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.

The Co-operative Group's announcement of its intentions to create 3,000 jobs in the legal sector is the latest and clearest sign that alternative business structures are set to have a big impact on the legal profession.

The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) has opened the final stage of the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) to allow Legal Practice Course (LPC) and Bar course graduates to qualify as CILEX lawyers. 

The big news this week is yesterday’s budget – the BBC provides a useful outline of the key points, which include the removal of stamp duty for first-time buyers on properties up to £300,000; £1.5 billion to be devoted to addressing universal credit concerns; and new measures to crackdown on tech giants which route their profits through low-tax countries (otherwise known as the “Google tax”).

Students from the Queen Elizabeth Academy in Crediton have won the final of the Bar National Mock Trial Competition on 24 March, in the annual competition’s 21st year.

Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) runs a number of pro bono university clinics throughout the country, which are supervised by local ELF professional members.

Holman Fenwick Willan has launched a Global Lawyers Challenge, the prize for which is a full day at HFW's Paris, Athens or Geneva office over the course of a two-night stay.

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.

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.

The University of Law has received a new “gold” rating in the new government-led Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). The TEF panel judged that the institution “delivers consistently outstanding teaching, learning and outcomes for its students. It is of the highest quality found in the United Kingdom.”

CityLawLIVE and NationalLawLIVE, LCN’s one-day student conferences for aspiring solicitors, have announced that they are jointly extending their deadline to Sunday 5 November. Giving applicants an additional week in which to submit will hopefully attract those students who may not have had the time to get their applications in for consideration.