A year in the world of Legal Cheek: The top 15 stories of 2019

Avatar photo

By Legal Cheek on

Magic circle salaries, lavish lawyer Insta lifestyles and, of course, Lady Hale on the Tube — but can you guess which story clocked up the most views over the past 12 months?

It’s been quite the year for the legal profession.

Plans to overhaul legal education with a new solicitor super-exam continued to gather pace, while the magic circle quintet splashed the cash and bumped junior lawyer pay to reach sweltering six-figure sums.

It’s also a year that has seen one lawyer turn to sex work as a side-hustle, another claim that her career was hampered by her good looks, and a third offer fans a glimpse into her glam lifestyle through her well-followed Instagram account.

And who can forget the Supreme Court saying goodbye to Lady Hale? Although not officially retiring from the top bench until next month, the Beyoncé of the law — who was recently snapped riding the Tube — said a fond farewell to her fellow bench mates at a valedictory ceremony last week.

But which stories have Legal Cheek readers enjoyed most? Here are our 15 most-read stories this year.

15. ‘Sex is fun, and I can get paid for it’, says criminal lawyer who side hustles as prostitute

[Read the story in full]

14. Junior solicitor struck off for fare dodging just two years after qualifying

[Read the story in full]

13. Eve Cornwell bumps into Lady Hale on the Tube

[Read the story in full]

12. Sainsbury’s shelf-stacker turned Doughty Street barrister becomes one of Inner Temple’s youngest benchers

Tunde Okewale (credit: Instagram @tundeokewale)

[Read the story in full]

11. Instagramming junior lawyer living super-glam lifestyle racks up over 330,000 followers

Credit: xlindalux

[Read the story in full]

10. Freshfields raises newly qualified solicitor pay to £100,000

[Read the story in full]

9. This Question Time audience member thinks all solicitors earn over £80,000 a year

Audience member and Labour’s Richard Burgon MP (Credit: BBC)

[Read the story in full]

8. Ferrari-toting barrister sparks LinkedIn beef

[Read the story in full]

7. Law school sweethearts land training contracts at same national firm where they both work as paralegals

[Read the story in full]

6. Children of lawyers 17 TIMES more likely to become lawyers themselves

[Read the story in full]

5. Drug suspension barrister goes viral after pro-Brexit rant on BBC Question Time

[Read the story in full]

4. ‘Don’t wear brown shoes with a blue suit’, City law firm partner tells trainees

Wikicommons: sweeticecreamphotography

[Read the story in full]

3. Law graduate claims good looks ruined her career

[Read the story in full]

2. Criminal defence solicitor expecting child with Celebrity Big Brother reality star

[Read the story in full]

1. Revealed: Law firms’ average arrive and leave the office times 2019-20

[Read the story in full]

Thank you to all our readers who have visited the site in 2019. Here’s to another year of Legal Cheek.

Related Stories

My journey from chartered legal exec to law firm partner

CILEX president Yanthé Richardson discusses her varied career, diversity in the law and the introduction of chartered paralegals

19 hours ago
news SQE Hub

ULaw strikes SQE training deal with Oxford Brookes 

Partnership will expand to include bar training from September 2026 

19 hours ago

Freshfields to ‘turbocharge’ future trainees with free tech-focused LLM

KCL masters comes with £20k maintenance grant

19 hours ago
5
careers SQE Hub

How to survive the SQE — and why regional firms could be your best career move

Programme and student lead at ULaw, Laura Duffy, discusses the challenges facing lawyers-to-be and the opportunities in the North

2 days ago

Paul Weiss completes refit of Twitter’s former West End office

The vibe is Mayfair hedge fund club privé

2 days ago
3

In the fast-paced world of legal AI, aspiring lawyers should focus on the basics

ULaw graduate and teaching assistant Callum Gee talks legal tech, careers support and his journey through law

3 days ago
Handshake

‘About to start my first vac scheme — what are the dos and don’ts?’

Aspiring solicitor keen to make good first impression

3 days ago
14
news SQE Hub

‘My 10 point plan for SQE reform’

Thom Brooks, professor of law and government at Durham University, puts forward his recommendations for overhauling the SQE

4 days ago
26

Monday morning round-up

The top legal affairs news stories from this morning and the weekend

4 days ago

White lines and harsh fines: cocaine and football banning orders

Aspiring criminal barrister Harry Toy takes a look at changes to legislation on football banning orders.

