Aspiring lawyer Jack O’Sullivan was last seen 18 months ago

An anonymous donor has put forward a £100,000 reward for information about the whereabouts of missing 22-year-old aspiring lawyer Jack O’Sullivan.

Jack, who studied history at the University of Exeter and was in the process of completing his law conversion course at BPP University, disappeared in the early hours of 2 March 2024 after leaving a house party in Bristol’s Hotwells area.

The last confirmed sighting was at 3:13am, when CCTV captured him walking across a grassy area near Brunel Lock Way. Police believe a further “likely” sighting followed at 3:38am on Bennett Way slip road near Cumberland Basin, but since then his trail has gone cold.

His mother, Catherine O’Sullivan, admitted she initially questioned whether the reward was genuine. “Once we established that it was real, we were overcome by the generosity… it was a lot to take in,” she told BBC News. “If it does help us get some answers or find out where Jack is, we will be eternally grateful.”

Jack’s brother Ben added: “We’re in a position where we’ll take any help we can get… any chance of being able to get the answers we require, we’ll take.”

Despite extensive searches — including more than 200 hours of diving in the river, over 100 hours of CCTV footage reviewed, and over 40 hours of land searches — the family remain without answers.

The case has attracted major public attention. The ‘Find Jack’ Facebook group now has nearly 100,000 members, while posters and digital billboards across Bristol continue to appeal for information.

But the family have also faced distressing challenges. Since his disappearance, they have received abusive and threatening messages from strangers — some falsely claiming to be holding Jack and demanding a ransom. “We get all sorts of peculiar messages and nasty information… it is incredibly hard to deal with,” Catherine said.

Avon and Somerset Police launched an “extensive” investigation the day Jack went missing, involving more than 30 specialist teams. The force has since referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct following a formal complaint by the family, and has now commissioned a senior investigator to conduct a further review.

Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall said the force “appreciates the anguish this is having on his family” and “remains committed to doing everything it can to find Jack”.

Jack’s mother remains determined. “It still dominates my thoughts, that’s why we’re so eager to get some answers and get Jack home. Living with hope is something that I still take as a positive, and that hope won’t diminish,” she said. “It’s like being on the worst roller coaster ride of your life… you’ve got constant anxiety but without an explanation for it, that’s the hardest thing to deal with.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact Avon and Somerset Police, the Missing People charity, or the family’s dedicated webpage.

Advice from a future Magic Circle trainee

1 September marked the start of the 2026 trainee recruitment cycle. Future Magic Circle trainee and Legal Cheek writer Ryan Scott shares his top tips for securing a coveted training contract this application season.

1. Meet as many firms as possible

That dreaded application form staple — “why this firm?” — is often the first and hardest hurdle for future trainees to cross. From the outside, City firms can look very similar: international presence, ‘dynamic’ work, Band 1 rankings… basically, a load of corporate waffle.

Meeting firms directly, however, gave me a much clearer picture — not just of their practice areas and sector strengths, but of their culture, their people, and whether I could actually see myself fitting in.

Open Days run throughout September to December (and many firms reimburse travel!). You can tour offices, chat to trainees and partners, and pick up tips for the application process.

Legal Cheek also runs its Virtual Law Fairs and firm-specific events throughout the application season. I attended last year while doing my applications, and skipping through the different firms’ booths felt a bit like speed-dating: some I clicked with straight away, others I knew weren’t a match, and a few surprised me completely — ones I’d never even considered until I met them.

To keep this long-winded metaphor going, it’s also where I met the ‘one’ for the first time — my future firm.

2. Figure out what matters most to you

Be honest about your priorities. A fat salary? A plush office on Bishopsgate? Free weekends?

For me, it was Band 1 rankings across the board — that way, I could explore a variety of seats, confident I’d be working on top-quality matters while learning from the best. A large trainee cohort and strong international presence mattered too. This might make some feel like just another cog in the machine, but I saw it as a chance to connect and collaborate with colleagues across the globe.

Others might prefer the smaller cohorts on offer at some boutique or US firms, where trainees take on much greater responsibility from day one and face a steeper learning curve.

A great starting point is The Legal Cheek Firms Most List (and I don’t just say that because I work here now), which lays out the number of trainees, salary, working hours, international presence, secondment opportunities, and more.

3. Create a shortlist of firms

Once you know your priorities, narrow your focus to around 10-15 firms — and dive deep. Clifford Chance alone received 5,804 applications in 2022. I’d hazard a guess that the other Magic Circle firms were broadly similar, putting the total combined applications for the quintet in the tens of thousands each year.

A scattergun approach to applications — sending generic applications to dozens of firms in the hope that one sticks — rarely works. By creating a shortlist, you can dedicate more time to research, tailor each application properly, and keep deadlines manageable.

Last year, I whittled my list down to 12 firms that aligned with my priorities, and that excelled in the practice areas and sectors I was interested in (more on this later).

4. Track deadlines

Plan ahead. Application season moves fast, and December will sneak up before you know it.

I was working full-time as a paralegal while applying, balancing the 9–5 office job with the 5–9 application grind — and sacrificing my annual leave to travel down to London for Open Days. Focusing on only 12 firms made this (slightly) more manageable.

Record each firm’s deadlines for vacation schemes and training contracts — Legal Cheek’s Key Deadlines Calendar is great for this. And check if deadlines are rolling: Slaughter and May, for example, reviews applications as they come in, so early submission is key. An 11:59pm submission on deadline day probably won’t cut it.

5. Go beyond the surface

The Legal Cheek Firms Most List is a brilliant starting point, but don’t stop there. Dig into firm websites, Chambers and Legal 500 rankings, reports, podcasts, newsletters, articles, even LinkedIn posts.

Focus on what genuinely interests you — it makes your application read far more authentically. In my case, that was the net-zero transition. I went to webinars and combed through firm websites to find specific deals I could namedrop in applications and interviews.

Handily, Legal 500 even provides “work highlights” for each practice area, showcasing the matters that firms are particularly chuffed with.

6. Reach out to current trainees

Messaging trainees on LinkedIn feels a bit like cold-calling — but in my experience, it’s nothing to stress about.

Every trainee I’ve reached out to has been extremely generous with their time. And remember: most are only a couple years older than you and can vividly recall the trials and tribulations of application season.

But be respectful of their time. Generic and open-ended questions like “Tips for a TC?” rarely get replies. Do your homework — maybe a bit of LinkedIn stalking — then ask about the seat they’re in or what they enjoy most about it. Show you’ve thought about your question, and you’ll get a far better answer.

7. Organise your research

All that research is useless if it’s saved in some random folder on your computer that you’ll never find again. Find a system that works for you to collate and organise it. Mine was a giant Excel spreadsheet (aptly named “Firm Megatable”).

Firm names ran across the top row, and areas of research down the first column — practice area specialisms, key sectors, legal tech, big-name clients, training contract structure, secondments, pro bono, diversity initiatives, recent mandates, and so on.

The beauty of the Megatable was being able to compare firms easily. You can see at a glance in which areas Firm A is stronger than Firm B — which then feeds straight into tailored answers.

Whether you like Word, Pages, or a notebook with pretty highlighters, the key is to have one system and update it consistently.

8. Tailor your applications: why, why, why

One of the biggest mistakes I see is failing to answer the “Why?”.

“I attended a webinar on the firm’s net-zero work.” Great — and? What did you learn? Why does that motivate you to apply here? Did it spark further research, or interest in a specific deal or report? Go deeper, and show some genuine engagement. It’s all about linking your experiences to your motivations.

If you reference a deal, don’t just say “I found this interesting.” Explain why — the regulatory complexity, the cross-border elements, the financing structure — and then link it back to the firm’s strengths and your reasons for applying.

9. Don’t be afraid to stand out

Early Talent teams sift through thousands of applications each cycle. The last thing they want to see is the same copy-pasted, ChatGPT-ified paragraphs on a loop. Authenticity is an asset.

