Welcome to the spring edition of the Legal Week Student Special, the comprehensive guide for those about to take their first steps toward a career in law. You do so at a time when, in common with many other sectors of the UK economy, the legal profession is facing the most difficult operating conditions for more than a decade.
After years of rapid expansion and record-breaking profits, a number of firms have been forced to make their first redundancies since the last recession. Mercifully, the job losses have been limited in scope and the majority took place more than six months ago now, suggesting that the market has stabilised. Indeed, there is little evidence that firms are readying themselves for further cutbacks.
