The recruitment of lawyers has reached its highest level since before the covid-19 pandemic forced the country into lockdown, according to new labour market data for England and Wales.

City firms have revealed plans to reduce office space, as lawyers forecast remote working to become the new norm.

The University of Law has teamed up with The Sunday Times and 15 leading law firms to offer the chance to win one of 12 £6,000 LLB scholarships and over 20 work experience placements.

Visualisation software StructureFlow, a tech start-up created by previous magic circle lawyer Tim Follet, has received a £3 million investment boost.

Despite reports that the government has postponed gender pay gap reporting for 2019/20 due to the coronavirus outbreak, UK firm Irwin Mitchell shared its recent data which shows that its gender pay gap has shrunk.

DWF has been named one of The Times Top 50 Employers For Women for the second consecutive year.

The LawWorks Annual Pro Bono Awards has once again recognised the outstanding contributions made by the firms and individuals who give their time and expertise for free to help others who cannot afford to pay for legal services.

City firm HFW has announced a new gender equality strategy, vowing that at least 40% of senior lateral hires over the next three years will go to women, after missing its 2020 gender targets.

Bright Network has released its research paper, "What do the brightest graduates want?", which among other conclusions reveals that law is in the top three sector preferences among its members, with female members placing it at number one.

A group of City law firms have launched an initiative to give opportunities to less-privileged students and shake off their elitist reputation.

A number of City firms have revealed new ethnicity targets in response to the global Black Lives Matter protests.

Due to concerns of a potential coronavirus outbreak, around 1,100 staff at the London office of City firm Baker McKenzie were asked to work from home on Friday 28 February.

International firm Kingsley Napley has adopted the Halo Code – which “explicitly protects employees who come to work with natural hair and protective hairstyles associated with their racial, ethnic, and cultural identities” – and has formally incorporated the code into its dress and appearance policy.

Two more leading law firms have announced partnerships with Vantage, the online portal that matches diverse candidates with opportunities at top legal employers.

Law firms need to introduce quotas to make the representation of women at partner and management level more equal after “years of talking” about diversity have failed to effect real change, the founder of The First 100 Years project has said.

The British Inter-University Commercial Awareness Competition (BIUCAC) is running for the third time this year, sponsored by over 20 City law firms.

Candidates from working class backgrounds are being locked out of the legal profession, says Alan Milburn, chair of the Social Mobility Foundation and a former cabinet minister.

A number of City law firms have collaborated to create a legal operations graduate scheme, which includes a four-week course and workshops. 

Law firms make up almost a third of the organisations which feature in what is believed to be the first ever social mobility index, which was unveiled by the government today (21 June).