Non-legal experiences can be extremely compelling. While some candidates may have completed every vac scheme in the City, balancing part-time work for years alongside your studies can demonstrate more dedication and resilience than a brief two-week stint at a firm.

It’s all about drawing connections between your experiences (legal or not) and the skills needed as a trainee.

In a recent interview I did with future trainee Layla Qazi, she drew on “unorthodox” experiences — including building a university roller-skating society from the ground up — to evidence her leadership, collaboration and initiative. She went on to secure a training contract at Taylor Wessing.

10. Build your commercial awareness

“Commercial awareness” — the buzzword that sends chills down fledgling lawyers’ spines. It isn’t a single skill; it’s a habit of noticing how organisations make decisions, how firms make money, and how headlines affect clients. You won’t become the next Alan Sugar after one binge of the FT; commercial awareness builds up gradually. As the saying goes, it’s a marathon, not a sprint — so start early, not the night before applications.

My top resources:

• Books: All You Need to Know About the City by Christopher Stoakes makes complex economic and business concepts accessible and easy to understand.

• Newsletters: LittleLaw and Legal Cheek Weekly Round-Up are both free. Watson’s Daily (paid) breaks down headlines into ‘what this means for industry X’ — the exact skill you need to build for interviews and case studies.

• Podcasts: FT Daily Briefing and Legal Cheek Podcast during my morning commutes.

• News: CityAM (free), and the FT (if your university provides access because £39/month is steep).

Closing note…

Everyone’s journey is different, and comparison is the thief of joy. Don’t try to mould yourself into what you think a corporate lawyer should look like — be yourself and focus on what matters to you. Research thoroughly and craft applications that genuinely reflect your interests and personality.

Legal Cheek Careers speaks with Clyde & Co’s Tom Bedford about his work in professional negligence and regulatory defence, and what it’s like to represent solicitors accused of wrongdoing

Tom Bedford, a specialist in professional negligence and regulatory defence at Clyde & Co, began his career as a junior lawyer acting for banks in negligence claims against solicitors and surveyors. After a couple of years, however, he “fancied switching sides.” “I didn’t love the idea of suing my own profession,” he laughs. He moved into defence work, representing solicitors facing claims and regulatory investigations — a decision that has shaped his career for more than a decade.

Bedford’s path into this area of the law was not one he originally planned. As a law student, he considered becoming a family lawyer but quickly realised that line of work wasn’t for him. “I don’t think this is for me,” he recalls thinking, after finding the area “very emotionally challenging”. However, he knew he wanted a “people-focused” career in law. During his training contract at Eversheds, he gained experience across a range of practice areas, but by the time he qualified in 2009, Bedford had discovered a passion for litigation. “I liked the idea of representing other people’s interests,” he says, noting that every case carried a compelling human story behind it.

When Bedford qualified during the financial crisis, he was faced with a choice between employment law and professional negligence. He opted for the latter and hasn’t looked back. “I thought the work was very varied and interesting — there are so many different things that can go wrong,” he says of what drew him to professional indemnity work. Defending lawyers also meant working with legally savvy clients. “You’re reporting to people who get it,” he explains, pointing out that his clients — often fellow solicitors or their insurers — understand the legal process, allowing for “a really nice, sensible conversation” instead of lengthy explanations. He enjoyed feeling part of a close-knit sector — being “part of a club” within the wider legal world.

Bedford’s practice today spans both defending negligence claims and representing lawyers in disciplinary proceedings. “My job is nice because it’s quite varied,” he tells me, describing how he divides his time between fighting cases and broader responsibilities like client training, mentoring junior lawyers and even helping with the management of the firm. “I love the variety that I have now in my job,” he adds.

After more than a decade at his previous firm, Bedford joined Clyde & Co 14 months ago as partner in the firm’s Bristol office. “No firm can offer globally what Clyde & Co can offer on solicitors’ liability. Clydes essentially wrote the book on this area!” he says of the insurance law giant’s appeal. Another big draw was the firm’s entrepreneurial culture. “If you want to do something, it can be done. No one’s going to stop you unless it’s something really mad,” Bedford laughs. With its strong reputation and high standards, the firm has given him an ideal platform to further grow his practice.

I ask Bedford what qualities make a good lawyer in his specialist area. Unsurprisingly, he emphasises the importance of empathy and strong communication. Professional negligence and regulatory cases can be intensely personal for the clients involved. “Particularly in the regulatory aspect of my practice, I’m acting for individuals who may be facing career-damaging sanctions,” he explains. “People think solicitors are tough cookies but for anybody these are extremely stressful situations to deal with.” Bedford sees his role as not only handling the legal complexities but also supporting his clients through the ordeal. “You should be providing pastoral support because you want to put your clients in the best possible position to defend themselves,” he says. “On a human level, no matter what someone’s done, they’re entitled to be represented, and they deserve that support.”

Equally, building trust is crucial. “It’s never left me that it’s such a huge privilege to be asked to advise people about something that is really important to them – their business or their career,” Bedford reflects. Earning that privilege means fostering strong relationships. He finds common ground with clients and reassures them through clear, frank communication. “You want people, if they have that problem again, to come back to you,” he says, adding that being approachable and honest is key to encouraging that loyalty.

Having solicitors as clients puts Bedford in a somewhat unusual position – one with distinct advantages and a few challenges. “Solicitors make great clients because they understand the job I’m doing and I understand theirs,” he notes. However, the flip side is that a legally trained client will quickly spot any lack of expertise. “You have to know what you’re talking about, because if you don’t you’ll quickly be found out,” Bedford cautions. He advises junior lawyers never to bluff. If he doesn’t know something, he’ll readily admit it and go find the answer. “Saying ‘I don’t know, but I’ll go away and look at it’ is definitely the best course of action to build trust with clients,” he says. Another test for young lawyers in this field can be managing ego. Without independent experts to call upon in solicitor negligence cases, it often falls to Bedford and his colleagues to tell a fellow lawyer — sometimes one far more senior — that they’ve made a mistake. “When you’re junior and you’re saying to somebody much older than you, ‘Actually I think you’ve made a mistake,’ it can be quite difficult,” he admits. “But there are ways to do it.” The key, he stresses, is to “lean on those same communication and relationship skills to navigate the situation.”

He has also noticed the profession itself being held to higher account. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has sharpened its focus on lawyers’ personal conduct outside work, he says, which is leading to more disciplinary cases from off-duty missteps. Bedford reminds juniors that solicitors hold a “special position in society” — “it’s not just any kind of commercial job,” as he points out — and predicts such scrutiny will only increase. “I think we will see more and more of that,” he adds.

As our conversation draws to a close, I ask Bedford for one final piece of careers advice for those starting out. “Be yourself,” is his response. He acknowledges that the hunt for training contracts and junior roles is “hugely competitive”, so it’s natural to want to put your best foot forward — but he insists that authenticity is paramount. “Some people will love you and some people won’t,” Bedford says. “If you’re completely yourself and you’re not successful [with an application], then probably you wouldn’t be happy there — you’re not the right fit.” And if you do find a place that appreciates the real you? “If you go in authentically and the firm likes you, I think it’s a recipe for success — and for happiness,” he finishes.

Tom Bedford will appear on the panel at ‘Ethics and the law – with Clyde & Co’, a virtual student event taking place TOMORROW (Tuesday 9 September). Apply now to attend.

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ULaw SQE student Layla Qazi on her journey from history graduate and tax consultant to future trainee

Future Taylor Wessing trainee Layla Qazi didn’t set out to be a lawyer from day one. She read history because she loved the subject and liked the flexibility of converting later, and she always had law in mind.

“I was so happy to get in,” she says of studying history at Oxford, adding that the subject isn’t “so divorced from law that it’s not really a difficult adjustment.” But as a non-law undergrad, she quickly realised the profession doesn’t necessarily come to you. “As a non-law student, you have to go out and seek things a lot more,” she says. She missed out on first-year insight schemes, simply unaware of them as a history student. The silver lining? “There are so many different entry points now and it’s great if you do a first-year insight scheme, but it’s not necessary to get a training contract.”

