Nineteen leading law firms have signed up to ‘the social mobility pledge’, an initiative aimed at tackling the depressing lack of upward social mobility in British society.

BARBRI Global and the O Shaped Lawyer have joined forces to ensure that BARBRI’s content goes further than just preparing candidates for the two-part Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) to incorporate essential human and business skills. 

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has predicted that the UK will sit among the worst performing economies of the rich world in 2023, second only to Russia.

The president of the Supreme Court and the chair of the Bar have both warned that cuts to legal aid must be reversed to some extent if the justice system is to function properly and the public are to be able to access their legal rights. 

There has been a recent increase in barristers’ chambers and law firms introducing mentoring for aspiring lawyers from underrepresented groups to boost diversity and inclusion.

Application season is upon us and part of your preparation should be developing your commercial awareness – namely, an interest in the business world and how the issues that affect clients will also affect and shape the advice that you, as their lawyer, will give. There’s also every chance you’ll be asked to comment on something topical in an interview, so best to be prepared! For a selection of this week’s most interesting commercial news stories, read on:

The United Nations’ (UN) expert on poverty and human rights has highlighted cuts to legal aid among the government policies causing “the systematic immiseration of millions across Great Britain”.

Linklaters, RPC and Taylor Wessing have revealed high trainee retention rates as we emerge from covid-19-induced lockdowns. 

The focus of the Legal Education and Training Review has been criticised as "unbalanced or worse" by the President of the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger.

The Honourable Society of The Inner Temple has partnered with leading peer recruitment firm The Access Platform to adopt a pioneering technology platform to support aspiring barristers.

According to reports in The Lawyer, the Law Society has warned the owner of Solicitors from Hell to remove the website from the Internet or face High Court action.

London-based law firm Hodge Jones & Allen (HJA) has partnered with the charity Pathway, a homeless healthcare service, to provide legal assistance to homeless patients as they seek accommodation after being discharged from hospital. 

Burges Salmon LLP is “thrilled to report” that all of the firm’s 24 qualifying trainees have accepted roles at the firm.

The backlog of crown court cases in England and Wales has hit a record high of 60,000 cases, with one-fifth of cases taking more than a year to be heard.  

Trigger warning: rape

The University of Law has announced the relocation of its Yorkshire training centre from York to Leeds.

Student conferences NationalLawLIVE and CityLawLIVE have opened their application system, readying themselves to welcome delegates on, respectively, 4 December 2015 and 11 December 2015.

The National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP) has been chosen as an End Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) for the Level 3 Paralegal Apprenticeship Standard.