Banana puns aside, this week has highlighted the importance of secure and functional IT systems with both TSB and Dixons Carphone facing the financial and administrative repercussions of failing to secure their customer's data, or provide working online services for their customers. There's more on this, plus Burberry's burning clothes ban, and the energy bill price cap, in this week's commercial news round-up.

A recent survey of working hours reveals that trainees and junior lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis LLP work on average for more than 14-hours a day. This is the third year in a row the firm has sat at the top of the table for working hours.

Across England and Wales more than half a million people are unable to access legal aid in the housing and community care sectors, according to campaigners. Without access to legal help advice, many areas are left in a so-called ‘advice desert’.

Baker McKenzie has become the latest firm to reinstate newly qualified (NQ) lawyers’ salaries to pre-pandemic levels, after a reduction of 3% last June. Meanwhile, Irwin Mitchell is expecting to open its 15 offices at 50% capacity from 21 June. 

The University of Law has opened submissions for its annual essay competition for students in years 10 to 13.

Over 100 people have now qualified as solicitors through working as paralegals, instead of a traditional training contract.

Those bereaved and/or injured in the terrorist attack on London Bridge and Borough Market will receive free legal advice from a panel of law firms being put together by the Law Society, the pro bono charity LawWorks and the City of London Law Society. 

The prison population in England and Wales has reached a record high, increasing by nearly 1,000 people in just one month. The number of jail sentences given to individuals involved in recent riots is said to have contributed to this spike.

The prison population in England and Wales has reached a record high, increasing by nearly 1,000 people in just one month. The number of jail sentences given to individuals involved in recent riots is said to have contributed to this spike.

Students are invited to enter the sixth annual essay competition run by The Access to Justice Foundation in association with LawWorks, by submitting an article of between 750 and 1,000 words.

The most recent LawWorks Student Pro Bono Report has revealed that more students than ever before are involved in pro bono work.

The Co-operative Legal Services has entered into a partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University to establish a new learning academy, which will provide legal training that is designed to accommodate current and future changes in the legal profession, including the rise of alternative business structures and non-traditional career paths.

This week, a rare collection of news without any Brexit-related items. Which is not to say that it’s not bubbling away in the background of course, but it’s nice to have a short break from its overt presence.

A free online resource to help lawyers adopt more mentally healthy ways of working has been launched by legal mental health charity LawCare, with expertise provided by the University of Sheffield and the Open University.

Addleshaw Goddard saw double-digit growth for the financial year ending April 2024, with turnover growing by 12% on the previous year to £495.6 million.

The SRA's annual equality report has this year shown a small improvement in the diversity of its own employees.

The next generation of City lawyers want more from their prospective employers than high salaries and bonuses, a survey conducted by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has found.

One of the few benefits of a summer holiday that feels more like late autumn is that you won’t be tempted to spend all day lying around in the sunshine. Instead, you could cast your eye over this week’s collection of business stories, all designed to help you work on your commercial awareness.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is set to reintroduce an annual application fee of up to £40 for non-practising solicitors who want to stay on the roll.