This week’s round-up isn’t one to miss, with some familiar favourites (strikes), as well as the latest commercial developments. The Bank of England is facing criticism as a result of comments made by its chief economist, while Sadiq Khan’s popularity continues to fade in London and Labour politician Diane Abbott apologises over antisemitic comments. 

Are you up to date on this week’s commercial news? The government has announced a new budget, which sees a number of changes to taxes, pay and pensions, and increased spending for the NHS. Meanwhile, Alphabet has put investor worries about its AI development to rest, reporting increased profit for its cloud business. Plus, Shell is facing backlash after reducing its spending on green energy. Read on to discover more!

This week it was confirmed that Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will take part in a six-week campaign in a battle to become the next UK Prime Minister, while England’s international football team came from behind to squeeze out a victory in its quarter-final match against a tough Spain opposition last night. What other interesting stories did you spot this week and how can you use them to impress in your applications and interviews? 

Ofcom are due to investigate Amazon and Microsoft, there’s been an increase in the average number of people requesting to view rental properties, and Rishi Sunak shares plans to make changes to A levels and cancels High Speed 2 (HS2). Find out more with LCN’s commercial news round-up. 

The UK is set to co-host an AI safety summit to discuss regulation of the technology. The country is also experiencing a simultaneous rise in unemployment and wages. Plus, authors join forces in a boycott against fossil fuels and the Israel-Gaza war, and Marks & Spencer partners with a recycling technology company to trace the disposal of single-use plastic packaging. Read this week’s commercial news round-up to find out more.

It seems there’s never a dull moment in IP law as singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran reaches a milestone in his ‘Shape of You’ court case, plus inflation continues to rise, Primark moves online (kind of), Kellogg's breaks up and 5G is on the move. Find out more in this week’s commercial news round-up – what’s been on your radar this week?

Young Citizens, proud supporter of Public Legal Education, announced the launch of the Big Legal Lesson 2022 – a national campaign that includes free classroom resources to help more young people learn about the law. 

Young Citizens equips children and young people with the knowledge, skills and confidence to make a positive difference to the society in which they live.

The requirement that prospective solicitors gain two years’ practising experience in order to qualify will remain when the Solicitors Qualifying Examination comes into force, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has confirmed. 

Most trainee-hiring law firms run work experience schemes and events specifically for year 12/13 and first-year students. So, if you’re seriously considering becoming a solicitor, you’ll be doing yourself a big favour by getting involved at this early stage of your career – if not just to identify whether a career in the legal profession is for you. Use this list of law firms offering opportunities to year 12/13 and first-year university students to get you started!

A law career can take you into a variety of sectors. Four years ago, I moved into the complex, everchanging world of defence technology and the transition to this world of futuristic concepts has been an eye opener. The defence industry is about so much more than bullets and guns.

Hear from Harry Samuels in this Meet the Lawyer barrister profile, as he discusses his career at the Bar, a recent interesting case and the collegiate culture at XXIV Old Buildings.

Lawrence Graham’s merger with Wragge & Co was completed today, with the combined firms now being known as Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co.

In a week where nobody really knows what’s going on, calm your bemused Brexit brain by taking a look at our summary of some relevant commercial news stories from this week.

How does blockchain interact with law and business?

I recently graduated with my law degree (which still feels odd to write) and, call me nosy, one of the most interesting things following this has been hearing about the plans of my fellow graduates. These conversations have reminded me how versatile a law degree is and forced me to think of life outside of legal studies.

Coronavirus: What should employers be thinking about when considering home working for their employees? What might covid-19 mean for the future of home working?

Working from the comfort of your home, while may seem like a blessing in one of the most challenging years of our time, can very easily become a curse. The reality is, there is a fine line between ‘working from home’ and ‘living at work’. In my experience, I’ve found it extremely easy for work to consume my home life. It seems that the legal profession is embracing this change and that a return to office life as we know it is unlikely for the near and distant future. Therefore, it’s important that we all find a way to make working from home work for us. 

In recent years, there’s been a growing dialogue around mental health in the law – a profession that has a reputation for long hours and intense work. A number of studies and changing priorities have put working hours under the microscope, with more people beginning to ask questions about working practices and the demands often expected of lawyers.