Graduates, like myself, often start their careers as a paralegal to gain insight and deeper understanding into the life of a solicitor. Often, paralegals who are aspiring solicitors will apply for a training contract at the firm they are already employed with. In this post, I set out my four top tips for paralegals wanting to take the next step into qualification.

More than 1,600 junior lawyers have signed an open letter criticising the world’s biggest law firms, which they claim haven’t made enough effort to combat President Donald Trump’s alleged “bullying” of lawyers and law firms. Signatories to the letter include hundreds of lawyers from some of the firms affected, including Covington, Perkins Coie, Paul Weiss and Wilmer Hale.

A recent survey of working hours reveals that trainees and junior lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis LLP work on average for more than 14-hours a day. This is the third year in a row the firm has sat at the top of the table for working hours.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is demanding that law firms adhere to transparency rules and display the SRA digital badge on their websites.

In an inaugural address at Inner Temple Hall last week, new chair of the Bar Council of England and Wales Barbara Mills KC set out her priorities for the year ahead, which include raising the profile of the family Bar and enhancing the wellbeing of the profession.

To mark International Women’s’ Day 2018, the Law Society has released its findings from the largest international survey of women in the law. The survey of 7,781 people (5,758 women, 554 men and 1,469 unknown or other) aims to shed light on current state of gender equality in the legal profession.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are becoming an increasingly important topic for businesses of all types, including law firms.

The gender pay gap for partners and employees at Freshfields has reduced to 57.2% according to figures published at the end of March 2020.

Many law firms, such as Simmons & Simmons, Baker McKenzie, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP  and Clifford Chance, are incorporating reverse mentoring into their diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) and retention strategies.

Nearly 90% of students that The University of Law’s Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) revision app classified as ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to pass SQE1 have passed the assessment. 

Following the Domestic Abuse Bill’s second reading in the House of Commons last week, the Law Society says the bill must do more to protect victims. It recently passed a significant stage in its path to becoming law and will now be examined by the public bill committee.

One in 10 lawyers under 30 said they have experienced suicidal thoughts as a result of work, a recent International Bar Association survey found, with wellbeing in the legal profession a “global concern”.

City lawyers have “very poor” knowledge of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Handbook, according to the findings of a leading legal academic.

The government has proposed raising civil legal aid fees for the first time in 30 years. While this has been welcomed by the Bar Council and the Law Society, both organisations are concerned that the changes don’t go far enough to match the rise in consumer price index).

International law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner has announced the launch of a unique international summer placement programme for students taking the double degree in English and French law at Queen Mary University of London and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. 

Pinsent Masons has been named the UK’s most inclusive employer by LGBT-rights charity Stonewall, while Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) and Baker McKenzie are the other law firms to rank in the top 10 in Stonewall’s top 100 employers index for 2019.

Nominations are now open for the LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards, which celebrate the significant contribution of law students and law schools to vital pro bono legal advice.

Changes to the solicitors profession’s entry requirements could place less well-off candidates at a disadvantage and damage equality in the legal profession, the Law Society has warned.

London-based civil liberties, human rights and legal aid firm Hodge Jones & Allen (HJA) has become the first law firm to be entirely owned by its employees.

The government plans to build 14 new Nightingale courts to tackle outstanding court cases caused by the pandemic, according to a statement from Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland.