The law lords , who comprise Britain’s highest court as the judicial arm of the House of Lords, ended over 100 years of history as they passed their final judgement yesterday. From October they will be reconvening as justices in Britain’s first supreme court in a refurbished building on the other side of Parliament Square.

Marking a historic day, Britain’s highest court issued a historic judgment. In a unanimous ruling, five law lords backed a call by MS sufferer, Debbie Purdy, for the director of public prosecutions to immediately draw up a policy that would spell out when prosecutions would and would not be pursued against people who travel abroad to support relatives seeking an assisted suicide. It is the first time that the DPP has been asked by the courts to outline the circumstances under which he would prosecute and it could finally remove the fear of prosecution for those involved in such difficult decisions.

So, as the judiciary moves forward, the profession fields criticism for moving backwards as the Law Society issues warnings about the risks of becoming a lawyer and the Bar Standards Board attempts to bring in an aptitude test for the Bar. With all the positive propaganda pumped out by law schools and law firms about the benefits of a legal career, perhaps it is time that someone warned legal wannabees of the reality – not everyone will make it.

The financial and headcount stats for 2008-09 appear a little at odds with the reality on the ground but it is fair to say that there has been less reported scandal this year. And it’s always more interesting to consider the anecdotal evidence to see why. Tough year or not, for law firms looking to get ahead perhaps now is the time to get radical and proactive (can you even mix such nouns and adjectives).

And if you think a life of must have organic skinny lattes and organic deli food is just too expensive these days, take cheer from this – the Food Standards Agency commissioned a research report into organic food which found that there is little difference in nutritional value and no evidence of any extra health benefits from eating organic produce. Oh well back to cheapo GM stuff then…