Lawyers and professional bodies across the legal profession have united in opposition to the government’s Investigatory Powers Bill which will put every person in the United Kingdom under surveillance.

This week’s round-up takes a look at the first King’s Speech in 70 years, plans for a pro-Palestine protest on Saturday 11 November, the government’s decision to reinstate EU equality laws and Carol Vorderman’s departure from BBC Radio Wales. Read LawCareers.Net’s summaries, and take a look at the Commercial awareness hub for our tips on developing this essential skill and demonstrating it in your applications. 

Increasingly, there is a movement among law firms to concentrate on first-year students and provide them with the opportunity to learn more about their organisations.

Who owns footballers’ performance data? 

From law firm open days to the LawCareersNetLIVE conference, this term was my first time attending events where I had the chance to meet law firm representatives. In this post I'll be discussing my experiences and top tips: from preparation and research to the follow-up period.

Part of the Thomas Reuters Foundation, TrustLaw is a community of lawyers and law firms forming a ‘go-to’ directory for beneficiary non-governmental organisation and social enterprise groups.

In this LawCareers.Net masterclass, sponsored by Clyde & Co LLP and Osborne Clarke LLP, you can find out what it means to start a career in law as a non-law student, including how to research firms, what to include in your application, and how to make the transition into law.

Elizabeth Rimmer from legal charity LawCare discusses why it's so important for aspiring lawyers to think about their mental health, how you can manage your mental health in your search for a legal career, and what law firms are doing to support trainees and newly-qualified lawyers in this area. 

I wouldn't call myself an expert at law firm applications by any means. If anything, I'd say I'm quite the opposite! Of all my non-law friends, I'm probably the newest to the process, having only just attempted it for the first time last December.

Lawyers and negotiating heads: burden or benefit?

While AI has been a nebulous topic for decades, especially in the last 12 months, there’s been enormous growth in “generative AI”.

Two international law firms have reported increased profits, and several other firms saw revenues rise as the 2024/25 financial reporting season begins.

In-house lawyers are turning to AI as dissatisfaction with the current law firm model grows, according to a recent survey by intelligent contracting platform Juro. 

The government has announced that it’ll continue to fund the LawtechUK initiative, a legal sector innovation and technology programme, committing £4.5 million until 2029.

Just 90 out of over 13,000 partners at law firms within England and Wales are Black, according to a report by diversity consultancy extense.

The Law Society has published guidance to highlight how organisations can improve digital accessibility to support people with disabilities.

If you're a non-law student keen on a legal career, here's what you need to know about starting out with Shoosmiths. Hear from graduate recruitment manager Samantha Hope, partner Steve Wiltshire and trainee Alex Friston as they share their tips for non-law students and explain why law firms, and Shoosmiths, are interested in employing non-law students.

This webinar, sponsored by Travers Smith and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP, discussed what it’s really like to work in tax law.

Kick off application season the right way with this LawCareers.Net masterclass on law firm applications where we go through exactly how candidates can prepare and craft successful law firm applications. Hear directly from law firm recruiters as they share exactly what they want to see on applications and how you can succeed at this vital stage of the recruitment process.