Allen & Overy LLP and Shearman & Sterling LLP have announced the first 40 partner promotions for A&O Shearman, with women making up 42% of promotions across both firms. 

As law students will be keenly aware, January marks the onset of application deadlines for many vacation schemes and work placements.

A legal advice line providing advice to women who have experienced sexual harassment at work has been launched by Harry Potter star and women’s rights activist Emma Watson. The free service will be run by the legal charity Rights of Women and is backed by Time’s Up UK and managed by Rosa, the UK Fund for Women and Girls.

Law firms signed for more than 380,000 square feet of office space in the third quarter, which is 52% higher than a year ago, according to property consultancy Knight Frank. This recent increase in demand is largely down to US firms’ expansions.

HM Judiciary is advertising 21 fixed-term 10-month posts for full-time judicial assistants to the Court of Appeal’s civil division. 

The justice secretary, Chris Grayling, has agreed to meet criminal legal aid lawyers to discuss the government's widely opposed plans for legal aid in person, after pressure to do so by the Law Society.

Magic circle firm Clifford Chance has attacked proposals by the Labour Party to create a broad financial transaction tax (FTT) by extending stamp duty – a policy also known as the ‘Robin Hood tax’. 

The publication of the Legal Education and Training Review, the recommendations of which could radically change the ways that legal training is delivered and accessed, has been delayed for the second time this year.

The Law Society has published its Annual Statistical Report for 2013, which has confirmed that the number of training contracts on offer has increased up to 5,302 following the decline of previous years.

The University of Exeter and international law firm Reed Smith have combined forces to create a new four-year LLB degree that will incorporate a year-long placement at Reed Smith’s London office.

The second Law Society free public debate of 2012 will focus on intellectual property and ambush marketing, which are both hot topics this year as a result of the European football championships (Euro 2012) and the impending London Olympic Games.

The most recent Queen’s Counsel appointments have been announced by the independent selection panel, as it confirms the strongest promotion round for three years.

The Bar is slowly getting more diverse, according to the Bar Standards Board’s annual report on Diversity at the Bar.

As we head off to our first-ever LCN Lunch Club with representatives from student law societies, we imagine that many of the clued-up attendees are aware that good lawyers are more than just legal advisers – they are also business advisers, who must understand their clients’ concerns and motivations.

Oxford Brookes School of Law and The College of Legal Practice have joined forces to offer the law school’s students discounted access to Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) preparation courses, as well as appropriate guidance and information on the new route to qualifying.

The University of Law has launched its student mentoring scheme for 2013, with over 200 legal professionals committing to the scheme in London, amidst a group of over 600 nationwide, across ULaw's eight UK centres.

One of the main areas of discussion during the ”Law firm as a business” panel at NationalLawLIVE last week (and likely to also feature at CityLawLIVE tomorrow) was the defining characteristics of a good commercial lawyer. Having a sense of the business world in which your clients operate is key to your success; start now with these.

Amid much controversy, and to the profound disappointment of many in the profession, the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill has received royal assent.

Lawyers working in London are continuing to see their salaries rise year on year, according to a recent salary survey by international consultancy company Robert Walters.

BPP University Law School and Aspiring Solicitors have begun working together to provide new scholarships for Aspiring Solicitors members looking to practise in the public, pro bono, voluntary or charities sectors.