Legal apprenticeships are an increasingly popular route to becoming a lawyer that combine a paid job at a law firm with studying for formal qualifications, funded by the government and your employer. It’s an alternative to the traditional route of going to university and training to be a lawyer after graduating. Graduate solicitor apprenticeships are also on the rise and new details have recently emerged regarding the introduction of barrister apprenticeships too. Find out more about the different legal apprenticeship options in this guide.

Use this guide to compare the new preparation courses for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) by key criteria including fees, learning styles and locations.

A training contract is a two-year period spent working at a law firm or other organisation that employs solicitors. It’s one of the most common ways to build up the qualifying work experience (QWE) required to qualify as a solicitor.

As 2026 begins, LawCareers.Net explores the key commercial issues that are set to shape the year. For aspiring lawyers, becoming commercially aware involves understanding the environment clients operate in and recognising how wider events influence legal work. This guide rounds up a range of commercial topics and considers their impact on the year ahead.

The UK has a housing problem, but in an exciting attempt to aid aspiring first-time buyers in securing their place on the property ladder, Skipton Building Society announced the UK’s first 100% mortgage since the 2008 financial crash.

The Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) has been replaced by a range of new Bar courses. To become a barrister, students must pass a Bar course approved by the Bar Standards Board. All approved Bar courses lead to the same destination – being ‘called to the Bar’, which enables you to apply for a pupillage. Here is LawCareers.Net’s guide to Bar courses.

What’s the role of local politics in DCO decision making in the NSIP regime?

Why did Eamonn Holmes lose his recent court case with the tax inspector?

What are Teckal companies and why are they attractive to local authorities, among others?

Earlier this year we surveyed LawCareers.Net users to better understand their concerns about entering the legal profession. With securing a training contract, diversity and inclusion, and workload topping the list of aspiring lawyers’ worries, in this Feature we’ve grouped together the top questions to come out of the survey, and our advice to alleviate your concerns and help you on your way to your dream career in law.

What is the National Infrastructure Strategy and will it support the UK’s post-covid recovery?

The Paris Climate Accords, also known as the Paris Agreement, were signed in 2015 by 195 countries and all but three have since ratified it. The agreement's goal is to limit the rise in mean global temperature to "well-below" 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5°C in order to reduce the effects of climate change.

The Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) was introduced in September 2021. Here's everything we know about the new exams, from the syllabus to the format of the exams themselves, to the cost for candidates, to what law firms, universities and law schools are doing.

A legal apprenticeship is a route to becoming a lawyer that combines a paid job at a law firm with studying for formal qualifications, paid for by the government and your employer. It is an alternative to the traditional route of going to university and training to be a lawyer afterwards.

In recent years, there’s been a growing dialogue around mental health in the law – a profession that has a reputation for long hours and intense work. A number of studies and changing priorities have put working hours under the microscope, with more people beginning to ask questions about working practices and the demands often expected of lawyers.

With securing a training contract, diversity and inclusion, and workload topping the list of aspiring lawyers’ worries, in this Feature we’ve grouped together the top questions to come out of the survey, and our advice to alleviate your concerns and help you on your way to your dream career in law.

Legal apprenticeships are an increasingly popular route to becoming a lawyer that combine a paid job at a law firm with studying for formal qualifications, funded by the government and your employer. It’s an alternative to the traditional route of going to university and training to be a lawyer after graduating. Graduate solicitor apprenticeships are also on the rise and barrister apprenticeships are in the works. Find out more about the different legal apprenticeship options in this guide.

To become a barrister, students must pass a Bar course at an education provider that's been approved by the Bar Standards Board (BSB). All aspiring barristers must complete a Bar course in order to be ‘called to the Bar’, which enables you to apply for a pupillage. Read LawCareers.Net’s guide to Bar courses to understand what you need to do to reach qualification as a barrister.

Hinkley Point C is the first nuclear reactor development in the UK since 1995. The site, which is being built in Somerset, forms part of the government’s plans to reach net-zero targets, with the aim to generate enough safe, reliable and low-carbon energy to power six million homes.

Twitter, the platform that’s been synonymous with microblogging and real-time updates, has undergone a radical transformation under Elon Musk’s leadership which purchased Twitter in October 2022. The iconic bird logo has been replaced with a new ‘X’ logo to align with Musk’s vision of creating a comprehensive “everything app” with more than just text-based updates.