The Memo - Chambers Student's Blog
Like much of what we do at Chambers Student, our Commercial Awareness Memo is designed to give law students a better understanding of the legal market. Through comprehensive analysis and commentary on current events, we help students make sense of what's going on behind the headlines, by taking a closer look the role lawyers (and the law) play in these kinds of stories.
How to get the most out of the Memo:
Below, the Chambers Student team pick out the cases that have sparked our interest, from the UK government's controversial Rwanda plan, to doping in sport and Wagatha Christie, and take a look through a commercial and legal lens - a crucial skill for those navigating the path from law student to lawyer.
In this easy to digest format, we present all the information law students should be aware of, from how these stories connect to the legal space, to the effect they have on it. By offering commercial awareness in real time, our articles will ultimately help you understand how the legal market works, and where you might fit in.
New this week:
22nd April - How did AI contribute to the viral Willy Wonka experience?
22nd April - Boeing in legal trouble over safety concerns
22nd April - The latest from Rust: Armourer sentenced to 18 months for involuntary manslaughter
April's top stories:
15th - Swiss women achieve landmark win in human rights climate dispute
15th - Assisted dying in the UK: Scotland to lead the way?
15th - Hate Crime and Public Order Act introduced in Scotland
2nd - First person convicted of cyberflashing in England
2nd - Contentious security law passes in Hong Kong
2nd - British Board of Film Classification updates its rating standards
March's top stories:
18th - Update: Post Office Horizon bill introduced by ministers
18th - Nationwide and Virgin Money: the biggest UK banking deal since 2008?
18th - Spain passes amnesty law for Catalan separatists
12th - Apple fined £1.5 billion by EU for breaking competition law
12th - Roman Polanski defamation trial kicks off in Paris
4th - Personal injury claim thrown out after Irish woman pictured throwing Christmas Tree
February's top stories:
19th - Unravelling Bitcoin’s identity: The Strange Case of Dr. Wright and Mr. Nakamoto
19th - Thailand plans to overturn progressive cannabis laws
12th - HMRC fails to prosecute any company over tax evasion in six years
5th - Brexit and the UK’s environmental standards
5th - Pregnant woman’s firearms sentence quashed in ‘landmark’ UK ruling
5th - Germany eases citizenship requirements for foreign nationals
January's top stories:
29th - Three Provisional IRA victims in England can sue Gerry Adams in personal capacity, judge rules
22nd - The latest from the Post Office Inquiry
22nd - Judicial review hearing granted over XL bully ban
22nd - Taiwan to join the International Criminal Court?
22nd - Shipping and global trade disrupted amidst Houthi Red Sea attacks
15th - The fight for Nature’s Rights: Should legal rights be given to animals, species and places?
15th - Critics say sexual harassment protections in the UK TV & Film industry in need of reform
15th - US proposes law to regulate AI copying voice and likeness
December's top stories:
19th - Wilko collapse: What happens when a company goes under?
19th - Generative AI & the legal industry
11th - Celebrating Sandra Day O’Connor: The US Supreme Court’s first serving woman
11th - What happened with David Walliams and why you need to know about it: torts, data, and GDPR
11th - King Charles’ Estate raking in bona vacantia
4th - Allen & Overy held to ransom: Law firms & cyber security threats
4th - Understanding the controversy behind the Parthenon marbles
4th - Axiom Ince trainees left in the dark over firm’s collapse
4th - Everton’s point deduction and its impact on English football
November's top stories:
27th - Kelly Fisher, Dodi Fayed and a breach of contract law in the wake of The Crown
27th - The Trump Trial: the story so far
27th - Climate protesters cleared of causing damage to HSBC London HQ
20th - Government’s Rwanda plans unlawful, says Supreme Court
20th - McDonald’s and Amazon linked to trafficking of workers in Saudi Arabia
20th - Isle of Man: The Assisted Dying Bill 2023
20th - Greenpeace to potentially Shell out millions in damages following climate protests
6th - Worker Protection Act 2023 – Workers to get more protection from sexual harassment
6th - Afghans awaiting UK visas in Pakistan threatened with expulsion
30th - Fake news and misinformation surrounding the situation in Gaza
30th - SAG-AFTRA announce restrictions on Halloween costumes for members
23rd - Free speech and universities: Greater protections on the way for students and lecturers
23rd - Invasive species: First traps set for Chinese mitten crabs in the UK
23rd - Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition authorised by the CMA
16th - Asylum seekers and the lawyers who defend them
16th - New release ‘May December’ harks back to a bygone era in child protection law
16th - Gambling reform in the UK: where do things stand?
September's top stories:
18th - The Dangerous Dogs Act: A bark more effective than its bite?
18th - Scottish government calls for decriminalisation of drugs
18th - Plans to make it compulsory for offenders to attend their sentencing hearings
18th - Glyn Razzell: When are murderers refused parole?
4th - Burger King to face legal action over the size of its Whopper
August's top stories:
28th - Trans participation in sport: British Cycling the latest to ban transgender women from female events
28th - House of the Dragon: Why the Hollywood Strikes haven’t shut down production on the HBO hit
28th - Legal Aid Funding: What is the Future of Prison Law?
28th - Children’s safety concern over family courts failings
14th - Longer read: SAG-AFTRA and WGA Strike
14th - Deductions to miscarriage of justice compensation to be scrapped
14th - Drivers make common law claim to avoid speeding penalties
7th - Business & Trade Committee takes aim at McDonalds
7th - Elon Musk’s X Corp sues British anti-hate non-profit
July's top stories:
31st - Lion on the loose in Berlin
31st - Twitter rebranding
31st - Protecting children from abuse in the AI era
17th - Why didn’t the mainstream media name Huw Edwards as the presenter at the centre of the BBC scandal?
17th - Aretha Franklin will dispute rumbles on
17th - Government weighs in on debate as it rejects tighter gun controls following Plymouth mass shooting
10th - Rwanda to receive Britain’s asylum seekers despite appeal courts ruling it unlawful
3rd - Controversial jail sentence for UK Woman who took abortion pills too late
June's top stories:
19th - The strange world of football’s managerial dismissals
19th - Just Stop Oil protests continue
19th - Crew members injured in explosion on Gladiator 2 film set
5th - Allen & Overy set to join forces with Shearman & Sterling
5th - Immigration and human rights: the Home Office’s latest controversial deportation
From the Archive:
18th April - Longer read: The Bar Council of India widens foreign access to India’s legal market
18th April - The Barclays Premier League and tax
27th March - Longer read: Gary Lineker vs the BBC: What can go into an employment contract?
27th March - The middle finger and the law
6th March - What legal hurdles face publishers looking to edit old books?
13th February - Student group claim against UK universities
16th January - Lifting the lid on doping and performance-enhancing drug use in sport
20th December - An inside look at what FTX’s collapse means for crypto law
21st October - Keep it on the QC?