The nights have drawn darker, the candles are lit and many pumpkin-spiced lattes will be drunk during this season. Importantly, the autumn/winter application cycle for training contracts and vacation schemes is now in full swing.

During this unprecedented time, it is important to consider how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the business and legal world – so, use this week’s commercial news round-up as a tool to top up your commercial awareness.

Aviation lawyers provide commercial, regulatory and insurance advice and litigation services to the world's airlines, manufacturers and financiers.

A specialist aviation barrister will be used in disputes relating to everything from aircraft leasing and insurance to disasters, hijackings and theft.

The Association of Women Solicitors (AWS) has presented its highest honour, the Eva Crawley Award (recognising outstanding contribution to the work of the association and the advancement of women solicitors) to Dawn Dixon.

The Association of Women Solicitors has criticised the Solicitors Regulation Authority's decision to abolish the minimum salary for trainee solicitors.

Hello, my name is Ayo Abraham, and I’m a trainee solicitor at southgate solicitors. I am currently six months into my training contract and specialise in family law.

What is the B-corp movement and how do the social and environmental considerations of companies influence the work of lawyers?

This week has been the tale of two mergers, with supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Asda still campaigning to convince the Competitions and Markets Authority that their planned merger will benefit customers. Meanwhile Disney has closed the deal on 21^st Century Fox for an eyewatering $71 billion, which will see franchises like Deadpool and X-Men coming over to the dark side to join Star Wars and Marvel.

The Bar Council has launched a central London childcare facility, in recognition of the fact that "many barristers in the current climate with caring responsibilities are feeling under growing pressure".

The backlog of Crown court cases – which increased by nearly 50% during the pandemic – has now started to fall.

From the intellectual challenges to the excitement of seeing her work in the news, find out more about Abbie’s journey into law and career at Baker McKenzie.

Baker McKenzie and Travers Smith LLP have become the latest law firms to announce increases in pay for their newly qualified (NQ) lawyers. 

Baker McKenzie has announced its biggest partner promotion round in four years, with 85 partners selected globally, according to the Law Gazette. Of the new partners, eight are in London and 35 are women (41%).

Due to concerns of a potential coronavirus outbreak, around 1,100 staff at the London office of City firm Baker McKenzie were asked to work from home on Friday 28 February.

Baker & McKenzie and Hogan Lovells are the first two firms to plan to integrate a new contextual recruitment tool in their online application systems, in time for the 2015-16 graduate recruitment season.

I would love to train as a solicitor but I’m concerned that firms would overlook me because of my family commitments. Is it possible to balance a successful legal career with being a mum?

After my time at DLA Piper UK LLP, I made the move in-house to West Midlands Police. I now practice in commercial property and commercial law. Here are some of my reasons for making the move in-house and the factors that keep me in the role.

BAME candidates are still much less likely to secure pupillage than white students, while those who attended fee-paying schools remain disproportionately represented, according to the latest annual report from the Bar Standards Board.

A report on the experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) solicitors by The Law Society identified that BAME solicitors earn 25% less on average than their white counterparts.