People in need of legal services are now able to find regulated paralegals on the Professional Paralegal Register, which was launched on 6 July.

In a significant development in the world of legal aid, Justice Minister Ken Clarke announced last week that he has postponed major reforms to the legal aid system that were due to be implemented in October 2012.

Paralegal work’s reputation for being a dead end to career advancement may soon be put to bed, as plans to implement formal qualifications and training opportunities for an advanced paralegal apprenticeship accelerate.

The Law Society has been criticised for a lack of “ethical leadership” on lawyers’ use of non-disclosure agreements (NDA) by leading legal academic and policy adviser Richard Moorhead, who has called for greater regulation of the controversial practice because the legal profession is not willing to change on its own.

The Government Legal Service, which is offering opportunities to trainee solicitors and pupil barristers, has been promoted by Attorney General Dominic Grieve to university career advisers.

The College of Law (CoL) has been appointed as the preferred provider of the Professional Skills Course (PSC) for Accutrainee, the legal training organisation.

A survey conducted by G2 Legal has found that 28% of lawyers are ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to change their jobs in 2023.  

This is the first in a weekly series of news digests, collecting together some of the key business stories that you should keep an eye on for two important reasons.

The College of Law's Future Lawyers Network is running a series of podcasts, entitled Brief Chats, featuring "top legal professionals" and offering tips and advice on how to get ahead in the world of law.

Bar chairman Alistair MacDonald QC has said that there should be a complete ban on all fees paid by barristers to instructing solicitors to prevent attempts to disguise referral fees as administration fees.

BMA Law is a new independent law firm set up by the British Medical Association - the representative body of doctors and medical students - to provide legal advice to the health profession.

Launched at the start of September, the Law Society’s new three-year professional ethics programme and web hub have been designed to offer a “safe space” to help members to balance commitments to clients and wider society. 

The eighth annual LawWorks & Attorney General Student Awards are underway, with nominations now being accepted for those law students and law schools undertaking great pro bono work.

The chairman of the Legal Services Board, David Edmonds, has indicated that a single regulator for solicitors and barristers could be created in the not-too-distant future.

A long weekend can mean a short attention span, but stay focused - here is a handful of news stories to get you thinking about the issues that affect commercial entities (and thus clients) every day.

As recent changes to the law move to reflect wider society's growing embracement of diversity and LGBT equality, more lawyers are making LGBT rights part of their practices.

The News of the World saga continues, with an announcement that Lord Justice Leveson will conduct the hacking inquiry in the Royal Courts of Justice.

Innovative UK top 20 firm DWF has launched in the French legal services market for the first time through a merger with boutique Paris firm Heenan Paris. 

Junior barristers are set to benefit from a new online toolkit which has been specifically for them by the Bar Council’s Young Barristers’ Committee. 

The first two people to have completed the Accutrainee programme have been taken on by the firms at which they trained.