International firm Clyde & Co has vacated one of its two City offices to reduce workspace as part of its transition to ‘hybrid’ working, which will see employees eligible to work from home for up to three days a week.

Application season is upon us and part of your preparation should be developing your commercial awareness – namely, an interest in the business world and how the issues that affect clients will also affect and shape the advice that you, as their lawyer, will give. There’s also every chance you’ll be asked to comment on something topical in an interview, so best to be prepared! For a selection of this week’s most interesting commercial news stories, read on:

LawWorks has announced the winners of the LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards 2025, sponsored by LexisNexis UK. The awards celebrate the best pro bono activities undertaken by students and law schools across the nation. The awards were presented at a ceremony held at the House of Lords on Wednesday 23 April.

Details of the 22nd UK Pro Bono Week have been revealed, with the focus on bringing legal professionals together to make a sustained impact around three cross-cutting themes.

The shining lights of the student pro bono scene were celebrated on 26 April at the annual LawWorks & Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards. Held at the House of Commons, the awards are designed to recognise the exceptional work being done by students and their law schools around the UK in the provision of free legal advice and support.

More and more employees are being diagnosed with stress and are bringing claims against their employers. What steps should employers take to avoid being held legally liable for such claims?

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 attorney general, Dominic Grieve QC MP, once again hosted the annual LawWorks & Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards at the House of Commons.

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.

Not enough has been done to address recruitment and other problems which continue to be barriers to diverse judiciary which reflects the population, the House of Lords Constitution Committee has warned.

The BBC has opened applications for its 2023 solicitor graduate apprenticeship scheme which will enable four graduates to work in the BBC’s legal team to qualify as a solicitor through the Solicitors Qualifying Exam route.

Following the Domestic Abuse Bill’s second reading in the House of Commons last week, the Law Society says the bill must do more to protect victims. It recently passed a significant stage in its path to becoming law and will now be examined by the public bill committee.

Swedish fintech company Klarna has revealed that its in-house lawyers are using ChatGPT to draft time-consuming contracts, which has “massively” saved time.  

Many law firms, in-house legal departments and other organisations including the Government Legal Department have become the founding signatories of the Law Society’s Pro Bono Charter. 

It’s Easter, and that means late-morning starts and excessive consumption. However, we would suggest that you intersperse the indulgence of the holidays with a level of interest in the big commercial news stories. As a reference point, here is our selection from last week.

In its report on judicial appointments, the House of Lords Constitution Committee has found that a more diverse judiciary would increase public trust and confidence in the country's justice system.

As we get ready to head to Manchester for LawCareersNetLIVE on 29 November, we should remind you that a great way to top up your commercial awareness is to watch our panel of top law firm partners discuss the issues affecting the legal profession in 2020, including legaltech and Brexit. 

The summer is a great time to get into a good routine of keeping up with the latest business developments. Our weekly commercial news round-ups do the hard part for you, summarising interesting and relevant news stories from the week. The rest of the research and analysis is up to you!