As we near the end of another week, the global coronavirus pandemic is still dominating the front pages, twitter feeds and even our own LCN news stories.

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.

Disparity in the justice system between outcomes for defendants who are BAME and defendants who are white is being compounded by a lack of data needed to analyse the problem, The Centre for Justice Foundation has reported. 

The Law Society is among a number of organisations to welcome the government’s decision to “continue funding the level 7 apprenticeships for those aged 16 to 21”, while urging the government to extend this support to cover the funding of level 7 apprenticeships for those over the age of 21.

Many of you may have had a similar experience when it comes to the application process – sending application after application with no response. Training contracts, pupillages, paralegal or clerk work for far too many of us seem to be going the way of the dodo.

As more law schools and universities reveal the fees students can expect to pay for Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) preparation courses, the Junior Lawyers Division has said that fears that the new ‘super exam’ would fail to drive down the average cost of becoming a lawyer have been confirmed.

It’s vacation scheme application season and subsequently a crucial time to think about the commercial issues affecting businesses and the legal industry. By considering the below news stories and working out how these issues could affect law firms and their clients, you are thinking commercially.

Mini-pupillages are short work experiences that involve shadowing a barrister in chambers for up to a week and learning about the particular practice area that they work in.

‘Commercial awareness’ is a term you’ve probably heard thrown around a lot by law firm recruiters.

Since my previous LCN Blog on the current UK gas crisis, six British energy suppliers have been identified being at the maximum risk of closure.

When the US intelligence community is reportedly withholding information from its own commander in chief due to a belief that he and his circle are beholden to a hostile foreign intelligence service, and this is all happening against the backdrop of nuclear escalation in North Korea and the return to the great obsession of war hawks and neo-conservatives, confrontation with Iran, you know it’s time to sit up and engage with far more than just the latest business developments. However, the business world never stops moving even when more existential concerns push it off the front pages, and here is this week’s round-up of the big commercial stories. 

I very much enjoy the variation, both in the type of work and the subject matter, and I like being able to work on my own and decide when I work.

The Law Society has expressed its ‘wide ranging’ concerns with remote juries in the justice system, including the “risk of alienating juries and/or witnesses.” These concerns follow civil court users having described remote hearings as “fragmented” and demanding improvements.

More than 370 CILEX professionals celebrated graduation at Central Hall Westminster in London on Saturday 6 November, which was held by the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX).

MyKindaFuture will deliver a series of digital workshops across Autumn 2020 – with 23 law firms already signed up to host 25 two-hour workshops – to support students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue a career in the law.

In November 2021, 1090 candidates, including 27 solicitor apprentices, took the first-ever Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) – SQE1. The candidates received their results on Friday last week and the Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed an overall pass rate of 53%. 

Aspiring lawyers from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds will be supported by magic circle law firm Linklaters and Wadham College, University of Oxford as part of a newly launched social mobility programme.

An independent review of the criminal courts has highlighted that the “entire system needs funding”, according to The Law Society of England and Wales President Richard Atkinson.

Following the success of CityLawLIVE's first full-day conference, applications are now being accepted for the next event, to be held on Saturday 8 December in central London.