In her second year and beyond, she became a fixture at law fairs and networking events. “I don’t even think I could count how many I went to. I went to so, so many,” she laughs. Fairs can feel like speed networking, but even a few minutes with a couple of trainees gives you something real to reference later — and sometimes you discover a firm you’d never thought about.

Off the back of that she joined the university’s commercial law society and moved from attendee to organiser, sitting on the sponsorships committee and emailing graduate recruitment, setting up panels and chatting to trainees. Seeing “the other side of it” made those application form staples much easier. The dreaded “why this firm?” stops being so difficult when you’ve spoken on a more personal level with the firm about team sizes, the support trainees get and which seats are on offer.

Qazi stresses that there’s no single trick to success but focusing on what genuinely interested her and being honest about the fit really helped. She knew early on that the sectors drawing her in were tech and life sciences. That guided her research and helped her craft a consistent story across applications and interviews. “You can dive into your specific interests and create a bit of a story for the ‘why law’ and the ‘why this firm’ question,” she says.

She also drew on “unorthodox” experiences to evidence her skills. In one application she wrote about helping run her university roller-skating society. It was small when she started, but after she convinced a few friends to join, she and the committee grew it into something much bigger. “It’s so random, but honestly the non-traditional stuff really does stick out if you can show that you’ve got a bit of personality and drive.” The lesson, she says: you don’t have to be president of the law society to have something interesting to say. “I worked the Next Boxing Day sale,” she jokes. “That will teach you something about resilience. Honestly.” And that’s what firms are looking for.

Between university and law school, Qazi took what many would see as a detour: a year as a tax consultant at EY. It turned out to be a perfect primer for vacation schemes and, soon enough, a training contract. “The biggest thing for me is confidence,” she says. Coming into vac schemes after time in a corporate environment meant she wasn’t fazed by writing to clients or speaking up in meetings. “You’ll have to do things like presentations to partners and I’m like, ‘I’m just going to pretend this is my manager.’” Perhaps most importantly, it sharpened her writing style. History essays and client emails are different beasts; in practice “you still have to analyse things but with a view to an answer… it’s got to have your client in mind.”

Her tax job turbo-charged her commercial awareness, too. Anticipating the impact of the government’s annual budget or changes to the ‘non-dom’ tax regime, and thinking about how these changes would impact her clients, soon became second nature. Building on that foundation, she developed a daily habit of reading newsletters like Finimize and scanning the Financial Times — which made the buzzword “commercial awareness” far less daunting.

From there, she dug deeper into a handful of topics she genuinely cared about, turning to law firm podcasts and sector reports that translate abstract headlines into client issues. Those bridges from “news” to “what does this mean for this client and our firm?” are, she points out, exactly what interview case studies probe. Picking news topics she found genuinely engaging — tech and life sciences — kept the routine sustainable and the conversations authentic.

Vacation schemes confirmed law was the right path for her, securing spots at Osborne Clarke, Pennington Manches Cooper, Cooley, and of course Taylor Wessing. When asked about her favourite practice areas so far, she says every seat has had its own highlights.

At Taylor Wessing, she especially enjoyed the breadth of her seats, ranging from banking and finance to tech, IP and information. “Broad teams,” she explains, “let trainees explore and find a niche without feeling pigeonholed too early.” That open-mindedness extends to qualification, too: when friends ask her what type of lawyer she’ll be, she replies wherever the work and the seats take her.

With her training contract at Taylor Wessing secured, Qazi began her transition from historian to lawyer with The University of Law. She has just completed her PGDL and will be sitting her SQE exams there over the next year. “The PGDL course at ULaw did a great job of starting things from the basics and building different concepts up,” she explains. “The structure of the course meant it was never overwhelming … I feel very confident going into the SQE having had the ULaw PGDL as a foundation.” Converting from history to law is a sprint through core subjects; doing it within ULaw’s structured programme, with clear materials and a supportive teaching team, made the leap feel manageable.

Looking ahead, she says: “The course has definitely developed my critical analysis abilities and encouraged me to think about academic concepts from a practical perspective. Next summer … the SQE Plus part will let me explore different practice areas ahead of starting my TC.” Having already endured long stretches of exams — first at university, then as a tax consultant, and now with the PGDL and SQE — she’s eager for the finish line. “What am I most looking forward to? Finishing the SQE,” she laughs. “Exam-free” life can’t come soon enough.

If she could advise her first-year self, she’d start with reassurance: follow your interests, build skills, then learn to frame them in a lawyerly light. “I was so surprised the roller-skating thing went down so well!”. The point isn’t to collect a checklist of “law-only” experiences. It’s to show initiative, teamwork, time management and resilience — the qualities firms look for in trainees. Whether it’s building a university society from scratch, surviving a Boxing Day rush at Next or presenting to senior people at work, every experience counts if you can draw out the skills. “Relax and do what you want to do,” she says, “but also do law stuff as well.” That balance has kept her motivated — and made her applications feel personal rather than generic.

For students starting out, her advice is straightforward. Meet as many firms as you can early on — at fairs, talks and virtual events — rather than relying solely on what’s on their websites. Think carefully about the sectors and environments you’ll thrive in, then build your narrative around that. Make use of university and law school resources: newsletters you’ll actually read, podcasts you’ll actually listen to, and reports that translate abstract headlines into challenges and opportunities for clients. At the same time, pursue the passions and interests that genuinely appeal to you — non-legal experiences are just as important. And if your path isn’t linear, that’s fine. A year in industry can make you calmer, clearer and more client-focused when you eventually step through a firm’s doors.

With her PGDL completed at ULaw and the SQE ahead this year, she’s now closing out the study phase and looking forward to day one at Taylor Wessing. The destination hasn’t changed since those early career talks, she’s simply taken the route that made the most sense for her — and picked up a toolkit along the way that will let her hit the ground running when client work begins.

Legal Cheek Live in London takes place in-person NEXT WEEK on Thursday, 11 September. The afternoon features a series of careers and commercial awareness workshops delivered by top law firms as well as a careers fair featuring early talent and graduate recruitment teams. Register to attend now.

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Taylor Wessing’s Emma Danks discusses the evolution of private equity, the firm’s ambitious culture, and her advice for aspiring solicitors

“There’s a huge amount of ambition here and no complacency,” says Emma Danks, head of the UK corporate group at Taylor Wessing, reflecting on what drew her to the firm 15 years ago. After over a decade at a Magic Circle firm, Danks joined Taylor Wessing in 2010 to help grow its then-burgeoning private equity practice. “It was very attractive to join a team that was growing and ambitious,” she recalls. Fifteen years on, she hasn’t looked back.

Qualifying in 2001, Danks cut her teeth amid the mid-2000s private equity boom, and later weathered the 2007-2008 global financial crisis that reshaped the market. The post-crisis landscape sparked her interest in the mid-market segment, making Taylor Wessing’s more entrepreneurial platform an appealing next step. Now a senior partner, she leads the firm’s corporate practice and advises on private equity transactions day-to-day. Danks acts for private equity sponsors on buyouts and private M&A deals, as well as for the management teams of PE-backed companies — a mix that gives her “a really nice view of the whole market,” she notes.

While Danks was initially drawn by Taylor Wessing’s growing private equity practice, it’s “the energy and the entrepreneurial spirit” which is keeping her at the firm 15 years later. The firm is full of “very bright lawyers who are driven to do the best job they can for their clients and to win more market share,” she tells me. This ambitious but collaborative ethos means there’s little room for egos. In short, it’s a “really high performance but friendly place to be.”

Early in her career, Danks found herself drawn to transactional work. “There is a particular inclination most lawyers have, either towards transactional, advisory or disputes work,” she says. For her, deals hold a special appeal because “you’re creating something” for the client rather than fighting an opponent in court. She enjoys digging into the commercial drivers behind a transaction — understanding what the business does and why a deal matters to a client — and collaborating with the other side to reach an agreement (while still “protecting your client’s position,” of course). Delivering a deal that is important to a client brings “a real sense of satisfaction and professional pride,” Danks says.

