No lengthy preamble required: straight in with this week’s essential business reading.

The Association of Women Solicitors (AWS) has presented its highest honour, the Eva Crawley Award (recognising outstanding contribution to the work of the association and the advancement of women solicitors) to Dawn Dixon.

Co-operative Legal Services has announced that it will apply to the Solicitors Regulation Authority to become an alternative business structure on 3 January 2012.

After 40 years, Lambeth Law Centre in South London is the latest to have been forced to close because of cuts to legal aid funding.

The SRA has introduced a new suitability test today that could see those with a police caution or penalty notice denied the right to become a solicitor.

LawCareers.Net’s user survey found that 89% rate LCN ‘useful’ or ‘very useful’, with respondents praising “how accessible it is” and “how much useful information there is, especially for free”.

New research suggests that diversity in the legal profession is improving, with the trend continuing to partner level.

International law firm Charles Russell Speechlys is collaborating with The University of Law to provide a new £5,000 scholarship for one GDL, LPC or master’s student commencing their studies at The University of Law in September. 

Applications for the Law Society’s Diversity Access Scheme (DAS) opened on Wednesday 23 February 2022. 

The Law Gazette has reported on data from the SRA revealing that black and minority ethnic (BAME) students are less likely to pass the GDL and LPC than their white counterparts. 

New research has revealed that almost half of the 85,000 partners and employees working in the top 50 UK law firms are now on LinkedIn, the professional networking site.

To be eligible for the PGDL/law conversion course, students must hold a degree (honorary degrees don’t count) from a UK institution or an overseas institution that the SRA considers to be an equivalent.

The social mobility scheme Pathways to Law is being widened to GCSE students, the Sutton Trust has announced. 

Vocational education provider BPP has been acquired by TDR Capital in a move the educator called a “strong vote of confidence” in the brand.

Following the announcement by the SRA in May 2012 that BVC/BPTC graduates may be granted exemption from attendance and assessment in certain areas of the LPC, London Metropolitan University is running a specialised 'Barrister to Solicitor LPC'.

The University of Law has revealed that over half of its 2016 full-time Bar Professional Training Course went on to be offered pupillages.

Employment tribunal backlogs are continuing to spiral at an alarming rate, according to new figures, with the number of open cases hitting 491,000 at the end of March 2025 – up 11% from March 2023 (444,000).

Football fans can now watch matches transmitted from overseas by using foreign decoder cards after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that preventing consumers from doing so would be contrary to free trade laws.

The EU referendum and the implications of a Brexit continue to dominate headlines, along with news from the retail sector.