A short week means a short round-up, but still packed with interesting (albeit uniformly depressing) news.

The majority of Manchester-based firm Pannone's business has been acquired by Australian firm Slater & Gordon for a total of £33 million, it has been announced.

With Pupillage Gateway now open for applicants to browse pupillage vacancies, Bar students are busy completing application forms and researching different sets.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland has contradicted suggestions from the top levels of the government that judges are politically biased and not truly independent.

US firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) LLP and global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright have both raised the salaries for their newly qualified (NQ) solicitors in London to £170,000 and £135,000, respectively. 

What with Brexit and Trump v Clinton, there is a lot of juicy news to fill newspaper columns at the moment.

Want to know what’s been happening in the business world that might be of interest to your future clients? Look no further than this collection of interesting business stories.

As predicted, the SRA has announced that the minimum salary for trainees will remain frozen at 2009 levels.

Becoming a barrister gives you the chance to embark on one of the most stimulating, varied and exciting careers that there is.

Leading national firm Penningtons Manches and shipping specialist Thomas Cooper have agreed to merge, the firms have announced.

More fallout from the leaked Panama Papers this week, as businesses and individuals scramble to distance themselves from the scandal (Bill Gates has said he’s more surprised by who’s NOT on the list). 

Slaughter and May is the first magic circle firm to announce its 2020 partner promotions, with eight new partners appointed – two of whom are women.

Plans for a new ‘super exam’ for all qualifying solicitors have been approved by the Legal Services Board, meaning that the Solicitors Qualifying Exam is now certain to go ahead in some form.

Following on from its stage one pilot of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, the Solicitors Regulation Authority is looking for candidates to take part in a trial run of SQE stage two in December.

Reed Smith has revealed plans to make redundancies at its London office, referencing the “prolonged economic uncertainty” caused by the pandemic.

Pay cuts, shorter weeks and furloughing will also be implemented.

Want to know what’s been happening in the commercial world that might be of interest to your future clients? Look no further than this collection of interesting business stories from the past week.

This role offers the potential for a permanent position upon successful completion of the apprenticeship, contingent on performance. This role requires strong communication skills, attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple tasks efficiently.

The number of pupillages being offered is likely to shrink as covid-19 forces chambers to defer recruitment, the Bar Standards Board revealed in a recent report.

City practices Linklaters and Addleshaw Goddard have revealed their Spring newly qualified retention rates.