When Danks qualified as a private equity lawyer, the industry looked very different. “It’s a more sophisticated asset class today”, she notes, with deal structures far more complex than 25 years ago. “There is a wider range and number of private equity funds. So they’ve got different styles of investing,” Danks explains. “25 years ago, it might have been more of a classic ‘we will acquire a majority and hold it for three to five years and then we’ll sell it’ situation. Whereas now you have funds wanting a longer hold period or they might acquire just a minority, which then requires a different negotiating style.” Private equity has also entered the public consciousness as PE firms have acquired household-name brands, she adds, and its techniques have “influenced the broader M&A market in lots of different ways.”

This constant evolution is part of the appeal of private equity for Danks. “I never wanted to get to a stage in my career where I think, ‘I can do this in my sleep,’” she laughs. The ever-changing nature of the private equity space means she is always learning and adapting. That can be frustrating at times, she admits, but it suits lawyers who are “intellectually curious” and like to be challenged — and for her it’s “a really enjoyable part of the job.”

I ask Danks whether one deal in particular stands out in her memory. “I would say one of the standout career highs for me was a deal we did in 2019,” she responds. The Taylor Wessing team advised the private equity arm of Standard Chartered on its spin-out from the bank into a new independent fund. “We were working with brilliant clients. They were at the top of their game, really bright. It was personally very important to them as well because they were creating a whole new fund,” Danks recalls. Complex deals like this don’t get off the ground without some serious hard work, of course: “We were in the trenches all together,” Danks recalls, describing weeks of intense negotiations as lawyers from multiple firms hammered out the terms. A “real career highlight”, the deal landed Danks’ team “Private Equity Team of the Year” at that year’s British Legal Awards. It was also a roaring success for her clients: “They successfully spun out of the bank and have been a very successful private equity fund in their own right – I’ve actually just had the invitation through for their sixth anniversary celebration!” she tells me.

Today, the market presents new challenges. The past few years have been “turbulent,” as Danks puts it. A post-pandemic surge of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in 2021 gave way to a slowdown as interest rates rose and political and economic uncertainty made many businesses cautious about making significant investments. “Markets like stability,” Danks says. “Changes of government around the world and US tariffs early this year have meant a lot of dealmakers have paused to let everything settle. However, although the volume of deals has dipped, I’ve found the deals which have happed have been more high value.” And there have been certain sectors bucking the trend. Tech and life sciences assets “have continued to be really competitive.” She shows particular excitement around artificial intelligence, where acquiring an AI-driven company can be a “fast-track” for traditional businesses — why spend years developing a new technology in-house “when you can buy a company that’s already done it”?

In this uncertain climate, lawyers have a crucial role in helping clients navigate deals. Danks sees her job as twofold: first, offering clients a broad perspective on market “commercials” gleaned from her experience across many transactions. Her team works on far more deals each year than any single client, so “they like us to give some market insights,” she explains. Second, a good lawyer will “future-proof” agreements to withstand whatever arises from the counterparty or the wider business environment in the months and years to come.

Before wrapping up, I ask Danks what career advice she would give to her younger self or a new trainee. She recommends gaining as broad experience as possible and being unafraid to question things. “Take time to get as much experience as you can,” she advises, “and always try to look into the corners of every issue — maintain an intellectual curiosity at all times.”

Emma Danks will be speaking on the panel at Legal Cheek’s upcoming virtual student event ‘Inside the global dynamics of M&A — with Taylor Wessing’, taking place virtually on Wednesday 24 September. Apply now to attend.

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Clifford Chance lawyer Alex Panayides reflects on his career journey and the exciting work he has undertaken along the way

“I came to Britain at the age of eight, having left Cyprus as a refugee when Turkey invaded in 1974,” says Alex Panayides, dispute resolution partner at Clifford Chance. Speaking over fifty years later, Panayides has built a career studded with high-profile cases. From insurance litigation following the 9/11 attacks, to the controversies around the Qatar World Cup 2022, to litigating the salvage rights to the wreck of RMS “TITANIC” — the list is impressive.

A Clifford Chance ‘lifer’, the firm first caught Panayides’ attention during his second year at university. Reading law at Oxford University — but “without any firm intention to become a lawyer” — Panayides recalls “one of my rare visits to the college library” during which he discovered “fellow law students filling in application forms for what were then called articles, now training contracts.” With Britain’s economy in decline in the early 1990s and graduate jobs scarce, he sent out a few speculative applications in the hope of securing a role.

Clifford Chance “stood out” because of its international outlook. “At that time, the firm was expanding into Europe when the majority of London firms were very, or in fact exclusively, UK focused,” Panayides explains — an attractive prospect for a globally-minded student. Training contract secured, he joined Clifford Chance, became a partner in 2002 and, 30-something years later after joining the firm, he’s still there. He is a partner in the litigation and dispute resolution practice, leads the firm’s oi & gas disputes practice and the disputes practice in Africa.

During his training, Panayides sampled a range of practice areas — property, banking, even a stint in New York — but it was the firm’s shipping department that ultimately hooked him. “It was awesome, frankly,” he tells me. “I did all kinds of fun work that was in the news and enormous amounts of travelling.” In the pre-email era, Panayides had to get to where the work was, spending much of his time as a young lawyer working from shipyards around the world, from Singapore to Brazil to Mississippi. This was “a wonderful way to learn”, not least as he was able to get a taste of an “extremely unusual” mixture of transactional and disputes work.

Later in his career Panayides chose to focus full-time on disputes. I am keen to know what it was about contentious work that appeals to him. “Because I find it perpetually interesting and varied,” he replies. “No two disputes have been the same, and I still learn something new every day”. Over the course of his career Panayides has tackled “the sorts of problems that people don’t believe can be solved.” Illustrating this point, he jumps back into one matter in particular: “I spent about 10 years arguing about whether 9/11 was an act of war, or an act of terrorism,” he tells me, “which of course had enormous repercussions in numerous contexts, including insurance and finance” Panayides found himself “navigating law and politics on a topic that was not just in the headlines; it was the headline for so long.” Commuting back and forth from New York “on some occasions on Concorde” was also “extremely exciting for a relatively young lawyer.”

Another career highlight he singles out is a pro bono project for Save the Children which held a deeply personal resonance. “Save the Children decided, with exceptional ambition, to procure, crew and deploy a rescue ship to pick up refugees in the Mediterranean.” The project came off in record time: “It was an amazing success,” Panayides reflects. He recalls that “Save the Children, when I started working with them on this, didn’t know that I myself had been a child refugee who had crossed the Mediterranean in a small boat some years previously — for them that was just mind-blowing.”

With a career spent at the sharp end of global disputes, Panayides has witnessed first-hand how world events can upend the business landscape. I ask what key geopolitical issues are occupying his clients right now. “If one had to distil everything that’s going on into one word, it would be ‘uncertainty’,” he replies. That uncertainty, he explains, is the most “challenging thing for markets and governments because it chills investment decisions and can cloud the intentions and plans of politicians”. US trade tariffs, China’s developing global ambitions, conflict in Europe and the Middle East have all contributed to the volatile environment. For clients trying to navigate these choppy waters, this is “obviously extremely challenging”. We live in an age of information overload — “there is much more data and information and insight available to any of us with a computer than at any previous time in history,” Panayides says. This “puts a real premium on the skills required to declutter an issue and really understand what’s going on at its core”.

Even having just scratched the surface of Panayides’ career it’s not hard to see why he finds the work engaging, but there are two other key factors which mean he loves his job: the firm’s people, and its culture. “We’re not at all hierarchical. We like to have a laugh even in the challenging and difficult moments,” he says. “It’s always a team effort.”

