Increasingly, there is a movement among law firms to concentrate on first-year students and provide them with the opportunity to learn more about their organisations.

How can I get legal work experience when every application form asks for prior legal work experience?

This week’s round-up looks at the hottest news in the legal press as the merger between two elite firms goes live, Uber’s latest lawsuit, plans for new spending cap rules for the Premier League and AI in biotech research. 

Find out about DLA Piper’s insight programme and summer internship with Petra Smith, the firm’s graduate recruitment manager.

Throughout this series, I have covered six large or growing regional legal hubs that act as great alternatives if you do not think London is for you. But this is not to say that these are the only alternatives! In my final post of the series, I want to focus on various other cities which would also be great places to work in.

What was the problem with payment protection insurance and what happens next?

In 2020, the British economy suffered its worst annual downturn in 300 years as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The fashion industry is among the biggest offenders for ‘greenwashing’ claims. Fashion is also responsible for between 2% and 8% of global carbon emissions.

How can developers recover losses when a project overruns?

What's the deal with conditional fee agreements and defamation claims?

Assisted dying is a contentious subject, so much so that a clear definition is yet to be universally agreed for the practice. Some describe it as a compassionate choice, allowing those who live in grave pain or suffering to end their life in dignity within a controlled environment; others describe it as unethical and against the core principles of human life.

Farmers call for a universal basic income and UK airports have fallen behind with plans to implement new scanning technology to remove the liquid limit. Additionally, Disney wins a shareholder vote against activist investors, retaining its current board members, and the UK continues to face rising bills. Find out more in this week’s commercial news round-up.

The UK’s retail prices have taken a further dive and the hospitality industry remains in disarray. Meanwhile, energy bills rise for UK households and AI is slowly taking a leading role in the banking sector. Read this week’s commercial news round-up for more.

Another year, another advent… another chocolate calendar. Each day counts down to Christmas and the excitement builds as I open the next Cadbury’s window. Yet, at the same time, I cannot escape the foreboding feeling that a whole new year is almost upon us. This year has presented many challenges, disappointments and restrictions: “the year that just kept taking”. And so, the new year brings with it an unspoken pressure to make up for lost time. 

The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a number of LED face mask adverts, and a new land law is set to cause reforms in Scotland. Meanwhile, King Charles III has warned Nvidia CEO about the dangers of AI innovation in a letter and John Lewis has released its Christmas advert earlier this year, following the trend of businesses pushing earlier festive spending.

Do recent developments in heath and safety law simply add to the pressure already on company directors?

The popularity of smart home devices such as Amazon’s Echo (Alexa) has seen a rise in their presence within our homes. But with smart home assistant devices planted throughout our rooms, are our conversations really as private as we believe?

With England’s lockdown restrictions set to be eased as planned on 12 April next week, and with some of us experiencing typical Spring days followed by snow, it’s safe to say it’s been another whirlwind of a week. Here’s your weekly reminder to set some time aside to develop your commercial awareness so you’re ready to ace future applications and interviews.