Leading law firm Shakespeare Martineau has become the latest law firm to support and introduce solicitor apprentices as a route to qualification, welcoming its first cohort onto their six-year journey.

The Bars of the UK and Ireland have doubled down on their commitment to the cab bank rule ahead of the Four Jurisdictions Conference in Belfast. 

A recent study has revealed that 37% of legal professionals worked on their days off last year, a figure predicted to rise to 50% in 2023.  

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.

From September 2023, magic circle firm Linklaters LLP will take up to six solicitor apprentices in its London headquarters. Linklaters is one of several firms in the City to embrace solicitor apprenticeships as an alternative pathway to the traditional qualification route.  

Leading international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has launched a series of ‘resilience’ workshops for university students, which are designed to prepare the next generation of lawyers for the pressures of City practice.

Student volunteers in Bristol have overturned 95% of the decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in their area regarding 200 claimants who had wrongfully been ruled ‘fit for work’.

An “alarming” number of survivors of domestic abuse in the UK are being forced to represent themselves in court due to limited access to legal representation.

Hugh James is offering 18 full-time, one-year, paid work placements to students at Cardiff University’s School of Law and Politics. The aim is to enable students to gain experience of legal practice, providing them with the chance to apply their academic knowledge in a practical context. 

The Bar Council has extended its outreach programme, the Bar Placement Week, to Liverpool. It has been running in London for eight years, as well as in Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and Leeds for shorter periods.

International law firm Dentons has for the first time appointed a ‘shadow executive team’ made up of junior lawyers. The team is designed not only to expose younger lawyers to executive decision making at senior leadership, but also to allow the firm’s leaders to listen to a range of perspectives and experiences from across the business.

With less than a week to go until the biggest training contract application deadline of the year – 31 July – you may be head down, furiously working away on your applications. Take a brief pause to read this week’s selection of business and economic news – there’s every chance that you’ll be asked about some current news stories in an interview, so it’s worth keeping on top of what’s going on.

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.