As we wrap up our discussion, I am keen to hear Panayides’ advice for aspiring lawyers. “Keep an open mind,” he says. “The training contract is a wonderful opportunity to experience lots of different kinds of law.” He would discourage law students from having a rigid idea of where they want to qualify. “Have an idea by all means,” he says, “but when you start rotating through the practice areas, give your best effort in all of them because you might surprise yourself about what you actually enjoy. And choosing an area you find genuinely stimulating is crucial: “The demands can be immense,” Panayides admits, “but it’s amazing how hard you can work and still be cheerful if what you’re doing is what you enjoy.”

Alex Panayides will be speaking on the panel at ‘Geopolitical risk, trade and the law — with Clifford Chance’, a hybrid student event taking place TOMORROW (Thursday 4 September). In-person spots are now fully-booked but you can still apply to attend virtually.

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A&O Shearman’s Francesca Bennetts discusses her exciting work at the cutting edge of legal tech and her advice for young lawyers navigating a changing legal landscape

“I didn’t study law at university,” says Francesca Bennetts, partner at A&O Shearman, kicking off our interview ahead of her appearance at our upcoming virtual student event, ‘The Hybrid Lawyer: Where human expertise meets artificial intelligence’. Instead of law, Bennetts pursued an undergraduate degree in theology, which she “absolutely adored” and which helped her develop valuable skills in critical thinking and research. Still, law had always beckoned, so after graduating she took a one-year conversion course to qualify as a lawyer.

Bennetts ultimately chose Allen & Overy (now A&O Shearman) to start her career – and the deciding factor was the people. In her interview for a training contract, the conversation drifted onto an unlikely topic: kitchenware. “We ended up having a really in-depth discussion about the relative merits of Le Creuset versus different saucepans,” she laughs. “That personal touch made an impression. They just seemed very human and that made my decision for me. A&O really felt like the place for me,” she says.

Once at the firm, Bennetts’ first seat as a trainee proved a baptism of fire: derivatives and structured finance. “Coming from a theology background, I had absolutely no idea what derivatives would be,” she recalls. “It was full of complex commercial transactions and a whole new taxonomy to learn”. It was challenging, but her supervisor was David Wakeling – now head of the team Bennetts herself would later join — and the group’s innovative mindset quickly captured her imagination. The team, she noticed, was “very interested in thinking outside the box, leveraging technology and streamlining processes” even back then. That forward-thinking attitude resonated with her.

After trying seats in litigation and even an international secondment to Rome, Bennetts returned to the derivatives department to qualify, drawn by its mix of complexity and innovation. She spent the next few years working on major finance deals, while her team continued to test tech-driven ways of working.

That experimental ethos paid off when regulatory changes required repapering huge volumes of contracts. Bennetts’ team built a platform called MarginMatrix in partnership with Big Four player Deloitte to automate the process. “We built the tech infrastructure and provided the substantive legal advice and template amendment agreements, and then Deloitte helped with the outreach and repapering,” she explains. Using this approach, they helped eight clients update their contracts — rather than just one or two via the traditional manual approach.

“That really started triggering a thought that this could be a specific practice area,” Bennetts says. In its wake, the firm established the Markets Innovation Group (MIG) – a practice dedicated to tech-enabled legal solutions. Since then, the MIG has tackled projects such as the Brexit and LIBOR transition and grown substantially. Now she helps lead the group, which is focused firmly on generative AI. “How can we best use generative AI to make ourselves more efficient internally, but also to build solutions for clients?” Bennetts says, outlining MIG’s guiding question.

One answer has been the group’s flagship product, ContractMatrix, developed in collaboration with AI start-up Harvey and Microsoft. The tool enables users to open any legal document in Word and query it using generative AI. The twist, Bennetts explains, is that the AI’s answers are “grounded and benchmarked” against the user’s own data– so lawyers can instantly compare the AI results against their trusted precedents and extract reliable insights from documentation previously agreed.

It’s clear that A&O Shearman’s investment in innovation goes well beyond lip service. Early on, the firm’s senior leadership made generative AI a strategic priority. “We made a proactive decision that we wanted to be on the front foot on adoption rather than reactive,” notes Bennetts, adding that this approach saw A&O become the first law firm to roll out generative AI firmwide and develop its own tool with Harvey. “We’re not afraid to try things and see how they work,” she adds.

This culture of experimentation thrives on collaboration. “We can bridge the gap between law and tech,” Bennetts explains of her team’s close partnership with the firm’s developers. That approach has created an “unusual synergy” at the firm. “That two-way conversation is absolutely critical,” she says, ensuring tools like ContractMatrix are truly “built by lawyers for lawyers”.

Despite the firm’s strong tech focus, Bennetts reassures future lawyers that no one expects them to be coding experts. “We’re not expecting people to come into the firm who already know everything they need to know about using tech. That’s not a prerequisite,” she says. The firm provides extensive training and resources to help new joiners get comfortable with these tools. Junior lawyers are encouraged to use them (within sensible guardrails) and even offer feedback. “Provided you follow the rules, we really want you to use this tech and tell us how you’re using it, because we can learn from people coming through with new ideas,” Bennetts explains.

So, is the rise of AI changing what it means to be a junior lawyer? Bennetts believes core qualities remain the same – with one notable addition. “The only thing I would ask of someone coming into the firm is a willingness to try,” she says. Trainees are “already going to be bright and eager to learn” – the extra quality she looks for is “a curiosity about using technology”.

To illustrate how tech can enhance a lawyer’s role, Bennetts recounts a story from early in her career. As a teenager on work experience, she once spent hours manually comparing contract drafts because the firm hadn’t enabled Word’s track-changes feature. “It sounds insane to me now,” she laughs. But adopting new tools didn’t diminish the need for lawyerly skill. “I don’t think the advent of track changes has meant I’m a worse lawyer,” Bennetts says. “All it has done is taken the mechanics of finding the changes away… The crucial bit was actually analysing the impact of those changes”.

She sees AI in the same light. Tools like Harvey might “do some of the grunt work, which means we get to the critical thinking, analytical part of our tasks quicker”. But “for juniors, that’s a good thing because that’s the bit that you’re training for,” she adds. Of course, technology is “not yet at a stage where we can take an answer and assume it’s right”, so lawyers must still “critically assess the outputs and validate” what the AI produces. In other words, critical thinking and judgment remain as important as ever.

As we wrap up our discussion, I ask Bennetts for a highlight of her innovation journey. She fondly recalls an early “eureka” moment while beta-testing a Brexit contract automation. She and her team had coded complex logic into a template — then held their breath and “pressed the button” to generate the document. When the draft appeared on-screen, “it was like our firstborn child… the logic worked, the right provisions had dropped in,” she remembers, and the pride of that achievement has stayed with her. Since that moment, the MIG team at A&O Shearman has gone from strength to strength and has made a name for itself as a force driving AI adoption in the legal profession. Future lawyers, watch this space!

Francesca Bennets will be speaking on the panel at ‘The Hybrid Lawyer: Where human expertise meets artificial intelligence — with A&O Shearman’, a virtual event taking place on Monday 8 September. Apply now to attend

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2,753 students sat latest assessment

The pass rate for the latest sitting of part two of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE2) has reached a record high of 82%, according to new figures released by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The April–May 2025 sitting saw 2,753 candidates sit the assessment, with first-time sitters — making up the bulk of the cohort at 2,577 candidates — achieving an even higher pass rate of 84%.

This surpasses the previous high of 81%, recorded earlier this year.

SQE2 comprises 16 stations in total, including 12 written assessments and four oral assessments, testing practical skills and the application of legal knowledge. You can read the SRA’s latest statistical report in full here.

News of the pass rates comes as a petition calling for an overhaul of the SQE surpassed 1,500 signatures. The anonymous trainee behind the petition argues that the exams are “not fit for purpose” and discriminate against candidates from diverse backgrounds and those with different learning styles. They also shared how preparing for the SQE has taken a serious toll on their mental, financial and physical wellbeing.

