City firm Herbert Smith Freehills has elected 26 partners worldwide – its biggest partner promotions round since 2012 and four more than 2019 – despite coronavirus concerns.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has officially confirmed its shake-up of the route to becoming a solicitor with a new ‘super exam’ which all prospective solicitors will have to pass in order to qualify. 

The Solicitors Qualifying Exam officially came into force yesterday, changing the way aspiring lawyers qualify. As well as staying up to date with training and education trends that impact you directly, it’s also important to continue to develop your commercial awareness. 

How do companies (and governments) make well-informed decisions about the future?

LawCareers.Net is pleased to announce the nominees for the first Student Law Society Awards, sponsored by DWF LLP.

The Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) has outlined the serious impact that coronavirus is having on junior lawyers, including Legal Practice Course (LPC) students, solicitor apprentices and trainee solicitors - adding to pressure that has forced the solicitors' regulator to respond.

In September, I wrote a blog detailing my expectations for the third year of my undergraduate law degree.  As I’m returning to university tomorrow, I thought it’d be beneficial to see how my expectations lived up to reality and outline my updated expectations for the second half of the year. 

Backlogs in the criminal courts remain at record levels, with 379,437 cases outstanding in the magistrates’ courts and 80,203 in the crown court – including more than 21,002 cases open for over a year. 

Civil court users have described remote hearings taking place during the pandemic as “fragmented” and called for improvements.

How strong is your business mind? Can you read a news story and isolate the political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental impact a piece of news will have?

Have a go at doing this with this week’s commercial news round-up.

It seems there’s never a dull moment in IP law as singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran reaches a milestone in his ‘Shape of You’ court case, plus inflation continues to rise, Primark moves online (kind of), Kellogg's breaks up and 5G is on the move. Find out more in this week’s commercial news round-up – what’s been on your radar this week?

Happy Thursday!

It’s time for the LawCareers.Net commercial news round-up. 

As the US presidential election continues, with only a few states left to count their votes, and England enters a month-long national lockdown to curb the spread of covid-19 and prevent further deaths, it’s safe to say that it’s been a turbulent week. During a period like this, staying up to date with the latest news can sometimes feel overwhelming. That’s why every week LawCareers.Net puts together a round-up of some of the week’s most interesting commercial news stories to help you get back up to speed.

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education have revealed the barrister apprenticeship standard, which sets out the skills, knowledge and behaviours required to become a successful practising barrister in England and Wales. 

LawCareers.Net is delighted to announce the launch of the 2024 Student Law Society Awards. 

LawCareers.Net’s Student Law Society Awards celebrate the hard work of student-led societies across the country.

As well as this week’s news round-up, you can also watch our latest webinar (live or via our YouTube), which will provide insight from a law firm partner at Squire Patton Boggs, a future Travers Smith trainee solicitor and a graduate recruitment officer from Baker McKenzie. For now, here’s the latest commercial news update from LCN.

Graduates, like myself, often start their careers as a paralegal to gain insight and deeper understanding into the life of a solicitor. Often, paralegals who are aspiring solicitors will apply for a training contract at the firm they are already employed with. In this post, I set out my four top tips for paralegals wanting to take the next step into qualification.