The number of freelance solicitors has doubled over the past three years, from around 300 in 2021 to 650 at the beginning of 2024, according to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). However, freelance solicitors still make up less than 1% of practising solicitors.

Last week’s NationalLawLIVE conference confirmed once again that the ability to deliver commercial legal advice to clients is essential – we heard from a panel of partners about its centrality to their practices, from recruiters about how to demonstrate it, and a myriad of workshop topics that delved into its role in today’s law firms. We expect that this message will be affirmed once again at CityLawLIVE tomorrow. As a way to start developing your commerciality, read on for this week’s selection of top business news.

The Next 100 Years project has launched a new film series, supported by full-service law firm Irwin Mitchell LLP.

MPs have called for employment tribunal fees to be “substantially” reduced after it was found that such fees have badly reduced the public’s access to justice since they were introduced. 

Nominations are now open for the LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards, which celebrate the significant contribution of law students and law schools to vital pro bono legal advice.

The winners of the 2023 National Accident Helpline’s Future Legal Mind competition have been revealed, with Emily Eastburn-Pentreath taking the title for the postgraduate category and Stephanie Anais becoming the latest undergraduate winner. 

The government plans to build 14 new Nightingale courts to tackle outstanding court cases caused by the pandemic, according to a statement from Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland.

Leading law firm Shakespeare Martineau LLP has announced its merger with GL Law which will see the firm broaden its geographical footprint into Bristol and the Southwest.

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.

With the summer holidays in full swing for university students, and just beginning for those younger would-be lawyers, now is the perfect time to consider how to spend some time building the foundations for your future career. Alongside all your staycations, of course!

Injury law experts National Accident Helpline has reopened its annual law competition, Future Legal Mind, for the ninth consecutive year. The competition, open to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, is one of the leading law essay competitions in the UK.

Mass surveillance of the public by the government’s intelligence agency, GCHQ, was illegal under European law, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled in what rights and transparency campaigners have hailed as an important victory for privacy and freedom.