Latest SQE2 Pass Rate Rises to 80%
The Solicitors Qualifying Examination 2 (SQE2) saw its overall pass rate climb to 80% for the January‑February 2026 sitting, up two points from the previous 78% result. A total of 1,141 candidates sat the exam, with four‑fifths passing. First‑time takers recorded a slightly lower 79% success rate. The data also highlighted persistent gaps in outcomes across ethnicity, language, academic background and age groups.
Womble Bond Dickinson Sees Off £50 Million Negligence Claim over Collapsed London Property Deal
International law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) successfully defended a £50 million (~$63.5 million) professional negligence claim tied to a collapsed luxury property deal in Kensington, West London. The High Court found WBD did not breach any duty, that claimants failed to prove factual...
Ex-Latham Associate Unveils Free Legal AI Tool ‘Mike’ to Challenge Billion-Dollar Tech Giants
Former Latham & Watkins associate Will Chen has launched Mike, a free, open‑source legal AI platform that mirrors the capabilities of industry heavyweights Harvey and Legora. Built in just two weeks on Claude and Gemini models, Mike offers drafting, contract...
Magistrate Refused to Return to Court and Deliver Verdict
South East London magistrate Shanelle Nwanaebi was formally warned after refusing to return to court to deliver a majority verdict, an act deemed serious misconduct by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO). The investigation found her refusal breached judicial responsibilities,...
11KBW and 39 Essex Chambers Join Forces to Expand Scholarship for Black Aspiring Barristers
Two leading civil chambers, 11KBW and 39 Essex, have merged their scholarship programme, now offering two £30,000 (≈$38,400) awards each year to Black law students on the Bar Professional Course, doubling the previous single award. Recipients also gain mentorship, a...
BigLaw’s Billion-Pound AI Race
Elite law firms are accelerating AI adoption, partnering with legal‑tech leaders like Harvey and Legora. Valuations of these AI firms have surged, with Harvey now worth about $11 billion. Firms are experimenting with in‑house tools, Microsoft Copilot, and high‑profile marketing campaigns...
Supreme Court Appoints New Justice
Lord Justice Snowden has been appointed as the newest Justice of the UK Supreme Court. He brings a decade‑long tenure on the Court of Appeal and extensive experience in commercial, insolvency and financial services law from his time at Erskine...
‘Should I Do a Law Degree, or Should I Just Convert Later?’
The Legal Cheek podcast examines whether an undergraduate law degree still matters now that the SQE permits conversion routes. Host Ryan Scott, a Cambridge LLB graduate, contrasts his traditional path with Julia Szaniszlo’s language degree and firm‑sponsored conversion. They discuss...
Cardiff, Sheffield and Ulster Law Students Championed for Pro Bono Efforts
Law schools across the UK were honoured at the 2026 LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards. Cardiff University’s Fresh Claims Project won Best New Pro Bono Activity, delivering a 100% success rate on 14 asylum‑seeker cases. Sheffield Hallam...
Bank Holiday Round-Up
Legal Cheek’s Bank Holiday round‑up bundles the week’s most‑read legal stories, from Black lawyers confronting name‑based bias to Cleary Gottlieb’s pushback against soaring big‑law salaries. The piece highlights the U.S. Department of Justice shedding roughly a quarter of its attorney...
Latest Speakers Announced for LegalEdCon 2026
LegalCheek announced the third batch of speakers for LegalEdCon 2026, the ninth annual legal‑education conference. The in‑person event will take place on May 14, 2026 at Kings Place in London and is expected to draw learning‑and‑development and graduate‑recruitment teams from...
Six in Ten Pupil Barristers Are Women, New Figures Show
The Bar Standards Board reports that 60.3% of pupil barristers are women, the highest share since diversity data collection began a decade ago. Pupillage headcount reached a record 602, up from 589 the previous year. Despite this pipeline shift, women...
Top Law Firms Push for UAE Office Returns as Fragile Ceasefire Holds
International law firms operating in the United Arab Emirates are ordering lawyers back to the office after roughly two months of remote work triggered by the US‑Israeli war with Iran. Jones Day has asked its Dubai attorneys to return immediately,...
How to Nail Watson Glaser Tests, Assessment Centres and Final Interviews
Landing a law firm training contract now requires navigating a multi‑stage assessment process that includes Watson Glaser logical‑reasoning tests, assessment centres and final interviews. In a Legal Cheek podcast, Julia Szaniszlo and Ryan Scott share practical tactics for each stage, from...
Monday Morning Round-Up
Legal Cheek’s Monday round‑up bundles the week’s most consequential legal stories, from DLA Piper’s decision to dismantle its Swiss verein and adopt a single‑entity model, to high‑profile litigation such as the UK’s largest environmental pollution claim and the looming Musk‑Altman OpenAI...