We’ll keep it short this week as many of you are completing vacation scheme or pupillage applications. Commercial awareness is a key attribute that you must demonstrate in your applications as recruiters want to see that you have a knowledge of what is going on in the business industry, and how key issues might affect the law and the businesses that operate within it.

If commercial awareness means keeping up with the latest commercial news stories affecting law firms and businesses, then there can be no more timely news than that of the Brexit mayhem currently taking place.

General counsel attendees discussed the benefits of hiring an in-house trainee solicitor at a recent roundtable discussion hosted at the Law Society.

William Allen is a solicitor in the private equity and transactions team. He outlines how his work experience prepared him for a career in law and the opportunities he’s got involved in so far at Ropes & Gray.

Maya Shah, early careers specialist at Ropes & Gray, outlines what the firm wants to see from candidates in their applications and at interview, as well how the firm is adopting the SQE and what candidates can expect from the vacation scheme. 

In this LCN Says, we speak to Rona Ankrah from Mayer Brown International LLP about building commercial awareness. Read this article for insights on how you can demonstrate commercial awareness in interviews, how Mayer Brown helps trainees to develop their commercial awareness and how Rona approaches learning about clients’ businesses.

The House of Lords constitution committee has launched an inquiry into the centuries-old office of lord chancellor, asking whether it is sufficiently independent of government and whether it should be held by a lawyer.

How are robotics and automation fated for the retail industry?

How is risk managed in M&A transactions?

What are the implications of an increase in litigation funding and what do investors need to consider?

The impact of the pandemic on how we view and think about work has proven to be long lasting. In the legal sector, MLA’s recent generation Z (gen Z) survey revealed that 69% of gen Z lawyers believed that the pandemic influenced what they value in an employer.

Aspiring lawyers have many decisions to make over the course of their journey into the profession, including where to train and the types of firm to apply to. Discover the benefits to training in a niche firm like Bolt Burdon Kemp LLP in this LCN Says.

Has the tide begun to turn on offshoring?

How should parties to commercial lending contracts prepare for the discontinuance of LIBOR at the end of 2021?

How would the abolishment of 'no fault evictions' proposed by the Renters Reform Bill affect both landlords and tenants? 

Is too much red tape preventing the UK drone industry from flying high?

What will the repeal of the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 mean for property professionals?

Since the implosion of ‘futures exchange’ better known as FTX, the world has once again shifted its focus to the regulation of cryptoassets.

Ravi Pattani, partner at Reed Smith, explains what makes a successful application, the work of a corporate lawyer and how sector agnostics his matters are, and his advice for budding solicitors.  

Following in JPMorgan’s footsteps, HSBC has secured a partnership with The Sandbox to acquire its first plot of land in the metaverse in a bid to work with sports partners.