Kennedys solicitor apprentice Tegan Johnson has been named as one of BPP’s apprentices of the year on the BPP website. Tegan was awarded ‘Apprentice of the Year - Level 5+’.

Larger law firms are more advanced in their integration and promotion of AI within their services compared to mid-tier firms, according to research from Thomson Reuters.

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 number of freelance solicitors has doubled over the past three years, from around 300 in 2021 to 650 at the beginning of 2024, according to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). However, freelance solicitors still make up less than 1% of practising solicitors.

The daily commute into the office often ensures that I have at least 30 minutes (subject to train delays) to organise my week, plan my upcoming events and educate myself further so that I can excel in the coming weeks.

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. 

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

The King’s Counsel Appointments (KCA) have announced the names of 96 new silks – King’s Counsel (KCs). Despite the nine solicitors who applied this year, all successful applicants were barristers, reflecting the long-standing pattern that the KC cohort is overwhelmingly drawn from the Bar. Since solicitors first became eligible for KC status in 1995, only 66 have been appointed out of 231 applicants.

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.

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.

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”. 

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.

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.