As autumn knocks at the door, we’re sure that you’re all getting excited for crunchy leaves, pumpkin spiced lattes, and Chancellor Philip Hammond’s big reveal of the autumn budget (29 October, people, put it in your diaries!). Here at LCN the autumn term signifies the onset of traversing the country for law fair season.

This week has been the tale of two mergers, with supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Asda still campaigning to convince the Competitions and Markets Authority that their planned merger will benefit customers. Meanwhile Disney has closed the deal on 21^st Century Fox for an eyewatering $71 billion, which will see franchises like Deadpool and X-Men coming over to the dark side to join Star Wars and Marvel.

Kaplan and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have issued an apology after an error by Kaplan meant that 175 students were incorrectly told that they’d failed parts of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) assessments. 

More than 1,600 junior lawyers have signed an open letter criticising the world’s biggest law firms, which they claim haven’t made enough effort to combat President Donald Trump’s alleged “bullying” of lawyers and law firms. Signatories to the letter include hundreds of lawyers from some of the firms affected, including Covington, Perkins Coie, Paul Weiss and Wilmer Hale.

Slaughter and May is “delighted” to have partnered with the 93% Club, Boston Consulting Group, Ernst & Young and JLL to create a new professional network – 93% Professionals – designed to provide a supportive community for state-educated people and address the critical gap in the journey from education to a top career. 

As the Tory leadership contest sees the four candidates whittled down to the final two today, and tensions between the US and Iran escalate, there really is never a dull moment on Planet Earth. Draw your focus for five minutes to the business world and you’ll see that there are many places that politics, economics and the law intersect.

The Bach Commission has today published its report, The Right to Justice, including recommendations for a statutory right to justice, reforms to legal aid, and better public legal education. All three branches of the profession have responded to its publication, vociferously in support of its recommendations. 

The Law Society has requested a two-week break for non-custody cases as concerns about the health and safety of court users emerge.

Paralegals frustrated at the lack of regulation and oversight in their profession now face even greater uncertainty, after it has emerged that one of the two bodies which worked to set up a voluntary paralegal regulator has withdrawn its support after just two years. 

Four criminal justice watchdogs have voiced their “grave concerns” about delays in the criminal justice system caused by covid-19.

As a part of its efforts to support a sustainable, low carbon economy and reduce emissions by 90%, law firm DWF Group Limited has launched the ‘DWF forest’, in collaboration with carbon market specialists Climate Impact.

A group of City law firms have launched an initiative to give opportunities to less-privileged students and shake off their elitist reputation.

A number of City firms have revealed new ethnicity targets in response to the global Black Lives Matter protests.

Exclusive research has revealed that the majority of law firms feel the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) is failing to prepare aspiring lawyers for legal practice.  

The Law Society has responded to the concerns raised in the legal education and training review, reinforcing its commitment to the traditional route to qualification while simultaneously acknowledging that the LETR should lead to the opening of alternative ways into the profession.

Concern over reliance on generative AI has escalated after fake case-law citations were used in an Intellectual Property Office appeal ruling. The litigant in person (LiP) admitted to using ChatGPT to help draft his case, with Phillip Johnson (the appointed person overseeing the appeal) highlighting various mistakes with the LiP’s argument.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is demanding that law firms adhere to transparency rules and display the SRA digital badge on their websites.

A new Bar training course is seeking to replace the Bar Professional Training Course and aims to offer more flexibility and less risk for students, alongside significantly cheaper fees.