It’s vacation scheme season and that means it’s the perfect time to take a glance at the business world and ensure that your commercial awareness is up to scratch. Our commercial awareness page is a great place to start working out how to develop your understanding of the business environment and how to demonstrate this in applications, but first take a quick read of some interesting commercial stories from this week.

Hogan Lovells, one of the leading global law firms, is due to leave its City of London headquarters where it has been based in Atlantic House since 2001. 

The Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQE) have taken the legal world by storm, from their introduction in September 2021 to the first SQE1 sitting in November 2021 and the subsequent release of results on 20 January 2022.

The big news from this week has to be Sports Direct founder (and all-round nice guy) Mike Ashley snatching up troubled department store House of Fraser mere minutes after it announced its collapse into administration last Friday morning.

News just in this morning about House of Fraser’s decision to close nearly half of its stores is shocking; not just for the 6,000 jobs that will be lost, but for what it signifies for high street retailers generally. Among other locations, the company’s flagship Oxford Street store will close, presenting as it does an “existential threat” to the rest of the company. Yikes. For a flavour of other business news, cast your eye over this selection.

Relationships between the owners and occupiers of residential properties can be fraught with problems.

I'm keen to get involved in pro bono activities but I don't know where to start. Can you point me in the right direction?

I’m a first-year student – how important is legal work experience and do you have advice for securing some?

I plan on becoming a lawyer but I also have a family – will I have time to see my children?

The relevance of the technology used within law firms is heightened by the current era of rapid digital transformation and the effects of covid-19.

Assisted dying is a contentious subject, so much so that a clear definition is yet to be universally agreed for the practice. Some describe it as a compassionate choice, allowing those who live in grave pain or suffering to end their life in dignity within a controlled environment; others describe it as unethical and against the core principles of human life.

As anyone entering the legal profession is constantly reminded, it’s competitive to get a training contract. Applicants can be competing against hundreds, if not thousands, of other candidates for a small number of training contract vacancies. While some law firms will take on 50+ trainees a year, other firms employ only a handful.

Whether this is your first application cycle or your fifth, identifying the right law firm for you might be the most important stage in the process.

Well done to everyone for getting through the second semester. Easter holidays are a time for rest, rejuvenation and spending time with family and friends. However, many students have exams after the holidays and need to also find the time for revision. This blog post aims to give you some tips on how to balance all of this and get the most out of the holidays.

Conducting in-depth research into a law firm before making an application is essential – it'll be challenging to secure a vacation scheme or training contract without doing so. Here’s a succinct guide on how to research law firms when applying for vacation schemes.

Conducting in-depth research into a law firm before making an application is essential – it'll be challenging to secure a vacation scheme or training contract without doing so. Here’s a succinct guide on how to research law firms when applying for vacation schemes.

Conducting in-depth research into a law firm before making a vacation scheme application is essential – it'll be challenging to secure a vacation scheme or training contract without doing so. Here’s a succinct guide on how to research law firms when applying for vacation schemes.

Conducting in-depth research into a law firm before making an application is essential – it'll be challenging to secure a vacation scheme or training contract without doing so. Here’s a succinct guide on how to research law firms when applying for vacation schemes.

Conducting in-depth research into a law firm before making an application is absolutely essential – it is impossible to secure a training contract without doing so. Here is a guide to that much talked about, but rarely explained, concept and an explanation of why it's so important.