The government's legal aid cuts have been condemned in an open letter signed by over 100 judges, lawyers, victims and peers who feel that the issue of legal aid has not been raised enough in the run up to the general election.

Almost 60 international law firms have reported their carbon footprints, recording an average reduction of 11% compared to the previous year, according to the Legal Sustainability Alliance.

The Bar Council and Bar Standards Board have confirmed that there were 335 newly-registered tenancies for 2011-12.

The University of Law has launched a new combined Bar Professional Training Course LLM programme. 

Stonewall, the gay rights charity, has announced the results of its annual workplace equality index, which includes 10 law firms for the second year in a row.

There are lots of interesting updates to dig your teeth into in this week’s round-up, including action from the Competition and Markets Authority, million-pound acquisitions, advertising compliance issues and more. 

The Bar Standards Board is exploring the possibility of enabling students to take extra exam resits in order to be called to the Bar.

International law firm Gowling WLG (UK) LLP has set new diversity targets as part of its Inclusion for All (IFA) strategy, including reaching 18% ethnic minority partners and 40% female partners by 2030. 

With the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) now the centralised assessment that all aspiring solicitors must pass to qualify, the route to becoming a solicitor for non-law students looks a little different. Confused? In this Feature we’ll run through what your options are as a non-law student pursuing a career as a solicitor and the different law conversion courses that are available.

The UK economy delivered a surprise boost in November and Elon Musk’s platform X is under intense scrutiny after its AI tool Grok was linked to illegal content. Meanwhile, a major toy supplier for Pop Mart in China is under fire over alleged labour abuses and a new report reveals sports piracy in Britain has skyrocketed. Read on for LCN’s picks of this week’s top commercial stories!

In Northern Ireland, there are “unprecedented and worsening” delays for receiving payment for legal aid in the criminal justice area. More than 200 barristers will take part in the strike, which will take place on 17 November 2023.

UK inflation has risen, house prices have fallen, train ticket machines are charging customers significantly more than online retailers and Apple has taken Samsung’s place at the top of the smartphone market. Find out more in this week’s commercial news round-up.

Clyde & Co has announced that it has offered jobs to 100% of its trainees, across all of its international offices, with a 100% acceptance rate in the United Kingdom (and a 98% global acceptance rate).

Larger law firms are more advanced in their integration and promotion of AI within their services compared to mid-tier firms, according to research from Thomson Reuters.

How would the proposed Clementi reforms affect the way the legal profession handles complaints?

The Law Society is among a number of organisations to welcome the government’s decision to “continue funding the level 7 apprenticeships for those aged 16 to 21”, while urging the government to extend this support to cover the funding of level 7 apprenticeships for those over the age of 21.

The coronavirus pandemic has delayed plans to change legal education and training in 2021 with the introduction of the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE). Here is everything we know about the new exams, from the syllabus, to the format of the exams themselves, to the cost for candidates, to what law firms, universities and law schools are doing.