Much like last week’s round-up, there is only thing on the business pages and that is the effect that the referendum result is having on the pound, markets, deals, consumer spending and so much more. 

The proportion of women and BAME people who make up the solicitors’ profession has increased in the last decade, the latest annual statistics report from the Law Society shows.

Over a year on from his landmark race review, Labour MP David Lammy has told the House of Commons Justice Committee that things have got “considerably worse” for BAME people in the criminal justice system.

Labour has announced its spending plans for the justice sector at its annual conference, pledging £74 million to reverse cuts to legal aid and train more community lawyers.

Swedish fintech company Klarna has revealed that its in-house lawyers are using ChatGPT to draft time-consuming contracts, which has “massively” saved time.  

The unthinkable happened this week; KFC ran out of chicken! With the doors of most of its branches firmly shut, thousands of disgruntled consumers had to take their fried poultry habits elsewhere. 

What is being done about the problems regarding electricity supply/demand in the United Kingdom?

In 2022, fashion retailer Zara came under fire from various sources due to some of its sustainability claims. Articles by Vogue business, the Independent and the Guardian all discussed the so-called misleading claims made by the brand over its environmental credentials.

Leading education and assessment provider Kaplan has been approved by the Education and Skills Funding Agency to be the End Point Assessment organisation for solicitor apprenticeships. A rigorous application process took place to review Kaplan’s experience, expertise and capacity to perform the role prior to its approval.

Kaplan Law School and Field Fisher Waterhouse have joined together to launch a scheme that will help students from under-represented backgrounds get ahead.

Promises to publish a review of the impact of legal aid cuts by Justice Secretary David Lidington have done little to raise the spirits of practitioners following the government’s latest fees decision, which slashed the amount of evidence that lawyers are paid to consider in legal aid cases. 

The Law Society is the independent professional body for solicitors in England and Wales. We’re run by and for our members. 

A new report shows that two-thirds of junior lawyers want the right to refuse work for ethical reasons. However, the research, which was led by Dana Denis-Smith and published by Obelisk Support, found that this right is currently provided at only 18% of the respondents’ workplaces.

Emolument, an online service that crowdsources pay-related data, has released research into (i) which are the best-paying practice areas for junior lawyers, and (ii) the pay gap between those working for a law firm and those that have gone in house.

Anyone who knows me, also knows that I am honest as they come. 

At university, if you wanted to become a solicitor, the only route I knew about was private practice. I knew there were a vast array of firms, from high street to the magic circle, but I knew very little about the in-house legal functions in corporations or the public sector.

I was in your position once, and it’s daunting. I didn’t have a clue what a law firm career would be like or whether I’d be suited to it or it to me. I didn’t realise that what I’d learned in my law degree, at law school or even training at a law firm wouldn’t equip me with some of the skills that mattered most to surviving and thriving in such a complex, opaque and demanding world.

Digital technologies pervade every aspect of our lives. From social media to critical government infrastructure, cybersecurity is of increasingly great concern for individuals, corporations and nations. Cybersecurity threats are complex and adaptive, requiring a holistic approach to understand, mitigate and remediate.