Entries have opened for The National Paralegal Awards, which set out to find the best paralegals in the UK and businesses that support the industry.

The lack of access to many key legal services during the coronavirus pandemic has created a build-up of demand that the legal sector is poorly equipped to handle, leading legal figures have warned.

More flexible and innovative ways to qualify as a barrister could be enabled by the introduction of a professional statement defining what a newly-qualified barrister should be able to do from "day one", the Bar Standards Board has said.

A nuanced appreciation of the vast business world may be a bit much to hope for at this stage, but developing an interest in - and a broad understanding of - the commercial pressures and topics that will be a part of clients’ everyday lives is important.

Chartered legal executives will be able to set up their own firms in 2015 after legislation passed successfully through the House of Lords.

The Ministry of Justice has already refunded almost £2 million in employment tribunal fees since the Supreme Court’s ruling that such charges were unlawful and a barrier to justice. However, this represents only a fraction of the repayments that the government expects to have to make, which could be as high as £33 million.

The government’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority is turning its attention to the legal profession to look at “long-standing concerns” about the affordability and standards of legal services.

Recently merged Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has been granted approval to provide legal services in Hong Kong and Singapore, further cementing its status as a leading international firm.

Another week, another set of business stories to keep on top of. Here are just some that you should lavish your attention on.

The Ministry of Justice has been allocated an extra £30 million, not to address the legal aid crisis, but to prepare for the possibility of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

City firms Nabarro and Simmons & Simmons have both won national recognition for the quality of their work experience and internship schemes at the National Council for Work Experience 2012 awards.

The Legal Aid Agency has been criticised for adding to funding problems which have created “advice deserts” around the UK by setting a maximum £35 case fee for immigration telephone advisers.

The King approved the appointment of 94 barristers and one solicitor as new King’s Counsel (KC) on Monday.

The Legal Services Board has confirmed plans to regulate all will-writing and estate administration services by classing them as 'reserved activities'.

Magic circle firms Clifford Chance and Slaughter and May have said that they will not introduce legal apprenticeships to their recruitment and training models, while Freshfields may soon become the first magic circle firm to take on apprentices.

A report by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has argued that the UK legal market should address its over-capacity by cutting 5% of solicitor jobs.

A landmark High Court judgment has ruled that BT must block access to illegal file-sharing website Newzbin2; a website accused of operating "on a grand scale" by the Motion Picture Association.

City firms have lined up in support of diversity organisation Rare’s new ‘Vantage’ scheme, an online recruitment tool designed to help candidates from less-privileged backgrounds break through the artificial barriers holding them back from careers in law.

The backlog of crown court cases has increased by 3% on the previous quarter to 66,547, according to new figures published by the Ministry of Justice.