Medium-sized London commercial law firm Edwin Coe has teamed up with Mosaic, a support organisation for the career aspirations of young people from disadvantaged communities, to establish a legal ambassadors programme.

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

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.

Cardiff University has become the latest education provider to be authorised by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) to deliver the vocational component of Bar training from September 2020.

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.

The Access to Justice Foundation, which aids pro bono work, is running its third annual essay competition for law students

The solicitors’ profession is slowly becoming more diverse, while the number of students starting law degrees continues to rise, according to the Law Society’s latest annual statistics report.

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.  

Applications are now open for LawCareersNetLIVE Virtual, which will take place on 1 and 2 December 2020.

The proposals published by the Legal Services Board following the Legal Education and Training Review have been heavily criticised by the City of London Law Society.

The Legal Aid Agency has been accused of being in denial about severe glitches in its client management and cost system.