More fallout from the leaked Panama Papers this week, as businesses and individuals scramble to distance themselves from the scandal (Bill Gates has said he’s more surprised by who’s NOT on the list). 

Slaughter and May is the first magic circle firm to announce its 2020 partner promotions, with eight new partners appointed – two of whom are women.

Plans for a new ‘super exam’ for all qualifying solicitors have been approved by the Legal Services Board, meaning that the Solicitors Qualifying Exam is now certain to go ahead in some form.

Following on from its stage one pilot of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, the Solicitors Regulation Authority is looking for candidates to take part in a trial run of SQE stage two in December.

Reed Smith has revealed plans to make redundancies at its London office, referencing the “prolonged economic uncertainty” caused by the pandemic.

Pay cuts, shorter weeks and furloughing will also be implemented.

Want to know what’s been happening in the commercial world that might be of interest to your future clients? Look no further than this collection of interesting business stories from the past week.

The number of pupillages being offered is likely to shrink as covid-19 forces chambers to defer recruitment, the Bar Standards Board revealed in a recent report.

City practices Linklaters and Addleshaw Goddard have revealed their Spring newly qualified retention rates.

Slaughter and May has announced the introduction of a new scheme, which allows associates to reduce their working hours for less pay, enabling them the “time to pursue other interests and maintain a greater work/life balance”.

A serious decline in the number of overseas professionals looking for work in the United Kingdom could spell a talent shortage in the UK legal profession, a LinkedIn study of data from over three million people has indicated.  

Weekly round-ups are clearly the thing, as illustrated by both this very news story and the weekly Brexit briefing from the Guardian – a great way to keep up with all the EU-related machinations. 

Submissions are now open for the 2019 Future Legal Mind Award essay competition run by National Accident Helpline.

International law firm White & Case LLP has become one of the latest firms to announce its autumn trainee retention rate of 86%, having kept 19 out of its 22 newly qualified solicitors (NQs). This closely aligned with the firm’s 87% trainee retention figure in spring 2025 and its five-year average of 83%.

Global law firm Reed Smith has launched a new programme, Wellness Works, to support the wellbeing of its employees. 

After a long and acrimonious battle, both in and out of court, the High Court has ordered the publisher of the 'Solicitors from Hell' website, Rick Kordowski, to remove entirely the site from the Internet.

Olympic rowing gold medallist Katherine Grainger CBE will be joining 6,000 members of the legal profession for next month’s London Legal Walk to raise money for the free legal advice sector.

The Ministry of Justice’s approach to cutting legal aid has been criticised by one of its own consultants.

City firms are saving money on office costs by moving large numbers of staff to regional offices, a report by the legal consultancy Jomati has revealed.

The government's legal aid bill has suffered a third defeat in the House of Lords.