Having reported profit drops, staff at international UK-based law firm Simmons & Simmons were asked in early June to cut their pay by 20% and transition to a 4-day week for up to six months. This follows other measures taken by the firm to withstand the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
Due to the impact of COVID-19, DLA Piper is attempting to stagger their 2020 intake by offering various deferral grants for new trainees.
The Bar Council’s award-winning social mobility campaign, “I am the Bar” is going into its third round.
A new study has suggested that London firms have been turfing out their “dirty work” to their cheaper, regional offices while charging clients London prices.
BPP University Law School has announced the trial of a number of mental health focused initiatives. Mindfulness and meditation classes will be rolled out for students preparing to enter the legal profession. These measures are in response to the ever- growing number of law students and lawyers suffering from mental health related illness.
Potentially high failure rates of up to 50% for the new Solicitor’s Qualifying Exam (SQE) could result in reputational damage for law firms unable to fill their trainee quotas, as well as reduced diversity in their trainee intake.
US-headquartered firm Reed Smith has announced the creation of a new “innovation seat” for two trainees as part of its training contract scheme in its London office.
In May 2019, global law firm Ashurst expanded its Ashurst Advance scheme, the firm’s “NewLaw” operations division, as it launched Ashurst Digital Ventures (ADV).
Herbert Smith Freehills has partnered with Autism Forward to launch a new programme to recruit autistic individuals.
Big Four firm Deloitte, has launched a new training contract programme that has been designed for the upcoming Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), making Deloitte one of the earliest adopters of the new SQE.