As we prepare for our student careers conference LawCareersNetLIVE in London tomorrow, you might like to watch the partner panel discussion on the day which is being broadcasted live on Facebook. 

The University of Law’s ‘100% employability promise’ for 2016, which offers LPC students half their tuition fees back if they are not employed nine months after graduating, has been joined by a further postgraduate course discount – but the offer’s small print has been heavily criticised.

LPC students at BPP Law School can now choose a fast-track option allowing them to complete the course in seven months rather than the traditional nine.

Despite pressure from students, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) will not reinstate spring Bar Professional Training Course exams. The regulator said it would be impossible to create a “suitable, secure alternative” to in-person assessments by April.

The annual celebration of pro bono achievement went ahead in a ceremony on 5 December, organised by LawWorks, hosted by Allen & Overy, and sponsored by the Law Society and LexisNexis. 

The Bar Standards Board has announced how it intends to eliminate the discrimination, harassment and unfair treatment experienced by women barristers, just as news has emerged that of the top 100 highest-earning criminal defence barristers, only four are women.

Three international law firms have teamed up with City University London to offer LLM students the chance to apply for three high-quality internships.

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner has been awarded the annual Commendation for Diversity as judged by LawCareers.Net, Aspiring Solicitors and Rare.

Criminal legal aid fees are set to increase by the end of September, as the government revealed plans to “lay a statutory instrument in parliament before 21 July, to begin the process of implementing increases to fees”. 

A report by the Law Society has argued that law firms are improving on diversity matters, though further progress is still required.

Norton Rose Fulbright has confirmed a 92% retention rate for its trainee solicitors qualifying in May.

The government’s proposal to inject an extra £32-50 million into criminal legal aid funding is not enough to alleviate the current threat to “the very existence of criminal defence practitioners,” the Law Society has said.

Clyde & Co LLP’s paralegal academy received more than 1,000 applications, far surpassing the firm’s target of 300.

Bridging the Bar (BTB) – a charity “committed to the promotion of equal opportunities and diversity at the Bar of England and Wales” – was launched in August this year.

To demonstrate the firework-like dynamism of a good candidate and avoid coming across like a damp squib, you need to show commercial awareness. For future lawyers, that involves keeping up with the business news and thinking about how the stories you read might affect law firms and their clients.

The government’s review into criminal legal aid fees will not be ready until 2020, despite warnings that the crisis is now so severe that the number of criminal duty solicitors is fast dwindling to nothing.

Changes to speed up the way that family law courts deal with divorce, separation and child custody cases will be badly undermined by the government’s cuts to civil legal aid, the Law Society has said.

Mishcon de Reya LLP is rolling out Legora, a leading collaborative AI platform for its lawyers, making it available for all fee earners across all practice areas at the firm. 

Trainees at Lewis Silkin recently organised a sponsored 30-hour, non-stop "spinathon", which took place in the firm's reception on 22 and 23 November.