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We also have a survival guide for vacation schemers, a focus on corporate, blog posts on an internship in Uganda and the Exeter law fair, a profile of BPTC graduate Nicola Downey, and an Ask Lawyer2B from someone worried about their academics.

In news, Clifford Chance has confirmed that it will be cutting its trainee intake for 2015 from up to 120 to a maximum of 100, while the directors of the School of Law at the University of Nottingham have asked law firms to give further consideration to vacation scheme and training contract “applicants from the University of Nottingham even where their grades do not meet the upper second class threshold”.

You can see the latest edition here.

P.S Lawyer 2B’s first-ever webcast, powered by the College of Law, will be taking place on 12 December. Editor Christian Metcalfe will be chairing the panel discussing the importance of international law for future top lawyers and you can send your questions in to be answered. All you need to do is register beforehand.

Knowing me, knowing you

Vacation schemes are not only a great way to sample life in a law firm, they can be a two-week interview for a training contract. Lawyer 2B canvased the opinions of both recent and not-so-recent vacation schemers and a careers expert to gauge the importance of vacation schemes and find out what to do and what not to do if you are lucky enough to find yourself on one.

Anatomy of a deal: Tracking the negotiations

The £4.5bn deal between the DfT and Agility Trains allowed DLA Piper trainees to get involved at all levels - get the inside track on the biggest infrastructure deal of the year.

Survival Guide - Vacation schemes

Vacation schemes are not only a great way to sample life in a law firm - they can be a two-week interview for a training contract.

Blogs

Jennifer Jenkins, Manchester University law graduate and training contract hopeful, spent two months as an intern for the African Prisons Project in Uganda while second year law student Charlotte Beer helped calm the storms engulfing Exeter law fair last month.

Practice Area focus - Corporate

Mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and initial public offerings can make for long hours, but if you dream of getting your name in the Financial Times it may be good to start here.

60-second interview

Pupillage hopeful Nicola Downey advises BPTC students to treat the course like a full time job.

lawbore‏@lawbore
Fancy an internship at the UN? Read about Merrow’s experience in NYC:http://ow.ly/fCs0L

Elizabeth Windsor ‏@Queen_UK
About three pages into the 2000 page Leveson report. Having a break for a bacon sandwich. #leveson
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Ask Lawyer2B - Are my academics good enough?

I don’t know whether to pursue a career as a solicitor or go down a different route where academics aren’t everything. I’m in the final year of my (non law) degree at the moment and am looking at applying for the GDL. I was on a good city vac scheme this summer and have good A-levels (AABB) but my uni isn’t great - it’s not Oxbridge or Russell Group, it generally hovers around 40th place in the league tables. It’s by no means terrible but it doesn’t exactly shine either. I know myself and I know I won’t be happy if I’m at a tiny regional or high street firm. Is it worth pursuing a career in law or should I go down a route where perfect academics aren’t everything? (1 response)