Snow in March, International Women’s Day and new government legislation, it’s another week for the history books! 

To secure a training contract or pupillage, you must demonstrate evidence of several key skills and attributes that are essential throughout your legal career.Use the list below as a checklist and ensure you cover all of these in your applications.

I have secured a training contract with a major commercial law firm which I'm due to start this September. Is it normal to have been successful in getting such a job, showing aptitude and the necessary skills only to feel completely unqualified?

Are you up to date? Elon Musk’s plans to make Twitter private have taken the world by storm this week – but what’s the latest news relating to this deal? 

Digital technologies pervade every aspect of our lives. From social media to critical government infrastructure, cybersecurity is of increasingly great concern for individuals, corporations and nations. Cybersecurity threats are complex and adaptive, requiring a holistic approach to understand, mitigate and remediate.

This week has been filled with fraud, arrests and women’s rights so sit tight as we take you through our pick of the top commercial stories, and use the Wrestle with PESTLE method to help you break down the news. 

Can we write a PESTLE analysis on (arguably?) the world’s biggest popstar? We’re going to give it a go. Are you ‘…Ready For It?’

On 1 and 2 November 2023, world and market leaders gathered in the historic Bletchley Park, home of the code-breaking heroes of the Second World War, to discuss a new existential threat.

This week's commercial news round-up brings you top stories from government scandal to legislative change; make sure you’re applying the wrestle with PESTLE technique to each of these stories.

Commercial awareness is one of the key skills that law firms look for in future trainees so taking the time to build yours is essential to becoming a lawyer.

Hinkley Point C is the first nuclear reactor development in the UK since 1995. The site, which is being built in Somerset, forms part of the government’s plans to reach net-zero targets, with the aim to generate enough safe, reliable and low-carbon energy to power six million homes.

LawCareers.Net is a comprehensive, one-stop, authoritative online resource for you – our future lawyers – and those who recruit you.

Four-day working weeks, football wages, and blue ticks on Instagram and Facebook are among some of the stories we’ve picked out for you in this week’s commercial news round-up. Have a read of our summaries and take a look at our ‘Wrestle with PESTLE’ series for advice and case studies on how you can apply the PESTLE technique to your commercial news analysis. 

Commercial awareness is a key skill that all law firms look for in their applicants. Understanding what commercial awareness is and how you can demonstrate yours is fundamental to your success.

In 2005 the New Oxford American Dictionary chose the word ‘podcast’ as its word of the year. Clearly enough people had begun creating, listening to and sharing audio content in this format for the word ‘podcast’ to secure this accolade. Nearly 20 years later and, for many, podcasts are a daily part of our lives, with topics ranging from true crime and comedy to influencers and celebrities simply sitting in front of microphones and chatting.

The Paris Climate Accords, also known as the Paris Agreement, were signed in 2015 by 195 countries and all but three have since ratified it. The agreement's goal is to limit the rise in mean global temperature to "well-below" 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5°C in order to reduce the effects of climate change.

ChatGPT has transformed the way we work and communicate, garnering widespread acclaim and sparking conversations about the potential implications of AI tools for businesses. The adoption of ChatGPT has continued to grow, setting the record for the fastest-growing user base. Just two months after its launch, it reached 100 million monthly active users.

The UK has a housing problem, but in an exciting attempt to aid aspiring first-time buyers in securing their place on the property ladder, Skipton Building Society announced the UK’s first 100% mortgage since the 2008 financial crash.

Twitter, the platform that’s been synonymous with microblogging and real-time updates, has undergone a radical transformation under Elon Musk’s leadership which purchased Twitter in October 2022. The iconic bird logo has been replaced with a new ‘X’ logo to align with Musk’s vision of creating a comprehensive “everything app” with more than just text-based updates.

This LCN Says is part of LawCareers.Net’s new ‘Wrestle with PESTLE (WWP)’ series, which will look at various business case studies using the PESTLE technique.