments and a direct pathway into the legal profession. 

The disparity between law conversion and Legal Practice Course and law pass rates at different law schools has become even more extreme, according to a report by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The University of Law’s Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) Law Essentials Course – the precursor to the SQE preparatory course for non-law graduates – welcomed its first cohort of students on Monday.

The legal profession’s use of the ‘BAME’ label to group Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic lawyers has been criticised by chair of the Bar Council, Derek Sweeting QC.

Thousands of lawyers are set to take part in this year’s London Legal Walk to fundraise for community legal advice services.

The chair of the Criminal Bar Association has warned that “very vulnerable people who have to go through the system are being let down” by a criminal justice system that penalises the innocent more than the guilty, with the crisis further intensified by the coronavirus pandemic.