Well-reseted compared to future doctors and nurses

Law students are getting more shut-eye than many of their peers, according to new research ranking the UK’s most sleep-deprived uni courses.

The analysis placed law among the least sleep-deprived subjects, with a score of 24.3 out of 100 on the “sleep deprivation index”. By contrast, nursing, nutrition and other ‘subjects allied to medicine’ top the table with a score of 52.2, with students clocking up over 55 hours a week in study and placements and nearly 10 hours of paid work on top.

Other demanding courses include mathematical sciences (51.5) and medicine and dentistry (45.1), where heavy assignment loads and long study hours leave many students struggling to rest. Agriculture and general sciences also landed in the top five for sleep deprivation, with more than a third of students in agriculture considering dropping out.

Law students, on the other hand, reported around 32 hours a week on study-related activities, plus an average of 7.7 hours of part-time work. Coursework demands were also lighter, with around 4.6 graded assignments per term, compared to double-digit workloads faced by science students.

At the opposite end of the table, geography and environmental studies students were the most well-rested of all, scoring 19.9, followed closely by language and area studies at 20.6.

The study also found that just 21% of law students had considered dropping out — one of the lowest figures across all disciplines. Of those, just over a quarter (28%) cited mental or emotional health struggles, compared to nearly 25% of allied to medicine students and 37% of mathematical sciences students.

The findings are based on the latest HEPI Student Academic Experience Survey (SAES), which questioned over 10,000 full-time undergraduates. The index was compiled by sleep specialist eachnight, who weighed factors like contact hours, independent study, paid work, and assignment loads to identify which students are most — and least — likely to be burning the candle at both ends.

Loughborough Uni general counsel and AstraZeneca senior lawyer among those to publicly criticise new assessment regime

Several senior in-house lawyers have voiced concerns about the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), with one describing it as an “oppressive” and “irrational” system that jeopardises students’ wellbeing.

In a letter to Solicitors Regulation Authority’s chief executive Paul Philip, Samuel McGinty, general counsel and director of legal services at Loughborough University, said his team had been “struck by the unnecessary complexity and what I would describe as the oppressive nature of the SQE arrangements”.

Although the university does not offer legal education, it employs a solicitor apprentice who sat SQE1. McGinty praised the apprentice as “very professional and capable”, but said her experience of the exam process had highlighted serious systemic flaws.

Among the issues raised by McGinty were confusing booking processes, strict and intrusive exam rules, and the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), which he argued “acts as a block to development and improvement”.

“I do however feel that requiring candidates to complete a formal non-disclosure agreement is disproportionate, especially in the context of their candidacy to join a profession which is bound by professional rules around integrity and confidentiality,” McGinty wrote.

He also criticised what he called an “oppressive” exam environment, which he claims includes “close surveillance”, “personal searches”, and restrictions on bringing water into the five-hour assessment. “Surely being able to take water into an exam of that length is something to which all candidates should be entitled?” he added.

On the design of the exam itself, McGinty argued that the highly time-pressured multiple-choice format seems “irrational”, “bears no resemblance to practice” and amounts to little more than a “memory test”.

The letter also raised concerns over mental health and wellbeing, citing reports of candidates experiencing panic attacks and exacerbation of existing health conditions in exam centres. “This is at best an inauspicious start to a career as a regulated professional and at worst communicates that the SRA’s concern as to wellbeing in the profession is not reflected in their own practices,” McGinty said.

McGinty warned that these issues could disproportionately affect candidates from less privileged backgrounds, undermining the SRA’s stated mission to improve access and diversity in the profession. “For those from less privileged backgrounds, the previously described experience will be more acute,” he cautioned.

The letter ends with a call for urgent reform: “I would urge the SRA to promptly review the way the assessment is designed and administered to protect the wellbeing of the candidates and to effectively prepare candidates for practice.”

In a LinkedIn post accompanying his letter, McGinty revealed that he had written it last year but felt compelled to share it publicly this week, following the launch of a petition by a trainee solicitor calling for changes to the SQE. “Some of the issues being raised now are ones I flagged to the SRA a year ago,” he wrote. “Nothing appears to have changed since then.”

The Loughborough GC isn’t the only in-house lawyer speaking out.

Tanya Dolan, senior legal counsel at AstraZeneca UK, urged people across the profession to sign the trainee’s petition, which argues that the new exams are “disproportionately challenging” and have taken a severe toll on candidates’ mental, financial and physical wellbeing.

“For some time, I have been working to understand why so little is being done to address the serious impact of the SQE exams on students’ mental and physical health and why, in practice, the SQE is creating more barriers to entering the legal profession,” Dolan wrote in a post shared on LinkedIn.

While urging people to sign the petition, she asked them to reflect on the serious questions it raises about the SQE’s implementation and oversight.

Separately, Madeleine Weber, commercial counsel at the software company Sitestacker, also criticised the SQE in response to an article by former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who branded students signing the petition as “snowflakes” and claimed they simply wanted the exams to be made easier.

“This is not about lowering standards,” Weber writes on LinkedIn. “Candidates aren’t asking to be handed qualification on a plate.” She goes on to say that students seek clarity on exam content, fewer admin errors, access to the right prep tools as well as more financials support to fund exams. “An exam can be rigorous and well-run,” she continues. “It can maintain high standards while giving candidates a fair shot.”

In a statement in response to the petition, the SRA said: “We understand that candidates can find the SQE challenging, both to prepare for and sit. It is a demanding, high stakes assessment that gives successful candidates access to a licence to practise.”

It continued:

“The questions are written by a pool of solicitors reflecting what is expected of a newly qualified solicitor and the pass mark is determined using well-established methods. The SQE’s independent reviewer has confirmed it’s a robust and fair assessment. Many candidates have now passed the SQE. Pass rates and statistical information about candidates are published after each sitting. Differential outcomes by ethnicity are widely seen in legal professional exams, in other sectors and at different stages of education. Informed by research commissioned from the University of Exeter, we are taking action to address the causes of such differential outcomes that are within our influence.”

New UCAS data

The number of students accepted onto university and college law courses has surged by over 10% this year, according to fresh UCAS data released on A-Level results day.

A total of 27,150 applicants will be starting law courses in 2025, up from 24,590 last year — a 10.4% rise and one of the biggest subject-specific increases recorded.

The only areas with larger percentage growth were engineering and technology (12.5%) and mathematical sciences (10.5%).

Overall, a record 439,180 applicants have been accepted to university or college courses this year — up 3.1% from 425,860 in 2024. Among 18-year-olds in the UK, 255,130 secured a place, representing a 4.7% increase on last year.

The latest figures also show widening participation progress. The number of 18-year-olds from the most deprived areas getting a spot has risen across England (6.4%), Wales (5.3%), and Northern Ireland (5.5%).

More than four in five (82%) students holding offers received their first-choice place, matching last year’s rate, while insurance choice acceptances jumped 6% to 26,330.

Dr Jo Saxton CBE, UCAS chief executive, said:

“This year’s students were just 13 when the pandemic hit, and their secondary schooling was turned upside down. It’s great to see these applicants securing a university place in record numbers, seeking more education and investing in their futures. I am equally delighted to see how universities across the country have responded to their ambition.”

Earlier today, Legal Cheek reported that many aspiring law students are turning to TikTok to share their success stories — you can read the full piece here.

Congrats!

TikTok is buzzing this morning as Gen Z school leavers share the moment they discovered whether their A-Level results had secured them a place at their dream law school.

Students across the country received their A-Level results today, with UCAS figures showing a record number securing their first-choice university place in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Legal Cheek has been trawling TikTok for some of the best reactions from students discovering they’re off to law school — and we’ve rounded up a few we’ve spotted. If you’re in need of some Thursday morning positivity, these clips are well worth a watch.

