Apologises for ‘ill-judged’ comment A district judge has been given formal advice after making an “ill-judged” remark during a court hearing that was perceived as “racially pejorative”, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) has found. District Judge Leo Pyle, sitting…
Reddit user offers insights into workload, training and the realities of qualifying An anonymous Reddit user claiming to be a junior lawyer has shared a candid account of life as a trainee at a leading US law firm in London,…
The top legal affairs news stories from this morning and the weekend Slashing jury trials could clear courts backlog within a decade, says Lammy [The Guardian] Government accused of dragging its heels on deepfake law over Grok AI [BBC News]…
Legal pecking order A set of chambers has sparked debate on LinkedIn after appearing to suggest that barristers sit higher than solicitors in the legal food chain. In a screenshot (embedded below), purportedly taken from the unnamed set’s website and…
Could hit high street firms hardest, Law Society warns The government has set out bold plans to help fund the justice system by taking up to three-quarters of the interest earned on law firms’ client accounts, a move that has…
The Legal Cheek team discuss the delay and what this means for students — listen now Ever since its introduction in 2021, the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) has been no stranger to controversy. Originally conceived as a way to simplify…
Sartorial guidance In our latest Career Conundrum, a barrister hopeful seeks guidance on whether a pinstripe suit is appropriate attire for pupillage interviews. “Hello Legal Cheek. With another pupillage application cycle upon us, I wanted to ask whether it’s appropriate…
‘Moment of madness’ A junior solicitor has been suspended from practice for two years after deleting a paragraph from an internal handover document when he failed to follow the instructions it contained. Jack Alexander Williams, who qualified in September 2020,…
False time recordings A solicitor who supervised trainees has been struck off after claiming she worked the equivalent of 28-hour days in a bid to secure a bonus worth almost £70,000. Samina Ahmed, who qualified in 2005, was a senior…
The top legal affairs news stories from the New Year period Starmer seeks deal for lawyers in Brexit reset [The Telegraph] (£) Junior lawyers want their pound of flesh — or two pounds in a good year [Financial Times] (£)…