The Law Society has awarded 14 scholarships to aspiring solicitors through its Diversity Access Scheme (DAS), which supports aspiring solicitors who are facing social, educational, financial or personal obstacles to qualifying.

A host of firms have revealed their autumn trainee retention figures – meaning the number of trainees who secure permanent positions at the firm once they qualify as solicitors. 

Ministers are expected to introduce new legislation to the House of Commons after the summer recess, with the aim of reducing the use of short prison sentences and toughening community punishment.

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) will take a ‘tougher stance’ on chambers that fail to disclose how they calculate their fees.

Plans by the government to extend the hours at which courts are open to as late as 8:30pm have been met with resistance from across the legal profession.

The business world is waiting for important news from the Bank of England, which later today is expected to raise interest rates for only the second time in a decade. Investors are betting that the Bank’s monetary policy committee will increase rates from 0.5% to 0.75%, which would reap benefits for savers and affect millions of loans and mortgages.

Students on Manchester Metropolitan University's BTPC course and police trainees recently took part in a full-scale mock trial, offering both sets of aspiring professionals the taste of their career future.

The Ministry of Justice has published new proposals to ensure that barristers and other advocates receive fair pay when they work on publicly funded criminal cases.

The justice secretary, Michael Gove, has said that rich lawyers and firms should do more to make justice available for all following the removal of access to justice for most of the public by his government’s legal aid cuts.

We know that it’s less than a week until the big training contract deadline of the year (31 July, in case you weren’t sure) and you’re probably furiously working away on the last few applications. To help, cast your eye over this week’s selection of business news.

Aspiring solicitors could be “exploited” under the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), warns the Junior Lawyer Division (JLD) in an open letter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) published this week.

Sample questions for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) stage 1 assessments have been released by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The Black Solicitors Network has identified Shoosmiths as the country's most diverse law firm in its 2011 Diversity League Table.

On Saturday 25 February the first CityLawLIVE student conference was held in London, bringing together around 160 students keen on a career in the City with firm representatives and industry experts.

The Bar Council has warned that the government's plans to introduce competitive tendering for legal aid contracts and deny defendants the right to choose a lawyer will undermine the UK justice system's good reputation among the international community.

Research from The University of Law has found that Manchester is the top location for hybrid and remote roles in the legal profession, with London and Birmingham coming in second and third. 

Demonstrate that you take being green seriously by getting your hands on a copy of this year’s verdant edition of The Training Contract & Pupillage Handbook, enrobed in this year’s most on-trend colour.

Earlier this year, a review was commissioned to revaluate 50-year-old legislation regarding how financial assets are split, with calls for less generous financial awards expected to be requested for financially weaker spouses.

Irwin Mitchell LLP has revealed that a total of 48 out of its 53 final-seat trainees will be continuing at the law firm as newly qualified (NQ) solicitors in its offices across the country. This marked a retention rate of 91% for the firm’s latest cohort.