At LawCareers.Net we know that commercial awareness might seem like a vague and meaningless term that law firms and recruiters throw around to bamboozle you. That’s why we’ve created our new commercial awareness hub to keep relevant information in one place, and we recently filmed a video offering some key insight into how to stay commercial aware, as well as a couple of case studies to think about in a commercial context.

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It’s vacation scheme season and that means it’s the perfect time to take a glance at the business world and ensure that your commercial awareness is up to scratch. Our commercial awareness page is a great place to start working out how to develop your understanding of the business environment and how to demonstrate this in applications, but first take a quick read of some interesting commercial stories from this week.

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‘Commercial awareness’ needn’t be a frightening phrase that law firms throw around to bamboozle you. It’s broadly about understanding that lawyer advise clients who operate in the business world – plus a law firm is a business too.

Read this week’s commercial news round-up for some of the latest news relating to the business and legal worlds.

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It’s hard to keep on top of everything, which is why we summarise the most important and interesting commercial news stories every week. The below stories can be taken at face value, or used as starting points to jump into further research. How could Germany’s economy affect the legal as well as the business world? Where could law firms have been involved in Eat and Patisserie Valerie’s sales? It’s up to you to find out!

In a week in which MPs prepare themselves to vote again on the Brexit deal at the start of next month, and the Jeremy Kyle Show was cancelled after a guest’s death, there have been plenty of noteworthy news stories to keep abreast of. For in-depth analysis of the latest legal and commercial issues, we would always recommend signing up to Lexology. 

Solicitors and barristers who are considered key workers will be eligible for covid-19 testing, it has been revealed.

The University of Law has secured an exclusive partnership with magic circle law firm Clifford Chance to deliver its Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) courses. 

A-level students are not the only ones poring over results and figures today to see what that means for them. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that consumers’ retail spending rose 1.4% in July following the June vote for Britain to leave the European Union, a much higher increase than economists predicted.

The senior presiding judge for England and Wales, Lord Justice Edis, has delayed the sentencing of convicted criminals on bail due to overpopulation in prisons. As a longer term solution, the government plans to send prisoners overseas and build more prisons.

England and Wales have been hailed as the leading legal centre for arbitration and commercial dispute resolution, with English law governing trillions of pounds worth of international transactions and deals. 

Travers Smith LLP and Linklaters LLP both launch new AI training programmes to boost employee understanding, improve the expertise of their lawyers and keep up with the fast-paced nature of the evolving technology space. 

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

We’ll keep it short and sweet this week and let you know that the below news stories are essential reading for anyone heading off to a law firm assessment centre or interview soon, or for those just looking to top up their commercial awareness over the summer months.