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ULaw to run bar course in Newcastle
The University of Law (ULaw) is launching its Bar Practice Course (BPC) in Newcastle, directly challenging Northumbria University, the city’s only current provider of training for barristers. ULaw has partnered with Newcastle University to deliver the nine-month course from September 2022. The pair previously joined forces to launch ULaw’s Newcastle campus in September 2021. The […]
⭐ Trainee retention 2022: Live
The latest trainee retention results from the autumn 2022 round.
Mishcon opens up international seats for trainees
Mishcon de Reya has launched an international seat for its trainee lawyers as the firm bids to make best use of its fledging Asia-Pacific presence. The international seat was set up earlier this year with the trainee, Laura Price, beginning in Singapore on 21 March for a six-month period. At present, the seat is only […]
I haven’t got pupillage (again)… now what?
Klara Slater, a new tenant at 4PB, provides some tips for tackling the pupillage application process and making the most of your first six when you get there.
DAC Beachcroft’s advocacy unit to offer pupillages
DAC Beachcroft’s in-house barrister and advocacy group, which launched just over a year ago, has decided to offer pupillages, The Lawyer can reveal. 8 DAC Beachcroft Buildings, or 8DB, will recruit two pupils under its new training programme, having been granted status as an authorised education and training organisation by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) […]
Clifford Chance hikes NQ pay to match Freshfields
Clifford Chance has increased its base pay for newly-qualified lawyers by 16 per cent. The pay increase to £125,000 will see Clifford Chance competing with the levels set by magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which bumped up NQ salaries to the same level last month. In June last year, Clifford Chance upped its NQ […]
Shoosmiths hikes NQ salaries by 16 per cent
Shoosmiths has confirmed it will increase the starting salaries for its newly-qualified lawyers in both London and the regions. The UK firm has announced it will increase salaries for newly-qualified lawyers by 16 per cent on 1 November this year. The London rate will rise from £75,000 to £87,000, while the regional rate will be […]
Growth and demand lead US pair to up trainee intakes
As demand for legal services increases, firms are upping their trainee numbers to ensure they have enough new talent rising through the ranks. At least two of The Lawyer’s US Top 50 firms are increasing their trainee numbers for the next recruitment cycle. One is Willkie Farr & Gallagher, which has decided to up its intake little […]
How I made the decision to quit my training contract
Six weeks ago, I stood in the shower, watching the water drain at my feet, wondering what it would mean if being a lawyer wasn’t for me. A training contract is so often sold as the golden ticket, and somehow four years ago, I had managed to get my hands on it. A solid, covetable […]
Shakespeare Martineau launches Scottish training contract
Shakespeare Martineau is to recruit trainees in Scotland for the first time. The firm is currently taking applications for two trainee positions in its Glasgow office, one to start later in 2022 and one in 2024. The bulk of the training contracts will be in the commercial property group. Trainees will assist in purchases, sales, […]
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It took me 17 years to get a training contract; here are 17 things I learned along the way…
My path to law started off well – I completed my LLB at SOAS University and the LPC at the College of Law. I started applying for training contracts during my second year of university. After the LPC, I worked in law firms local to me securing three years of experience, with three promises of […]
Clifford Chance becomes final magic circle firm to publish spring retention
Clifford Chance has posted its trainee retention figures for spring 2022, the last of the magic circle to do so. With 46 trainees reaching the end of their final seat, 41 applied for jobs and the firm made offers to 34 of them. In the end 32 accepted newly-qualified roles at the firm, giving Clifford […]
Bird & Bird extends working from home to students
Bird & Bird is planning to significantly expand the range of its agile working policies by formalising mandatory remote days for its summer vacation scheme students. The move is an indication of the extent to which the firm believes agile working is now a permanent part of business life. It also indicates the belief among […]
The Lawyer Career Clinic Live: Keep your career alive while WFH
TL career clinic March 2021 from The Lawyer on Vimeo.
