International law firm DAC Beachcroft is the latest to move permanently away from compulsory office attendance, but national firm Duncan Lewis has bucked the trend of organisations downsizing office space by relocating to central London.

Future lawyers with a taste for insurance law should take note: a major new force in the specialist insurance law sector is coming on the scene after a merger between two insurance heavyweights.

Taking the total of authorised ABSs to five, this week has seen a number of ABS announcements from the SRA, including the first ABS in Wales and an application for a licence from an Italian firm.

Hillyer McKeown, along with two other law firms, is offering a legal apprenticeship scheme to those who are seeking an alternative route to qualification as a solicitor without going to university.

Withers & Rogers, based in London, has launched a new graduate recruitment programme.

Corporate law firm Travers Smith is partnering with a LGBT charity to develop a mentoring programme designed to empower a new, diverse generation of lawyers. 

The backlog of crown court cases has increased by 3% on the previous quarter to 66,547, according to new figures published by the Ministry of Justice.

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has announced that it is working with Rare, the specialist diversity recruitment company, to establish a scholarship for exceptional black and minority ethnic (BAME) students.

Virtual events taking place across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will celebrate the legal profession’s pro bono efforts as Pro Bono Week enters its 19th year.

The UK will not be a member of Europe’s planned Unified Patent Court, the government has confirmed in what intellectual property (IP) specialists have described as a blow to the industry.

The SRA has completed its first year or authorising and regulating alternative business structures.

According to reports in The Lawyer and RollonFriday, the Law Central Applications Board will be replacing staggered LPC and GDL application dates with a single (as yet unknown) deadline.

Magic circle giant Clifford Chance is piloting a new flexible working scheme where some lawyers at the firm will be invited to apply for a two-month unpaid sabbatical.

At the recent CILEx awards, honouring excellence in study, practice and practical training, Bond Dickinson won the award for CILEx Employer of the Year Award in relation to its apprenticeship programme.

The Legal Services Consumer Panel, the law watchdog, has claimed in its submission to the Legal Education and Training Review that legal training is failing because it is too generalised.

Nabarro LLP, Simmons & Simmons and Slater & Gordon have been singled out for praise at the National Council for Work Experience Awards 2013, marking them out as some of the UK's best internship providers.

The University of Law has been ranked as having the joint-highest levels of overall student satisfaction of all the higher education institutions in the country in the National Student Survey 2016.

International law firm Charles Russell Speechlys is collaborating with The University of Law to provide a new £5,000 scholarship for one GDL, LPC or master’s student commencing their studies at The University of Law in September. 

In effect, the GDL replaces the law degree. Its content focuses on the seven foundations of legal knowledge that represent the basic knowledge requirements for the LPC.