An “alarming” number of survivors of domestic abuse in the UK are being forced to represent themselves in court due to limited access to legal representation.

Hugh James is offering 18 full-time, one-year, paid work placements to students at Cardiff University’s School of Law and Politics. The aim is to enable students to gain experience of legal practice, providing them with the chance to apply their academic knowledge in a practical context. 

The Bar Council has extended its outreach programme, the Bar Placement Week, to Liverpool. It has been running in London for eight years, as well as in Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and Leeds for shorter periods.

International law firm Dentons has for the first time appointed a ‘shadow executive team’ made up of junior lawyers. The team is designed not only to expose younger lawyers to executive decision making at senior leadership, but also to allow the firm’s leaders to listen to a range of perspectives and experiences from across the business.

With less than a week to go until the biggest training contract application deadline of the year – 31 July – you may be head down, furiously working away on your applications. Take a brief pause to read this week’s selection of business and economic news – there’s every chance that you’ll be asked about some current news stories in an interview, so it’s worth keeping on top of what’s going on.

Corporate firm RPC has entered an exclusive training partnership with the University of Law. 

As we lurch into July, the pressing matter of training contract applications may be foremost in your minds. It is worth considering that part of making a convincing application – and more importantly, being a convincing candidate at interview – is the development of your commercial awareness. To help, you need look no further than this selection of recent business news stories.

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has released its findings into how pupillages were advertised and the selection criteria used by barristers’ chambers in 2018.

The Bars of the UK and Ireland have doubled down on their commitment to the cab bank rule ahead of the Four Jurisdictions Conference in Belfast. 

A recent study has revealed that 37% of legal professionals worked on their days off last year, a figure predicted to rise to 50% in 2023.  

New research by employee benefits technology provider Zest showed employees in the UK legal sector were leading calls for greater financial support, with private medical insurance the most in-demand benefit among law firm employees.

The outstanding pro bono and volunteering achievements of individual lawyers, law firms, charities and advice clinics were celebrated last week at the LawWorks Annual Pro Bono Awards.

The House of Commons committee of Public Accounts has produced a damning report on the Ministry of Justice’s cuts to legal aid spending.

Two more leading law firms have announced partnerships with Vantage, the online portal that matches diverse candidates with opportunities at top legal employers.

Close to 60% of women lawyers have experienced inappropriate gender-based comments from male colleagues or know other women who have, according to research by the First 100 Years Project.

CILEX Law School has been approved to deliver the new CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) – a training route that is open to those without a university qualification and has been redesigned to ensure it produces lawyers that have the skills necessary to adapt to the ever-changing demands of the legal market.  

Half of working mothers in the legal profession are taking on more childcare responsibilities than their partners during the UK’s lockdown, a survey conducted by the team behind the First 100 Years Project reports.

The Bar Council has released research showing that for employed barristers, some of the key factors behind the decision to go in house include financial security, a good work/life balance, pension arrangements, and an interesting and diverse range of work.