PricewaterhouseCoopers has been granted an ABS licence by the SRA, the first of the ‘big four’ accountancy firms to receive one.

Simmons & Simmons LLP and TLT LLP have launched joint training contracts with Barclays aimed at aspiring financial services lawyers. 

Allen & Overy LLP and Shearman & Sterling LLP will merge to create a global legal powerhouse after 99% of partners at the firms voted in favour of the deal. 

Over a year on from his landmark race review, Labour MP David Lammy has told the House of Commons Justice Committee that things have got “considerably worse” for BAME people in the criminal justice system.

The all-time high in the current backlog of crown court cases is likely to have a disproportionate impact on children and young people from ethnic minority backgrounds, the House of Lords constitution committee has found.

Leading regulatory law firm Capsticks Solicitors LLP has been appointed by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) to provide external legal support and advice to the Board’s regulation of barristers in England and Wales.

Three legal apprentices have just started at the BBC, joining its in-house legal team on a two-year advanced apprenticeship course that will lead to a Level 3 CILEx Certificate in Law and Practice.

The annual LawWorks & Attorney General Student Awards were held recently, in the elegant surrounds of the House of Commons, to recognise the outstanding pro bono achievements of students and law school staff throughout the United Kingdom.

Irwin Mitchell has again demonstrated its ambition to become an Alternative Business Structure, moving its application forward with the appointment of former PricewaterhouseCoopers vice-chairman Glyn Barker.

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

With just one week to go until the general election, the majority of headlines are understandably focused on all things political.

With news this week that Article 50 will be triggered on 29 March, the reality of what a departure from the European Union will mean for the economy is likely to start firming up. 

The Solicitors Regulation Authority should tighten its rules on non-disclosure agreements, MPs have been told.

The SRA has backed a new training scheme which could slash the number of graduates recruited by City law firms.

Steve Lewis, an undergraduate law student at Birkbeck University, has won the inaugural Freshfields Stephen Lawrence Scholarship, which aims to address the under-representation of black men from low-income households in large commercial law firms.

The Law Society has told the House of Commons Justice Select Committee that the Ministry of Justice's proposed fee cuts for criminal legal aid pose "significant risks" to the criminal justice system.

As the Investigatory Powers Bill (otherwise known as the snoopers’ charter) continues to be debated in parliament, amendments have been proposed in the House of Lords to ensure that legal professional privilege, which is fundamental to any decent justice system, is protected.

The Bar Council has launched a central London childcare facility, in recognition of the fact that "many barristers in the current climate with caring responsibilities are feeling under growing pressure".

As national elections of all varieties continue to dominate headlines, there is still space for those all-important economic stories. In fact, more often than not, the political and business worlds are inextricably linked. For a variety of both, read on.