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The JLD blog: the work experience dilemma
We’ve all been there. You finish university, perhaps your LPC too, only to find that you cannot get any work experience (voluntary or paid) because you don’t have any experience. It’s a vicious circle which can be hard to break out from. In 2016, the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) worked with the Law Society to […]
Linklaters to compensate virtual vac schemers with bonus week’s pay
Linklaters has revealed its plans for vacation schemes this year, and will run three online events each lasting a fortnight, instead of its usual month-long face-to-face ones. To compensate students for the loss of the in-person experience and the extra two weeks’ income, the magic circle firm will pay as if the scheme was three […]
The JLD blog: Top tips for vacation scheme and training contract applications
Applying for training contracts and vacation schemes can be a daunting process for any student or graduate. With so many firms out there and lots of information to digest, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Here are some tips to help you with your applications. Do your research Research is paramount when […]
Fieldfisher rethinks A Level requirements after launch of screening tool
Fieldfisher is looking to move away from considering A Level results as part of its recruitment assessment, mirroring similar decisions happening in other firms. The move comes as the firm introduced last year a new situational judgement assessment with Capp, a psychometric testing services consultancy aimed at measuring behaviour and attitudes in relation to work-related […]
Data-smart recruiters aren’t looking at your A Levels anyway
Never mind the headlines. Graduate recruiters at some of the top law firms have been cooling for a while on the importance of applicants having top A Level grades. In fact, if you were to look at the recent trainee intake of an example firm, broken down by top three A Level grades achieved, you’d […]
The A Levels fiasco exposes a myth of meritocracy and the limits of data for law firms
As students’ stomachs went into freefall last week, life decisions were being made on the hoof, writes editor Catrin Griffiths.
“Academic performance is not an accurate predictor”: Ashurst drops A Level requirements for training contract applications
Ashurst will no longer use A Level results as part of its recruitment process, with the firm reassuring this year’s students that their grades will not disadvantage them if they apply for a training contract. Ashurst’s announcement follows the unfolding A Level debacle which saw students protest the controversial algorithm that saw many of their […]
A Level grades: what do law firms ask for?
As A Level chaos broke out across the UK last week, DWF made the decision to stop asking for specific A level grades from training contract applicants. The decision has been made to attract talent that might otherwise have been put off by the firm’s grade requirements. Firms’ attitudes to A Level grades vary considerably. Some set exacting […]
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Webcast: The future of law
Powered by Lexis Nexis, and featuring experts from the University of Law and Bird & Bird, this webcast explores the future of the legal profession. It looks at the developments currently taking place in the legal market, what those changes will mean for the future, and how students can develop the skills that will […]
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Webcast: Social mobility in the legal profession
Is there still a social mobility problem in the UK legal profession? How can applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds get ahead? And what effect will the forthcoming to legal education and training have? Experts voice their opinion in our webcast
Webcast: How to be the ideal trainee
In this webcast, our expert panel discusses burning trainee concerns, such as: how to go about choosing your area of law, what support to expect from your law firm developing your business and commerce sense should you take a year out after an LPC? how not to feel intimidated by the unfamiliar work environment The panel […]
Webcast: How to make yourself employable
Powered by Lexis Nexis, and featuring experts from the University of Law and Herbert Smith Freehills, this webcast will help candidates make themselves employable in the eyes of law firms and barristers’ chambers, and land that first job in law. The content covers how to build a CV that can’t be ignored, personal presentation and […]
The Gibson Dunn QC who helped rescue Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from Iran
When Gibson Dunn & Crutcher’s Penny Madden QC met with government officials late last year to discuss then Iran captive Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, she detected an unfamiliar sense of optimism. “It felt like there was some scope for optimism but that it was very measured. And because there were so many false starts in the past, […]
Election 2017: Meet the barrister standing for the Women’s Equality Party
Harini Iyengar is a barrister at 11KWB, specialising in employment, discrimination and equality, education, partnership, data protection and procurement law. She is the Women’s Equality Party’s candidate for Vauxhall in the upcoming general election.
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“I was the first in my family to go to uni – now I’m Secret Escapes’ top lawyer”
Christine Cordon has had a varied and unusual career. The first in her family to go to uni, she didn’t do a training contract but was an associate at Ashurst and has worked in America and in-house at the big banks. Now she’s the top lawyer at the holiday start-up Secret Escapes.