The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Education have jointly announced that the apprenticeship standards for the Trailblazers in Law initiative have been approved.

British FTSE 350 businesses expect the law firms they instruct to have gender diverse partnerships, but have a shocking lack of women in their own senior leadership teams, new research reveals.

Plans to cut legal aid spending by introducing price competitive tendering have been abandoned, justice secretary Chris Grayling has revealed in an interview in the Times newspaper.

Legal education provider and overall sponsor of the LawCareers.Net Student Law Society Awards BARBRI, has announced a partnership with The SQuarE Route to launch a qualifying work experience  (QWE) initiative for aspiring solicitors. 

Nine law firms have signed up to the Mindful Business Charter, which pledges to change avoidable working practices that have a negative impact on employees’ mental health.

Magic circle firm Allen & Overy is set to launch a solicitor apprenticeship scheme for school leavers, through which it hopes to attract a “socio-economically diverse pool of high-achieving pupils”.

The department for business, innovation and skills has published new assessment plans and standards for legal apprenticeships following ministerial approval. 

In a much-anticipated move, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has issued licences to the first three alternative business structures.

Commercial firm Boodle Hatfield LLP was credited as the country's best law firm for women at the second annual Women in Business Law Awards on 20 June 2012; an event run by the Euromoney Legal Media Group Europe.

Another week, another opportunity to learn more about the commercial world and its impact on us all – including lawyers! Enjoy our digest of stories from the past week.

Football fans can now watch matches transmitted from overseas by using foreign decoder cards after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that preventing consumers from doing so would be contrary to free trade laws.

The president of the Law Society, John Wotton, recently told delegates at the International Legal Forum that while pro bono makes a valuable contribution to the provision of access to justice, it is no substitute for a properly funded legal aid system.

Partners from magic circle law firm Allen & Overy LLP and New York-based Shearman & Sterling LLP are due to take a vote on their proposed merger that’s worth £2.7 billion.

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.

UK law firms must adapt to keep pace with increasing competition from their US counterparts, a survey of top firms by accountancy firm PwC has warned.

As it starts to feel like summer is just round the corner, it is easy to be tempted by the allure of outside drinking and BBQs, and lose focus on the task at hand – namely, honing your commercial awareness so as to be able to present yourself as a credible candidate to the law firms that you hope to join. 

Ramp up your efforts towards achieving commercial amazingness by keeping up with current affairs and casting your eye over these interesting business news stories from the last few days.

Staff at Stephenson Harwood LLP can work from home permanently in return for a 20% pay cut, as part of the firm’s new remote working policy which is set to be enforced this month. 

US firm Armstrong Teasdale has acquired London-based Kerman & Co in its first overseas venture. The move by the top 200 US firm adds 50 lawyers to its roster, bringing its headcount to roughly 340 fee earners and 300 support staff.