@a.sewax i opened those results and i just knew. i am officially studying law guys #chichesteruniversity #results #resultsday #alevels #alevelresultsday2025 ♬ original sound –

@kanteeng i hate a-levels, hope everyone did okay #alevels #alevels2025 #ucas #lawschool #imgonnacry ♬ Ode to Joy- Symphony No.9 in D Minor 'choral' – Lorne Balfe & Russell Emanuel & Steve Kofsky

@lunaazgan #duet with @Luna #resultsday I am not non chalant I cried my eyes out #alevels #fyp #law ♬ original sound – kaleboat

@alizayyy.ms project brampton manor #alevels #projectbramptonmanor #alevelresults2025 #pakistani #lawstudent #russelgroupuni #punjabi ♬ You know what inspires me – minajchun

@not.ttillie Thank god for that x #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #alevels #resultsday #yorkuni #law ♬ Originalton – TAYLAN

@notsosecretlifeofemma Still in shock #alevels #foryou #resultsday #results #fyp ♬ original sound – C1zthetic

@lae_stratford What, like it’s hard? #fyp #laes #laestratford #loveisland #ucl #law #alevels #resultsday ♬ original sound – LAE Stratford

@shrottyshayslays #alevelresultsday #resultsday #exeterlaw ♬ original sound – shaynatiana

One conflated LPC and SQE routes

Around one in three law school websites contain “factually inaccurate” or “confusing” information about courses and routes to qualification as a solicitor, new research has found.

A content analysis of 93 LLB webpages revealed examples including continuing to describe their degree as a “Qualifying Law Degree” (QLD) without explanation, implying that the QLD is still a requirement for becoming a solicitor, failing to explain the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), or suggesting it only applies to some candidates.

Other instances included outdated text (such as stating the SQE was still “due to commence in 2021 subject to LSB approval”), contradictory information within the same site, and in one case, what the authors describe as “woefully” conflating the LPC and SQE pathways.

The QLD was the standard law degree structure under the old Legal Practice Course (LPC) system. It required students to study the Foundations of Legal Knowledge — seven core subjects (contract, tort, public law, criminal law, land law, equity and trusts and EU law) — as a mandatory part of their degree. Since the SQE was introduced in 2021, there is no longer any requirement for aspiring solicitors to study all seven Foundations. However, they remain compulsory for those wishing to qualify as barristers.

Despite this regulatory change, the study found that nearly 80% of law schools still make students take all seven core subjects. The researchers say this is likely due to tradition, the influence of the bar’s rules and the desire to keep degrees attractive to would-be barristers.

The authors warn that inaccurate or unclear information could confuse prospective students making big decisions about where to study, especially given that solicitor qualification routes are now more varied and less familiar.

The research was carried out by Victoria Roper (Northumbria University), Rachel Dunn (Leeds Beckett University) and David Sixsmith (Northumbria University), and is published in Legal Studies.

The Legal Cheek team discuss NQ salaries, retention rates, financial results and a petition to reform the SQE — listen now

The Legal Cheek Podcast returns this week as publisher Alex Aldridge and writer Lydia Fontes discuss this week’s biggest legal news stories as firms have released financial results, trainee retention rates and some have further boosted salaries for newly qualified lawyers.

This week we kick off by discussing the NQ salary rises that firms have announced so far this summer. We dig into what this tells us about how the UK legal industry is performing and how the growing presence of US firms in London impacts these figures. We also address the concept of “salary bunching” as associates complain that their pay hasn’t risen in line with that of NQs.

We ask whether the continual rise in NQ pay may be having an affect of the amount of qualifying trainees that firms keep on, examining some anecdotal reports from our readers that retention rates may be dropping. We discuss the figures which firms have released so far and what they tell us about the NQ market this year.

Finally, we touch on a student-led petition to reform the Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQE) which has garnered attention from mainstream media outlets as well as from former Home Secretary Suella Braverman. Is this an example of Gen Z snowflake culture (as Braverman suggests) or valid criticism of a flawed set of exams?

You can listen to the podcast in full via the embed above, or on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Support paralegals to qualify as solicitors

The College of Legal Practice has teamed up with Pinsent Masons’ flexible lawyering arm to support its paralegals on the path to solicitor qualification.

The online law school will deliver SQE prep to paralegals at Vario, Pinsents’ flexible legal services arm, through a new initiative dubbed ‘MLS Qualify’. The first two MLS trainees will begin their roles in September, with SQE training due to finish by summer 2027.

Led by Richard Coffey, head of Vario Managed Legal Services Delivery, the new pathway is designed to support social mobility and provide a clear progression route for paralegals working in non-traditional legal roles.

“MLS Qualify was designed to reflect the changing nature of legal practice and the myriad routes by which people can choose to pursue a career in law,” Coffey said. “For us at Vario, the emphasis has always been on ensuring there’s no glass ceiling to the paralegal career pathway.”

He continued: “This initiative is specifically designed to offer MLS Trainees experience of legal technology teams and other non-traditional work as part of their training, to ensure that innovation in legal services delivery is a core part of their learning.”

The College will deliver flexible, online SQE prep through a year-long programme that fits around trainees’ day-to-day client work while allowing ample time for study alongside their existing roles at Vario.

This more flexible route to qualification is possible thanks to changes introduced with the SQE, which allow aspiring lawyers to bypass the traditional training contract and instead complete Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) with up to four different employers, including law firms, in-house legal teams and law clinics.

Dr Giles Proctor, chief executive of the College, commented:

“We are delighted to have been selected to train Vario’s first MLS Trainees and be part of this new pathway to SQE success. The College shares many of Vario’s values and ethos, focusing on flexibility, responsiveness and innovation, and ensuring a good work life balance for our students.”

The College already has SQE training partnerships in place with firms including Reed Smith and Accutrainee.

Former Home Sec slammed students calling for exam overhaul

The trainee solicitor behind a petition calling for an overhaul of the “disproportionately challenging” Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) has hit back at lawyer-turned-politician Suella Braverman KC, after she claimed in a national newspaper that those signing it had a “snowflake sensibility”.

For Legal Cheek readers who haven’t been following the story, we first reported late last week that someone purporting to be a trainee at an international law firm had launched a petition calling for reform of the SQE.

In it, they argue the new exams are “not fit for purpose” and claim they discriminate against candidates from diverse backgrounds and those with different learning styles. The trainee also described how the SQE had taken a serious toll on their mental, financial, and physical wellbeing. The petition has since attracted nearly 900 signatures.

One person we can safely assume hasn’t signed the petition is former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who — much to our surprise — took to the pages of The Telegraph to voice her displeasure.

“A cohort of aspiring solicitors has taken to petitioning for the SQE to be made easier,” she writes. “Their complaint? The exams are ‘too hard, disproportionately challenging’, and, of course, ‘biased towards certain backgrounds and learning styles’. In other words: ‘We didn’t do well, and it must be someone else’s fault.’”

The former Cambridge-educated barrister goes on to argue that the “snowflake sensibility — once confined to undergraduate common rooms and the wilder fringes of social media — has now infected even the corridors of legal ambition”.

Well, the rookie solicitor who launched the petition has now responded to Braverman’s comments in a brief update posted on the Change.org website.

“Nowhere in the petition did I claim that the exam was ‘too hard’,” they say. “I’m not a wet lettuce, for Christ’s sake.” Doubling down on their argument that the SQE is “disproportionately challenging”, they urged the Conservative MP to “don your reading spectacles and place your thinking cap firmly on and re-read [the petition].”

They go on to list what they describe as the key issues currently affecting the SQE and the students expected to pass it — many of which are already highlighted in the original petition.

These include the “extortionate” cost of sitting the exams, the lack of past papers, reports of candidates allegedly being “denied access [to] water during the exam,” and concerns that the questions do not reflect real-life legal practice.

“I am somewhat disappointed that a KC could not identify the more nuanced points made within the petition,” they write. “However, I guess that comes with the territory of using the penniless youth trying hard to succeed in your political point scoring,” before the trainee signs off, “Yours sincerely, A snowflake x.”

