The Solicitors Regulation Authority should tighten its rules on non-disclosure agreements, MPs have been told.

Thursday’s here again, and although the LCN team is mostly spending all its energy prepping for – and getting excited about – NationalLawLIVE tomorrow and CityLawLIVE next week, there’s still time to devote to learning what the big business stories of the past week were. Read on for our selection.

Plans to introduce online criminal hearings pose “a very real risk of unfair or disproportionate outcomes for the most vulnerable people in our courts,” the Magistrates Association has warned the government in leaked testimony not intended to be seen by the public.

Twelve international City law firms have signed up to help develop a new ‘one-stop shop’ providing artificial intelligence (AI) software to lawyers.

What’s different about today? It no ordinary Thursday – it’s Super Thursday! Which means that the Bank of England is making a decision on interest rates, releasing minutes from its most recent policy-setting meeting and publishing its Quarterly Inflation Report. Follow it live on the Guardian’s live business blog. And don’t forget about these other important business-driven stories from the past week.

Working from home may be damaging law firms’ productivity despite sustained levels of high profit, new research by the Law Society has revealed.

I hope you all had a chance to take a break from studying and applications over the winter break.

Multinational law firm Linklaters LLP has revealed a trainee retention rate of 83% for its London-based trainees qualifying in autumn, while Mills & Reeve LLP will retain 24 of its 26 trainees.

BARBRI has launched its International Home Study Programme, offering candidates the chance to study over 10 months (rather than the traditional six) its US bar exam course, which is tailored specifically for non-US trained law graduates and lawyers.

Leading law firm Shoosmiths has imposed a £200 levy for lawyers who choose to travel by plane for work.  

BPP University Law School has announced fees for its new Bar Course which is set to replace the BPTC from September 2020.

Legal education provider The University of Law has revealed that it has entered six new university partnerships to guarantee Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) course places for future lawyers. 

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) launched new research surrounding gaps in access to justice.

To mark International Women’s’ Day 2018, the Law Society has released its findings from the largest international survey of women in the law. The survey of 7,781 people (5,758 women, 554 men and 1,469 unknown or other) aims to shed light on current state of gender equality in the legal profession.

One in 10 lawyers under 30 said they have experienced suicidal thoughts as a result of work, a recent International Bar Association survey found, with wellbeing in the legal profession a “global concern”.

Lots of banking and housing news this week shows that market forces are continuing to most effect ordinary people, while the flotation of a luxury car brand into a separate entity will excite investors at the other end of society.

Should an employee get sacked for sending offensive tweets?

The pandemic didn’t impact the Legal Practice Course (LPC) pass rates, according to new statistics from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).