The legal profession is facing a new challenge as leading barristers defy Bar rules by pledging not to prosecute peaceful climate protesters or represent companies involved in fossil fuel projects.  

Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) exams will be moved online, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has revealed.

Having delayed exams as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, the BSB recently confirmed that assessments for the BPTC (soon to be replaced by a new range of Bar courses), as well as exams for the Bar Transfer Test, will now take place online in August, with resits scheduled for December.

The number of practising solicitors in England and Wales has grown in the last year while the number of registered training contracts has fallen slightly, the Law Society’s annual statistics report has revealed.

It’s been a rough week: Glastonbury is over for another year, England’s Lionesses were knocked out of the World Cup by the USA and to top it all off, Facebook and Instagram have been hit with a glitch that prevents images from loading on the social media sites.

Following the government’s pledge to end the cross-examination of domestic abuse victims by their perpetrators in court, a long-overdue and ‘enhanced’ version of the Domestic Abuse Bill recently returned to Parliament.

Mishcon de Reya is bringing a case on behalf of an anonymous group of clients against the government in a bid to ensure that Article 50, which would signal the United Kingdom’s intention to leave the European Union, is not triggered without the appropriate parliamentary process being followed.

The Government Legal Department (GLD) has announced in its Business Plan that it wants over 25% of senior employees to be from ethnic minority backgrounds, by 31 March 2022.

New research by employee benefits technology provider Zest showed employees in the UK legal sector were leading calls for greater financial support, with private medical insurance the most in-demand benefit among law firm employees.

The outstanding pro bono and volunteering achievements of individual lawyers, law firms, charities and advice clinics were celebrated last week at the LawWorks Annual Pro Bono Awards.

The House of Commons committee of Public Accounts has produced a damning report on the Ministry of Justice’s cuts to legal aid spending.

Two more leading law firms have announced partnerships with Vantage, the online portal that matches diverse candidates with opportunities at top legal employers.

Close to 60% of women lawyers have experienced inappropriate gender-based comments from male colleagues or know other women who have, according to research by the First 100 Years Project.

CILEX Law School has been approved to deliver the new CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) – a training route that is open to those without a university qualification and has been redesigned to ensure it produces lawyers that have the skills necessary to adapt to the ever-changing demands of the legal market.  

Half of working mothers in the legal profession are taking on more childcare responsibilities than their partners during the UK’s lockdown, a survey conducted by the team behind the First 100 Years Project reports.

The Bar Council has released research showing that for employed barristers, some of the key factors behind the decision to go in house include financial security, a good work/life balance, pension arrangements, and an interesting and diverse range of work.

Corporate firm RPC has entered an exclusive training partnership with the University of Law. 

As we lurch into July, the pressing matter of training contract applications may be foremost in your minds. It is worth considering that part of making a convincing application – and more importantly, being a convincing candidate at interview – is the development of your commercial awareness. To help, you need look no further than this selection of recent business news stories.

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has released its findings into how pupillages were advertised and the selection criteria used by barristers’ chambers in 2018.