In response to the petition, a spokesperson for the SRA previously said: “We understand that candidates can find the SQE challenging, both to prepare for and sit. It is a demanding, high stakes assessment that gives successful candidates access to a licence to practise.”

They continued:

“The questions are written by a pool of solicitors reflecting what is expected of a newly qualified solicitor and the pass mark is determined using well-established methods. The SQE’s independent reviewer has confirmed it’s a robust and fair assessment. Many candidates have now passed the SQE. Pass rates and statistical information about candidates are published after each sitting. Differential outcomes by ethnicity are widely seen in legal professional exams, in other sectors and at different stages of education. Informed by research commissioned from the University of Exeter, we are taking action to address the causes of such differential outcomes that are within our influence.”

Support up to 190 aspiring solicitors

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has dished out £360,000 to support disadvantaged candidates taking the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), using money from fines imposed on assessment provider Kaplan.

The SQE Access and Reinvestment Fund, which has been accumulating since the SQE launched in 2021, will help cover exam fees for up to 190 aspiring solicitors from underrepresented backgrounds in its first round of distribution.

The funding has been allocated to 11 organisations, including social mobility charities, universities, and training providers. Recipients include the Legal Social Mobility Fund, Black and Proud CIC, and The Law Society’s Diversity Access Scheme, as well as law schools such as The College of Legal Practice and The University of Law.

Each organisation will run its own process to determine which aspiring lawyers are selected, with the first cohort potentially starting as early as January 2026.

The fund consists of performance-based payments from Kaplan, in line with its contract with the SRA. Over the past two years, the assessment provider has faced criticism for administrative failings, including wrongly informing 175 candidates that they had failed the SQE.

Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said:

“One of the objectives of the SQE is to promote a diverse profession by removing artificial and unjustifiable barriers. Our decision to distribute the fund in this way reflects our commitment to meeting the SQE objectives. The fund recognises that talent, not financial circumstances, should determine who can become a solicitor. Up to 190 candidates could be supported through the scheme. We look forward to following their journeys.”

The 11 organisations receiving funding are: Aberystwyth University Veterans’ Legal Link, Accutrainee, Black and Proud CIC, Bristol Law Society, Law Training Centre, Legal Social Mobility Fund, Social Welfare Solicitors’ Qualification Fund, The College of Legal Practice, The Law Society of England and Wales (Diversity Access Scheme), The University of Central Lancashire, and The University of Law.

From 96% success to less than 50%

The number of aspiring barristers is climbing fast, but new figures from the Bar Standards Board (BSB) reveal a stark divide in pass rates — with some law schools seeing success rates as high as 96%, while others less than 50%.

A total of 2,445 students enrolled on a Bar Training Course between July 2024 and June 2025, an increase from 2,423 in the previous year, according to the regulator’s latest training report. Enrolment numbers vary by law school and location, with BPP London admitting the largest cohort at 442 students, while BPP Bristol enrolled the smallest with just 12.

The BSB report also highlights, as in previous years, that pass rates can vary significantly between providers. Among students from the 2023–24 cohort with a 2:1 undergraduate degree, the highest pass rate was at the Inns of Court College of Advocacy (ICCA) with 96%, while some law schools achieved pass rate of less than 50%.

Other key stats from the report show that bar course fees currently range from £13,200 to £20,200 for home students, and from £13,200 to £23,700 for overseas students, with three providers charging higher fees for international applicants.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, students with a first-class undergraduate degree are more likely to secure pupillage than those with a 2:1, who in turn are more successful than those with a 2:2.

Mark Neale, BSB director general, said:

“This report forms part of the continuing work of the Bar Standards Board to ensure high standards of training for the Bar. It aims to support students to make informed decisions about their choice of provider and their prospects of success before embarking on the journey to become a barrister.”

New training regime slammed by TC holder

An individual claiming to be a future trainee solicitor has launched a public campaign calling for reform of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), citing the “severe toll” it has taken on her mental, financial and physical wellbeing.

Using the name ‘Hannah Cox’, which she’s since stated is an alias, the petitioner raises several key concerns, including what she describes as the “opaque nature” of SQE administration, particularly the SRA’s delay in publishing individual exam providers’ pass rates. This lack of transparency has, she argues, eroded trust among aspiring lawyers and is further compounded by reports of inaccurate exam results and an inadequate appeals process.

“The SQE is not fit for purpose,” states the petition, which has attracted over 260 signatures. It highlights concerns that elements of the exam may discriminate against candidates from diverse backgrounds and with different learning styles. This, she says, poses a threat to the diversity of the legal profession and risks excluding valuable perspectives that “enrich legal practice”.

The petition also addresses concerns about the SQE’s impact on students’ mental health. “The pressure and uncertainty surrounding the SQE is damaging, with many candidates enduring extreme stress and anxiety,” she writes. This mental toll is an “unacceptable consequence” of an exam meant to broaden access to the profession.

The future trainee continues:

“Despite being academically very strong, with a law degree from a top university and a training contract with an international firm, I have found the SQE disproportionately challenging. It has not only affected my academic life but has also taken a severe toll on my mental, financial, and physical well-being. This is a sentiment echoed by the vast majority of other candidates who have undertaken this exam.”

“Future legal professionals deserve a fair and equitable path to qualification,” she continues, calling on the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to improve transparency and conduct a thorough review of the SQE’s content and structure. She argues that the exam should accurately assess a candidate’s capability without placing undue strain on their mental and physical health.

Since its introduction in 2021, the SQE has not delivered the smooth rollout the SRA had hoped for. Legal Cheek has previously reported a range of issues, including IT failures at test centres, long online queues to book exam slots, and what is arguably the most serious error to date — a calculation blunder that wrongly informed 175 students they had failed SQE1.

An SRA spokesperson said: “We understand that candidates can find the SQE challenging, both to prepare for and sit. It is a demanding, high stakes assessment that gives successful candidates access to a licence to practise.”

They continued:

“The questions are written by a pool of solicitors reflecting what is expected of a newly qualified solicitor and the pass mark is determined using well-established methods. The SQE’s independent reviewer has confirmed it’s a robust and fair assessment. Many candidates have now passed the SQE. Pass rates and statistical information about candidates are published after each sitting. Differential outcomes by ethnicity are widely seen in legal professional exams, in other sectors and at different stages of education. Informed by research commissioned from the University of Exeter, we are taking action to address the causes of such differential outcomes that are within our influence.”

16 months

A University of Greenwich law student has been jailed after attempting to smuggle as much as £150,000 worth of herbal cannabis through Edinburgh Airport.

According to Edinburgh Live, Sage-Ahliea Gold broke down in tears as she was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

In August last year, the student arrived in Edinburgh on a flight from John F Kennedy Airport, carrying over 16kg of herbal cannabis packed in vacuum-sealed bags inside a suitcase. After all luggage from the flight was screened, Border Force officials flagged a suspicious case, which Gold was seen retrieving before being intercepted at the nothing to declare exit.

When stopped, Gold unlocked the suitcase herself, revealing personal items alongside 30 sealed packages of herbal material. Cautioned by officials, she said nothing, instead placing her hand over her face and beginning to cry

The cannabis had an estimated wholesale value of £61,000, which prosecutors said could increase to £150,000 if sold in street-level one-gram deals.

Gold, described on her LinkedIn profile as an “aspiring barrister”, pleaded guilty earlier this year to knowingly being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of controlled drugs. According to reports, she had spent just one week in the US before returning to Scotland. Her lawyer said she agreed to carry the suitcase out of “financial desperation”.

The court also heard that Gold had attempted to withdraw from the arrangement that led to her travelling with the suitcase full of drugs, but was pressured to continue after threats of violence were made against her family.

Defence solicitor Charles Morrison told the court his client “very much regrets her actions” and has shown “genuine remorse”.

The judge, Sheriff Charles Walls, said: “This case and the circumstances you find yourself in have been catastrophic for you personally in that you are unable to pursue the career in law and you will have [a] serious criminal conviction on your record.”