The latest episode of The LawCareers.Net Podcast, released this week, is focused on how first-year students can navigate work experience, prepare for interviews and process rejection.

City firms Ashurst, Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith Freehills, Slaughter and May, and Travers Smith have teamed up with 34 recruitment agencies to launch the ‘Recruitment Agency Race Fairness Commitment’ in an effort to improve racial diversity in the legal profession.

Dentons has set a 20% partner diversity target for its UK, Ireland and Middle East partnership in response to the Black Lives Matter protests.

Statistics in a recently published annual report show that The College of Law’s Pathways to Law scheme has actively helped young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to gain places at leading universities.

The College of Law, in collaboration with the City Solicitors’ Educational Trust, hosted a forum to investigate the best ways of promoting social mobility in the legal sector on 28 September.

The pay war between law firms continues this month, with newly qualified lawyer salaries at Ropes & Gray increasing to £147,000, plus bonuses.

Magic circle firm Slaughter and May has revealed that its trainees will be permitted to work from home one day a week, meaning 80% of their time will be spent in the office and 20% will be remote working.

The InterLaw Diversity Forum’s flagship early careers event is back! On Friday 9 December 100 aspiring lawyers from diverse, socially mobile, and underrepresented groups will be welcomed for a day of inspiring panel discussions and practical workshops. 

The outstanding achievements of professionals across the legal sector have been celebrated by the Law Society.

Twelve international City law firms have signed up to help develop a new ‘one-stop shop’ providing artificial intelligence (AI) software to lawyers.

In March, magic circle firm Clifford Chance increased its maintenance grant for the Legal Practice Course (LPC) by 25% to £12,500 to match the funding being offered to its Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) trainees. 

A group of six City law firms have partnered with BPP University Law School to develop a new course that will prepare future trainees for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE).

Legal education provider and overall sponsor of the LawCareers.Net Student Law Society Awards BARBRI, has announced a partnership with The SQuarE Route to launch a qualifying work experience  (QWE) initiative for aspiring solicitors. 

Several law firms, including Clifford Chance and Macfarlanes LLP, have launched a leadership-led, cross-firm collective developed to improve the representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups in the UK legal profession. 

The Black Solicitors Network has identified Shoosmiths as the country's most diverse law firm in its 2011 Diversity League Table.

Freshfields wishes to distance itself from its ‘magic circle’ tag, the firm’s global managing partner has said. 

Leading law firm Shoosmiths has imposed a £200 levy for lawyers who choose to travel by plane for work.  

US law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP a has introduced a ‘salary sacrifice’ scheme to attract talented junior lawyers, which will enable lawyers at the firm to drive away in an electric vehicle.

Over 10 firms have now confirmed how many of their Spring 2015 qualifying cohort will be retained.