Commerciality and business nous: these are prized skills among lawyers and exactly the kind of thing that recruiters are looking for their trainees to possess.

Trainee and newly qualified solicitors think that firms should do more to provide training and support on stress at work, a survey by the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) has revealed.  

In addition to legal knowledge, firms expect their lawyers to have commerciality and business nous – a failure to do so leaves clients unhappy and deals undone.

The first charity in the UK to provide legal aid to the social care sector has been launched in partnership with leading City law firms.

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.

Former competition lawyer Mia Forbes Pirie has been named UK Independent Mediator 2021 by Corporate International.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has approved alternative business structure licences for the AA and over-50s specialist Saga.

CILEx president Nick Hanning has urged Justice Secretary Chris Grayling to make further concessions to his controversial plans to change legal aid, following a partial U-turn on the government’s proposal to deny legal aid recipients the right to choose a lawyer.

A US law firm which only acts for companies in the cannabis industry is set to launch a UK office, in a move which is bound to put some anti-marijuana campaigners’ noses out of joint.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has called for itself to be made fully independent from the Law Society as part of the governance review being carried out by the legal profession’s super-regulator, the Legal Services Board.  

The SRA will be making unannounced visits to 100 "randomly selected" law firms in order to assess their compliance with diversity reporting requirements, it was announced at the Law Society Firms Diversity Forum meeting in September.

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.

A new skills and training initiative for the legal profession has made over 100 paralegal apprenticeships available across nine law firms in the Greater Manchester area.

Magic circle firm Linklaters LLP has announced redundancies across all three of its China offices, reducing staff by 15%.  

Hogan Lovells has posted its spring retention rate, confirming that 14 out of 21 newly qualified (NQ) lawyers will remain at the firm, after making 16 offers. All 21 NQs applied for roles.

Manchester law firm Croftons has created an iPhone app designed to help claimants gather accurate evidence and information at the scene of an accident at work or on the road which could result in a personal injury claim.

How might blockchain influence real estate transactions?

This week’s round-up takes a deep dive into what the future may look like. We look at discriminatory laws against women, air quality worldwide and the future of Wales under the first Black leader in Europe. Plus, we cover NHS wait times and the lives lost as a result. This week’s stories highlight some of the most pressing issues in the world right now, so settle in for an important read. 

How will the legal system be affected by LASPO?