Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge and writer Lydia Fontes discuss a recent Reddit thread which reveals the longest days that lawyers have worked. We talk about how common these crazy working days are, the culture that encourages them and what you need to know about yourself before embarking on a career in corporate law.

Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge and writer Lydia Fontes discuss a recent LinkedIn post in which a law graduate vented their frustration after being rejected from a paralegal position. We ask how law students should approach posting on LinkedIn while trying to break in to the legal profession.

Read more about this story on Legal Cheek:

https://www.legalcheek.com/2025/01/law-graduate-rejected-for-a-paralegal-role-vents-frustration-on-linkedin/

What effect will AI have on junior lawyers? How many trainees will firms take on? Will we see another high-profile law firm merger? Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge and writer Lydia Fontes discuss what's coming for the legal profession in 2025.

Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge and writer Lydia Fontes discuss Dr Charlotte Proudman's victory over the Bar Standards Board as all five charges against her are dropped, the news that three of the allegations against Jo Sidhu have been proved, and the astonishing earnings of first year commercial barristers at top sets.

Read more about these stories on Legal Cheek:

https://www.legalcheek.com/2024/12/top-feminist-barrister-blasts-bsb-after-boys-club-tweet-charges-dropped/

https://www.legalcheek.com/2024/12/top-kc-guilty-of-professional-misconduct-over-inappropriate-sexual-behaviour/

https://www.legalcheek.com/2024/12/first-year-barristers-at-elite-commercial-chambers-can-earn-twice-as-much-as-us-firm-nqs/

Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge and writer Lydia Fontes discuss growing salaries for newly qualified solicitors, the upcoming independent review of the SQE and the news that the UK's legal services sector turnover has reached £44 billion.

Read more about these stories on Legal Cheek:

https://www.legalcheek.com/2024/12/big-billables-bigger-salaries-are-junior-lawyers-paying-the-price-for-their-principles/

https://www.legalcheek.com/2024/12/regulator-commissions-independent-review-of-sqe/

https://www.legalcheek.com/2024/12/uk-legal-sector-turnover-hits-44-billion/

Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge and writer Lydia Fontes discuss potential funding changes for solicitor apprenticeships, Herbert Smith Freehills' proposed merger with Kramer Levin and why criminal barristers are leaving the bar.

Saad Khalil and Samantha Wong from Legal Cheek discuss application basics ahead of the law firm application cycle 2024/25, including what 'vacation scheme' means, how to choose the right firms for you and what to look for when researching firms.

Rounding off our legal history podcast mini-series, Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge and former Allen & Overy corporate partner Alan Paul sit down once again to chat about the legal industry — this time from 2016 to the present day.

Alex and Alan discuss the busy and turbulent seven years, covering events including Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, Covid-19 lockdowns and how this all impacted and shaped the legal industry.

If you enjoyed this standalone episode, make sure to check out our previous podcasts in the series where Alan and Alex explore corporate law back from 1978 until the present day.

We are back for a third edition of Legal Cheek’s new legal history podcast mini-series!

In this episode, former Allen & Overy partner Alan Paul looks back on his time as a top corporate dealmaker during the global financial crisis of 2007-08 and the chaos that ensued in the years after. In conversation with Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge, Alan looks back on many of the factors that led to the crash, how it all went so wrong and the impact on the legal industry, both at the time and today.

This is a standalone podcast, but if you enjoyed it make sure to check out our previous episodes where Alan and Alex look back on corporate law in the 1980s and 90s.

In the second episode of Legal Cheek’s legal history podcast series, Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge is joined again by former Allen & Overy partner Alan Paul. Alan looks back on his time as a corporate law star in a period of rapid growth and globalisation for law firms in the City. He walks us from 1993 into the new millennium and through the build up to the historic financial crash of 2008, considering some of the key factors that led to the crisis.

This is a standalone podcast episode, but if you enjoyed this episode make sure to listen to the previous edition in the series, where Alan and Alex discuss corporate law in the 80s.