BPP law school, in partnership with specialist bank Investec, has extended the features of its 'law loan' – a special bank loan that is only available to BPP students.

According to a report in theLaw Gazette, former Bar chairman Nick Green QC has claimed that the rise in paralegals is bringing down the cost of legal advice, as clients realise that paralegals can do many of the same tasks as solicitors and barristers for a fraction of the cost.

The new edition of The LawCareers.Net Handbook: The Training Contract & Pupillage Guide (formerly known as The Training Contract & Pupillage Handbook) is now available to readers.

A new online find-a-barrister service for businesses and members of the public has been launched.

The chair of Parliament’s justice select committee has called for fee-charging McKenzie Friends to be banned after the High Court ruled that an unqualified “legal adviser” was negligent in his handling of a clinical negligence case.

Three US law firms are among the top five earning legal practices for UK corporate work, researchers at The Lawyer reveal, stating that the figures demonstrate further “Americanisation” of the UK’s legal market.

Global law firm DLA Piper UK LLP has raised its London newly qualified (NQ) salaries by 18%, moving from £110,000 to £130,000. 

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that lawyers cannot be "equated with journalists" to speak out on sensitive and high-profile cases.

The BBC is to continue its trainee solicitor recruitment programme following a successful first two years. 

Extended court sitting hours in the early mornings and evenings will be tested for the first time from 2 September, which marks the start of a six-month pilot scheme.

Short and to the point this week – read these to improve your sense of what’s going on in the commercial world.

The three regulators who were the prime movers behind the Legal Education and Training Review have dismissed the suggestion of setting up a formal Legal Education Council, instead preferring to refer to their commitment to "greater collaboration".

Leading law firm Shoosmiths has announced a 100% trainee retention rate for its spring cohort of nine trainees, with the newly qualified solicitors based across the firm’s UK offices, including London and Manchester. 

The Criminal Bar Association last week voted to accept the deal offered by the Ministry of Justice to suspend legal aid cuts to Graduated Fee cases for a year.

Cardiff University has become the latest education provider to be authorised by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) to deliver the vocational component of Bar training from September 2020.

The total number of training contracts on offer has decreased by 10.5% in the last year.

The Government Legal Department (GLD) has warned that its lawyers face serious capacity challenges as they work on Brexit, which will be additional to the full range of legal services that they already provide in all areas of government.

Magic circle firms Clifford Chance and Slaughter and May have said that they will not introduce legal apprenticeships to their recruitment and training models, while Freshfields may soon become the first magic circle firm to take on apprentices.