As summer draws to an end, that ‘back to school’ feeling is certainly lingering. Why not top up your commercial awareness before returning to university next month? This week’s commercial news round-up covers a variety of business news stories you should know about.

Women solicitors are less likely than men to pursue partnership at their firms, according to a career satisfaction survey of over 3,000 lawyers.

Women are outperforming men in relation to some judicial appointments up to and including the High Court, statistics published by the Judicial Appointments Commission have revealed.

The majority of practising solicitors are women, but men still occupy a disproportionate number of positions at partner level, according to the Law Society’s latest annual statistics report.

More than a third of law firms in England and Wales are now majority-owned by women, showing continuing progress toward gender equality in the legal profession, the Law Society has said in marking this International Women’s Day.

Half of working mothers in the legal profession are taking on more childcare responsibilities than their partners during the UK’s lockdown, a survey conducted by the team behind the First 100 Years Project reports.

A quarter of women working in the legal profession have had their incomes reduced from pre-coronavirus levels, with one in five working reduced hours, a snap poll has found.

Women barristers, on average, earn nearly 50% less than their male counterparts, according to the Bar Standard Board’s (BSB) 2022 report on ‘Income at the Bar – by Gender and Ethnicity’.  

Professional support charity LawCare has released its annual statistics from 2015, revealing that it received just over 900 calls to its helpline, made by 496 individuals.

Women made up 36% of partner hires in the United Kingdom during Q1 2024, according to Legal Monitor’s latest UK partner hires report. 

Recently merged Womble Bond Dickinson has taken on five new legal apprentices in its Plymouth office. The apprentices will work in the firm’s corporate and commercial, real estate and dispute resolution teams.

Skye Fenton-Wells explains how Womble Bond Dickinson recruits its future lawyers, what skills they look for and the information you should be including in your applications. Discover how you can be a successful applicant with Skye’s insight.

The national firm formerly known as Bond Dickinson has become Womble Bond Dickinson after a high-profile merger – not with the venerable family-run operation of the Wimbledon-based eco rodents, but with US firm Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice.