Bar chairman Alistair MacDonald QC has said that there should be a complete ban on all fees paid by barristers to instructing solicitors to prevent attempts to disguise referral fees as administration fees.

Shearman & Sterling (London) LLP has announced that it is recruiting campus ambassadors across 10 universities in the United Kingdom, with applications closing in early June.

International law firm Trowers & Hamlins has announced that all 13 of its trainees who are set to qualify in March will be kept on as newly-qualified solicitors.

Magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has launched a networking programme for solicitors of all genders to connect with women barristers, with the aim of increasing instructions and client recommendations to women advocates.

Earlier this month the Conveyancing Association (CA) announced the launch of its new Paralegal Course, provided via its online training portal, The Conveyancing Academy. The course has been designed to provide delegates with a basic knowledge of property law and the procedures associated with straightforward conveyancing transactions.

Innovative UK top 20 firm DWF has launched in the French legal services market for the first time through a merger with boutique Paris firm Heenan Paris. 

Riverview Law, the new ABS entrant to the legal services market, is set to offer 10 training contracts and 10 legal apprenticeships this year.

Opportunities for legal apprentices are on offer at Essex Council, following the local authority’s announcement of its new recruitment campaign.

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

The latest round of partner promotions at City firms indicates some progress toward greater gender equality at the top, with women making up a higher number of newly promoted partners than in previous years.

The College of Law is holding a series of open days in October and November at each of its eight UK locations, designed to give students and graduates an insight into what the CoL has to offer and what’s going on in the legal profession.

The Association of Graduate Recruiters has recently published its bi-annual survey, suggesting graduate job vacancies will rise by 17% this summer.

The first two people to have completed the Accutrainee programme have been taken on by the firms at which they trained.

Six lawyers have been promoted to international firm Simmons & Simmons’ global partnership this year, in what is the firm’s smallest promotion round since the 2008 financial crash.

There is a bumper crop of interesting business stories this week, ready for you to read and digest.

The Queen has granted ILEX the Royal Charter - recognition of it being a body that works in the public interest, and that demonstrates pre-eminence, stability and permanence in its field.

Becoming a barrister gives you the chance to embark on one of the most stimulating, varied and exciting careers that there is.

An app has been developed by law students at Manchester University that allows users to find help when legal advice centres are closed.

If you decide that a career as a lawyer is for you, there are a few things you should be doing even before you start university. 

Reed Smith has revealed plans to make redundancies at its London office, referencing the “prolonged economic uncertainty” caused by the pandemic.

Pay cuts, shorter weeks and furloughing will also be implemented.