The most recent Queen’s Counsel appointments have been announced by the independent selection panel, as it confirms the strongest promotion round for three years.

Specialising in all aspects of family law relating to children, The Modern Family Law Company has been launched by solicitors Melissa Kelly and Deborah Baxter to cater for the “modern family”.

The government has announced a 5% budget increase for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and an extra £80 million for the Crown Prosecution Service, but lawyers see the increases as nowhere near sufficient to deal with problems in the justice system.

Barking and Dagenham Council has become the first council to take on solicitor apprentices in-house.

Applications for H M Hubbard International Law Scholarship awards ranging up to £28,000 are now open to postgraduate law students wanting to study in Canada, France or Spain over the 2019-20 academic year.

The King approved the appointment of 94 barristers and one solicitor as new King’s Counsel (KC) on Monday.

The University of Law (ULaw) and international law firm Taylor Wessing have revealed an exclusive partnership, which will see ULaw deliver its postgraduate courses with the firm.

Legal Aid Minister Shailesh Vara has told the All Party Parliamentary Group on Legal and Constitutional Affairs that the planned £220 million legal aid cuts will not reduce the quality of lawyers operating in the field.

Magic circle giant Linklaters is to offer its lawyers the opportunity to work fewer hours for a lower salary – but the scheme remains a pilot in four of the firm’s German offices for now. 

The Law Society’s annual Diversity Access Scheme is about to open for submissions, this year including 10 awards offering financial assistance and mentoring, plus one new award for a law centre worker that guarantees a training contract.

The University of Law (ULaw) has partnered with Newcastle University to offer students specialised postgraduate training courses at the leading Russell Group institution’s Law School.

Bridging the Bar’s (BTB) 2024/25 Academy is set to begin in September, with the aim of increasing diversity at the Bar by preparing 100 aspiring barristers from non-traditional backgrounds for pupillage applications.

The College of Legal Practice and the University of Winchester have joined forces to offer an innovative new master’s in law that’ll include preparation for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam assessments and a direct pathway into the legal profession. 

The disparity between law conversion and Legal Practice Course and law pass rates at different law schools has become even more extreme, according to a report by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The University of Law’s Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) Law Essentials Course – the precursor to the SQE preparatory course for non-law graduates – welcomed its first cohort of students on Monday.

The legal profession’s use of the ‘BAME’ label to group Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic lawyers has been criticised by chair of the Bar Council, Derek Sweeting QC.

Thousands of lawyers are set to take part in this year’s London Legal Walk to fundraise for community legal advice services.

The chair of the Criminal Bar Association has warned that “very vulnerable people who have to go through the system are being let down” by a criminal justice system that penalises the innocent more than the guilty, with the crisis further intensified by the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT), which all aspiring barristers must pass to gain a place on the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC), is to have its pass mark raised to exclude students who would be unlikely to pass the course or secure pupillage.

Two UK firms have announced they are getting behind the growing apprenticeship movement, recruiting apprentices to join their firms in September 2016.