What with Brexit and Trump v Clinton, there is a lot of juicy news to fill newspaper columns at the moment.

The InterLaw Diversity Forum’s flagship early careers event is back! On Friday 9 December 100 aspiring lawyers from diverse, socially mobile, and underrepresented groups will be welcomed for a day of inspiring panel discussions and practical workshops. 

Law firms will often stress that their lawyers need to be 'commercially aware'. This phrase often causes confusion as it means different things to different people. However, in essence, it means that commercial lawyers deal with more than just the law.  

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.

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

The Law Society has welcomed the removal of a five-year time limit on evidence of abuse from domestic violence victims. This rule has previously prevented victims from being able to obtain legal aid.

Co-operative Legal Services has announced that it is to enter the family law market, supported by three leading family law practitioners from TV Edwards LLP.

Approximately 75% of junior lawyers have said they wouldn’t join a firm “whose values didn’t match with their own, even if they were offering more money”, a recent survey published by Obelisk Support reveals.  

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that lawyers cannot be "equated with journalists" to speak out on sensitive and high-profile cases.

The BBC is to continue its trainee solicitor recruitment programme following a successful first two years. 

Extended court sitting hours in the early mornings and evenings will be tested for the first time from 2 September, which marks the start of a six-month pilot scheme.

Short and to the point this week – read these to improve your sense of what’s going on in the commercial world.

The three regulators who were the prime movers behind the Legal Education and Training Review have dismissed the suggestion of setting up a formal Legal Education Council, instead preferring to refer to their commitment to "greater collaboration".

Leading law firm Shoosmiths has announced a 100% trainee retention rate for its spring cohort of nine trainees, with the newly qualified solicitors based across the firm’s UK offices, including London and Manchester. 

The Criminal Bar Association last week voted to accept the deal offered by the Ministry of Justice to suspend legal aid cuts to Graduated Fee cases for a year.