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07 April 2023 / Kate Stockdale
Issue: 8020 / Categories: Features , Profession , Career focus , Training & education
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Junior lawyers: Time to look further afield?

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It’s not all about the City: from varied workloads to a much-improved work-life balance, Kate Stockdale extols the benefits of rural firms for junior lawyers
  • Rural firms can be a great solution for the increasing number of young lawyers with career concerns.
  • A lifelong legal career can be sustainable for junior lawyers, so long as your firm caters to your needs.
  • Many benefits of working for a City firm can also be experienced in rural firms, challenging the misconceptions.

Many of us are facing mounting financial pressures this year as the cost of living increases at an alarming rate; one of the main worries is looking to the future and wondering whether the career we have chosen is sustainable. We are not the only profession in this position.

The Impact Report 2022 by LawCare, published earlier this year, has highlighted growing concerns among young lawyers. This study shows the dramatic increase in lawyers (especially those in the first five years of qualification) experiencing anxiety

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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