Christmas past, present and future

The Ghost of Christmas Past has made an appearance in the papers and legal press this week as Freshfields has been appointed to advise on HSBC’s $1.9bn money-laundering fine and government advisers have been accused of using the Leveson inquiry to threaten The Telegraph over its investigation of culture secretary Maria Miller’s expenses.

In this week’s bulletin we have a feature on funding options for those thinking of becoming legal executives and a look at Leveson’s recommendations on arbitration.

We also have a survival guide for mature students and career changers, a focus on employment law, a blog post from Perth courtesy of Norton Rose trainee Gareth Hutchings, a profile of Norton Rose’s Hannah Truman, and an Ask Lawyer2B from someone with a slightly unconventional training contract experience.

In news, Christmas may have come early for Clifford Chance trainees, after the firm decided to move NQ appointment confirmation from December to January 2013 trainees met with senior management for a crisis meeting and persuaded them to release the results for 21 December. A merry Christmas for some, but by no means all.

Meanwhile, Claire Clarke, a partner at Mills & Reeve, has told Lawyer2B that although the College of Law’s recent university status means increased diversity in higher education, regulation needs to be developed to govern standards at private providers.

p.s Lawyer2B’s first live webcast powered by the College of Law was watched by almost 100 people last night - if you are interested in “The Importance of International Law for Future Top Lawyers” you can watch it on our website from next week.

Executive Decision

Becoming a chartered legal executive means you can earn while you learn and often get all your fees paid. Lawyer2B shines the spotlight on funding options for those looking to the third route into the law.

Leveson

President of the Law Policy Centre of the King’s College London Think Tank writes for Lawyer2B.com on Leveson’s recommendations for arbitration.

Survival Guide - Vacation schemes

Our survival guide for mature students is a must-read for anybody coming late to law.

Blogs

Gareth Hutchings, trainee solicitor at Norton Rose, reports from his seat in Perth in our latest blog.

Practice Area focus

This week’s practice area focus is employment law - modern, fast-moving and challenging. Employment lawyers have experienced an enormous influx of work in the past 15 years due to changes in legislation, a large part of which is focused on family-friendly rights.

60-second interview

Norton Rose trainee Hannah Truman worked for law firms for several years before biting the bullet and pursuing a career in law.

Ask Lawyer2B - An unorthodox training contract

This week’s Ask Lawyer 2B is from a soon-to-be NQ worried that their training contract will far from guarantee them a job.