A new survey of UK law firms with revenues of more than £100 million revealed that competitors with strong tech-driven business models, a surge in lateral hiring and a sharp growth of US law firms are all likely to cause major disruption.  

Nearly 90% of students that The University of Law’s Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) revision app classified as ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to pass SQE1 have passed the assessment. 

Many law firms, in-house legal departments and other organisations including the Government Legal Department have become the founding signatories of the Law Society’s Pro Bono Charter. 

It’s a week until the general election and the party leaders are rallying their troops for the final battle. Could we see a new prime minister in Number 10 by the end of next week?

Nine City firms have signed up to the Vision for Literacy Business Pledge 2017, agreeing to take practical action to tackle low literacy in the United Kingdom. The firms involved are Allen & Overy, Baker McKenzie, Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP, Bird & Bird, Clifford Chance, Norton Rose Fulbright, Pinsent Mason, Slaughter and May, and Travers Smith.

The big story this week has been the spectacular collapse of Carillion, and the fallout from its compulsory liquidation. The construction and facilities company hasn’t just put its private sector building projects in jeopardy – it also had many public sector contacts which now need fulfilling. For this and other big business news, look no further.

Don’t worry if you don’t know much about the legal profession or apprenticeships – this guide is designed to give you the information you need before you choose your next step.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has stated that solicitors will need to pay an increase of 7% on practising fees to finance a £10 million hike in its annual budget.

An innovative partnership between leading law firms, barristers’ chambers and the University of Manchester is developing the field of lawtech with plans to introduce a new, specialist qualification that sets the skills standard for lawyers working with legal technology.

The ethical considerations of being a barrister are not being taught to Bar students because so much learning time is devoted to preparing for the “massive memory test” that is their exams, according to a senior lecturer and former barrister. 

The senior presiding judge for England and Wales, Lord Justice Edis, has delayed the sentencing of convicted criminals on bail due to overpopulation in prisons. As a longer term solution, the government plans to send prisoners overseas and build more prisons.

The UK government is due to announce millions in extra funding for lawyers to represent asylum seekers in order to clear a backlog of appeals.

Plans to stop McKenzie Friends from being able to recover fees from members of the public following successful court action have received the support of the Law Society and the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives.

UK judges will now use preferred pronouns as a “common courtesy” in cases that involve transgender people.

Chief executive of the Legal Services Board (LSB), Matthew Hill, talked about diversity during a plenary session at the Law Society’s Junior Solicitors Network summit, stating that diversity at partnership level at the biggest law firms “ought to be a national scandal”.

A woman who alleges that she was raped and sexually assaulted by her ex-husband has been left alone in court without legal representation or support to face her alleged abuser, in another distressing example of the crisis in the justice system caused by cuts to legal aid funding.  

The government has given ground to striking barristers with an offer of £15 million to address the crisis in the criminal justice system.

Law centres have been granted permission to challenge the Ministry of Justice in the High Court over changes to housing possession court duty schemes, which provide on-the-day advice and advocacy services to people facing eviction.

The vast majority of barristers are opposed to withdrawing the United Kingdom from the European Convention on Human Rights in favour of creating a separate UK bill of rights, a survey commissioned by the Times has found.