Following the Domestic Abuse Bill’s second reading in the House of Commons last week, the Law Society says the bill must do more to protect victims. It recently passed a significant stage in its path to becoming law and will now be examined by the public bill committee.

Swedish fintech company Klarna has revealed that its in-house lawyers are using ChatGPT to draft time-consuming contracts, which has “massively” saved time.  

Many law firms, in-house legal departments and other organisations including the Government Legal Department have become the founding signatories of the Law Society’s Pro Bono Charter. 

It’s Easter, and that means late-morning starts and excessive consumption. However, we would suggest that you intersperse the indulgence of the holidays with a level of interest in the big commercial news stories. As a reference point, here is our selection from last week.

LawWorks has announced the winners of the LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards 2025, sponsored by LexisNexis UK. The awards celebrate the best pro bono activities undertaken by students and law schools across the nation. The awards were presented at a ceremony held at the House of Lords on Wednesday 23 April.

Details of the 22nd UK Pro Bono Week have been revealed, with the focus on bringing legal professionals together to make a sustained impact around three cross-cutting themes.

The shining lights of the student pro bono scene were celebrated on 26 April at the annual LawWorks & Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards. Held at the House of Commons, the awards are designed to recognise the exceptional work being done by students and their law schools around the UK in the provision of free legal advice and support.

More and more employees are being diagnosed with stress and are bringing claims against their employers. What steps should employers take to avoid being held legally liable for such claims?

Deloitte Legal has entered a strategic partnership with legal AI platform Legora in the UK to accelerate the transformation of legal services. The collaboration, announced on 8 September, aims to reshape how legal teams operate by implementing AI-driven solutions that go beyond task-based productivity gains and into full-service redesign.  

The Law Society of England and Wales has confirmed that a regional solicitor admission ceremony will take place in Leeds on Monday 11 September 2023. 

The Law Society of England and Wales has expressed its support for the House of Commons Justice Committee’s call for urgent reform, following its recent report, which stated that the county court needs “urgent attention”.

The proportion of women and BAME people who make up the solicitors’ profession has increased in the last decade, the latest annual statistics report from the Law Society shows.

International firm Clyde & Co has vacated one of its two City offices to reduce workspace as part of its transition to ‘hybrid’ working, which will see employees eligible to work from home for up to three days a week.

Application season is upon us and part of your preparation should be developing your commercial awareness – namely, an interest in the business world and how the issues that affect clients will also affect and shape the advice that you, as their lawyer, will give. There’s also every chance you’ll be asked to comment on something topical in an interview, so best to be prepared! For a selection of this week’s most interesting commercial news stories, read on:

Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that iProbono, an initiative which connects lawyers with civil society organisations, is the winner of a Big Society Award.

Hiring activity in the legal industry fell in 2023, with figures returning to levels similar to those seen pre-pandemic. 

Hogan Lovells, one of the leading global law firms, is due to leave its City of London headquarters where it has been based in Atlantic House since 2001. 

The SRA is set to begin granting its first alternative business structure licences in early 2012, now that the House of Lords has approved legislation regulating the disclosure of criminal convictions for non-lawyer owners of ABSs.