7 days ago
1

Solicitor given suspended sentence for pothole fraud

Legal background aggravating factor

7 days ago
3

Regulator flags areas of improvement for College of Legal Practice 

Report finds virtual law school meets standards in five key areas but falls short in two

Jun 26 2025 9:17am

Aspiring lawyer wins right to sue Clyde & Co over alleged discrimination after TC rejections

Law grad claims she was unfairly denied remote assessment

Jun 25 2025 2:00pm
19
careers SQE Hub

SQE tips from a future trainee solicitor

Alex Goodman, future trainee and ULaw student ambassador, discusses his SQE experience, from revision strategies to social life

Jun 25 2025 8:33am

My journey from chartered legal exec to law firm partner

CILEX president Yanthé Richardson discusses her varied career, diversity in the law and the introduction of chartered paralegals

19 hours ago
news SQE Hub

ULaw strikes SQE training deal with Oxford Brookes 

Partnership will expand to include bar training from September 2026 

19 hours ago

Freshfields to ‘turbocharge’ future trainees with free tech-focused LLM

KCL masters comes with £20k maintenance grant

19 hours ago
5
careers SQE Hub

How to survive the SQE — and why regional firms could be your best career move

Programme and student lead at ULaw, Laura Duffy, discusses the challenges facing lawyers-to-be and the opportunities in the North

2 days ago

Paul Weiss completes refit of Twitter’s former West End office

The vibe is Mayfair hedge fund club privé

2 days ago
3

In the fast-paced world of legal AI, aspiring lawyers should focus on the basics

ULaw graduate and teaching assistant Callum Gee talks legal tech, careers support and his journey through law

3 days ago
Handshake

‘About to start my first vac scheme — what are the dos and don’ts?’

Aspiring solicitor keen to make good first impression

3 days ago
14
news SQE Hub

‘My 10 point plan for SQE reform’

Thom Brooks, professor of law and government at Durham University, puts forward his recommendations for overhauling the SQE

4 days ago
26

Monday morning round-up

The top legal affairs news stories from this morning and the weekend

4 days ago

White lines and harsh fines: cocaine and football banning orders

Aspiring criminal barrister Harry Toy takes a look at changes to legislation on football banning orders.

7 days ago
1

Solicitor given suspended sentence for pothole fraud

Legal background aggravating factor

7 days ago
3

Regulator flags areas of improvement for College of Legal Practice 

Report finds virtual law school meets standards in five key areas but falls short in two

Jun 26 2025 9:17am

Aspiring lawyer wins right to sue Clyde & Co over alleged discrimination after TC rejections

Law grad claims she was unfairly denied remote assessment

Jun 25 2025 2:00pm
19
careers SQE Hub

SQE tips from a future trainee solicitor

Alex Goodman, future trainee and ULaw student ambassador, discusses his SQE experience, from revision strategies to social life

Jun 25 2025 8:33am

My journey from chartered legal exec to law firm partner

CILEX president Yanthé Richardson discusses her varied career, diversity in the law and the introduction of chartered paralegals

19 hours ago
news SQE Hub

ULaw strikes SQE training deal with Oxford Brookes 

Partnership will expand to include bar training from September 2026 

19 hours ago

Freshfields to ‘turbocharge’ future trainees with free tech-focused LLM

KCL masters comes with £20k maintenance grant

19 hours ago
5
careers SQE Hub

How to survive the SQE — and why regional firms could be your best career move

Programme and student lead at ULaw, Laura Duffy, discusses the challenges facing lawyers-to-be and the opportunities in the North

2 days ago

Paul Weiss completes refit of Twitter’s former West End office

The vibe is Mayfair hedge fund club privé

2 days ago
3

In the fast-paced world of legal AI, aspiring lawyers should focus on the basics

ULaw graduate and teaching assistant Callum Gee talks legal tech, careers support and his journey through law

3 days ago
Handshake

‘About to start my first vac scheme — what are the dos and don’ts?’

Aspiring solicitor keen to make good first impression

3 days ago
14
news SQE Hub

‘My 10 point plan for SQE reform’

Thom Brooks, professor of law and government at Durham University, puts forward his recommendations for overhauling the SQE

4 days ago
26

Monday morning round-up

The top legal affairs news stories from this morning and the weekend

4 days ago

White lines and harsh fines: cocaine and football banning orders

Aspiring criminal barrister Harry Toy takes a look at changes to legislation on football banning orders.

7 days ago
1

Solicitor given suspended sentence for pothole fraud

Legal background aggravating factor

7 days ago
3

Regulator flags areas of improvement for College of Legal Practice 

Report finds virtual law school meets standards in five key areas but falls short in two

Jun 26 2025 9:17am

Aspiring lawyer wins right to sue Clyde & Co over alleged discrimination after TC rejections

Law grad claims she was unfairly denied remote assessment

Jun 25 2025 2:00pm
19
careers SQE Hub

SQE tips from a future trainee solicitor

Alex Goodman, future trainee and ULaw student ambassador, discusses his SQE experience, from revision strategies to social life

Jun 25 2025 8:33am