Pulse UK

  • November 07, 2025

    Minimum Pupillage Pay Raised To £26K In London In 2026

    The Bar Standards Board said Friday that the minimum amount those undertaking pupillages in London must be paid will rise to almost £26,000 ($34,000) at the start of 2026, as part of the regulator's latest round of uplifts.

  • November 07, 2025

    SRA Publishes Details Of Restrictions On Mazur Litigator

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority has published its decision on the law firm employee at the heart of the landmark Mazur court ruling, divulging that he had been suspended as a solicitor in 2008.

  • November 07, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen Big Technologies file fresh claims against its ousted chief executive, West Ham United FC sue Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance for breach of duty, and RSM UK face a new claim over a company's administration. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K. 

  • November 07, 2025

    The Revolving Door: Eversheds, Paul Hastings Make Big Hires

    Over the past week, Eversheds Sutherland recruited three new partners from DLA Piper to boost its transactional risk insurance and construction practices, Paul Hastings LLP added a structured finance specialist from Ashurst LLP and Charles Russell Speechlys LLP hired a tax expert from Clifford Chance LLP. Here, Law360 looks at those and more of the week's most notable lateral hires around the U.K.

  • November 07, 2025

    Gov't Floats FCA Powers To Punish Lawyers For AML Lapses

    The U.K. government has said it intends to give the Financial Conduct Authority broad powers to enforce anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism regulations against the legal sector, including the ability to issue fines and bans mirroring those imposed against financial firms.

  • November 07, 2025

    AI Platform Legora Launches Portal To Ease Firm-Client Work

    Swedish legal AI platform Legora said Friday it is developing a document portal that lets lawyers and clients work together in a secure workspace that avoids "inefficient" email chains with a roll-out date expected in early 2026.

  • November 06, 2025

    Akin's London Chief Leaves For GC Spot At Dubai Tech Biz

    Digital technology provider Veon Ltd. said Thursday that it has hired Sebastian Rice as general counsel, where he will take on a new role after spending the past 24 years at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

  • November 06, 2025

    City Firms Lead Profit Growth As Regional Firms See Decline

    The financial gap between City and regional law firms is widening, with big players seeing their partner profit pools surge more than 12% in financial years ending in early 2025 while regional firms saw declines of more than 10%, according to a new report published Thursday.

  • November 06, 2025

    Broadfield Can't Dodge £10M Property Sale Negligence Claim

    Broadfield Law cannot dodge a £10 million ($13 million) negligence claim over a botched property transaction, after a judge held Thursday that the sellers had a realistic chance of proving that it was liable for the actions of its predecessor.

  • November 06, 2025

    Historic England Picks 3 Law Firms For Legal Panel

    Bevan Brittan LLP, Trowers & Hamlins LLP and Womble Bond Dickinson have all secured places on the legal panel of Historic England, a public body responsible for protecting and promoting the country's heritage.

  • November 06, 2025

    Solicitor Avoids Suspension Over Fraudulent Property Deals

    A solicitor who failed to prevent a number of fraudulent or potentially fraudulent property deals can continue to practice after the profession's tribunal declined to impose an immediate suspension on Thursday.

  • November 05, 2025

    SDT Bars Solicitor Who Lied Over Client's Asylum Claim

    A former law firm partner who misled a client and other parties into thinking that he had lodged information with the Home Office to support an asylum claim has been barred from practicing as a solicitor, a tribunal has said.

  • November 05, 2025

    Legal Watchdog Pushes For Hub To Flag Troubled Firms Early

    A leading legal consumer advocate called Wednesday for the creation of a centralized hub to pool all warning signs about solicitors' firms — from complaints and inspection findings to whistleblower reports — to prevent another collapse like that of SSB Group Ltd.

  • November 05, 2025

    Funder Can't Stop Businessman's Bid To Reopen Asset Fight

    A businessman can try to reopen a long-running dispute over the assets of Gerald Smith, a former software company boss with a long history of financial crime, a London judge ruled on Wednesday. 

  • November 05, 2025

    No5 Barrister Tapped As New High Court Judge

    A silk at No5 Barristers' Chambers has been appointed as a judge at the High Court to the King's Bench Division.

  • November 05, 2025

    Burges Salmon Names Ex-Foot Anstey Vet New Finance Chief

    National U.K. law firm Burges Salmon has appointed a former Foot Anstey finance executive as its new chief financial officer.

  • November 05, 2025

    Fieldfisher To Merge With Regan Wall To Boost Irish Presence

    Fieldfisher LLP said Wednesday that it is merging with boutique law firm Regan Wall LLP, a move to boost its services in the corporate market in Ireland as it continues its expansion in Europe.

  • November 04, 2025

    Pierson Ferdinand Adds 6 More Partners In US, London

    Fast-growing Pierson Ferdinand LLP has announced that the firm added six new partners in five U.S. markets and in its London office during the month of October.

  • November 04, 2025

    Dechert Requiring 4 Days In Office For Some Attys, All Staff

    Dechert LLP joined a growing list of BigLaw firms increasing their office attendance requirements, rolling out a new policy requiring rising second-year associates and all nonattorney business professionals to work in person four days a week beginning next year.   

  • November 04, 2025

    London Partner Moves Surge 12% In Post-Summer Rebound

    London partner hiring bounced back in September and October after a summer dip to post a 12% increase, according to data published Tuesday by a leading London legal recruiter.

  • November 04, 2025

    Proposed Tax Reform Could Spur UK Law Firm Consolidation

    Facing a new tax on limited liability partnership members, U.K. law firms are weighing alternative structures in a shift experts say could accelerate consolidation across the sector and spur U.S. firms to reconsider their local setups.

  • November 04, 2025

    Ex-Slaughter & May Lawyer Banned For Lying In Pupillage Bid

    A disciplinary tribunal has struck off a former Slaughter and May associate after he admitted to telling a host of lies in his attempt to secure a pupillage within a prominent central London barristers' chambers.

  • November 04, 2025

    Carter-Ruck Invokes Privilege In Legal Bid To Stop SRA Case

    Carter-Ruck has asked the High Court to block the Solicitors Regulation Authority from investigating it for allegedly using abusive tactics against a politician during a failed libel claim brought by a client who is a donor to the Conservative Party.

  • November 04, 2025

    Lawyers Groups Urge Rethink On LLP Tax Proposals

    Leading lawyers' groups urged the government on Tuesday to scrap plans to add National Insurance contributions to the tax bills of partners in limited liability partnerships, warning that the "poorly designed" proposals could undermine the competitiveness of the legal sector.

  • November 04, 2025

    PI Boutique Express Solicitors Gets PE Backing For Growth

    Personal injury specialist Express Solicitors Ltd. said Tuesday that it has secured an investment from Ufenau Capital Partners AG in exchange for a majority stake in the firm as the private equity sector continues to take a growing interest in the U.K. legal market.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Morgan Lewis' Timothy Corbett

    Author Photo

    Timothy Corbett, leader of Morgan Lewis' London corporate and business transactions practice, discusses the challenges of divesting a company of its Russia operations under wartime conditions, the need to align regional regulatory approaches to artificial intelligence across global businesses, and why junior lawyers should develop an area of special interest.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Covington's Gregor Frizzell

    Author Photo

    Gregor Frizzell, head of the EMEA corporate group and vice chair of the global corporate practice at Covington, discusses the creative challenges of merger and acquisition document provisions, how modernizing the archaic stamp duty regime would be welcomed by tax lawyers, and the guidance offered by a recent case on the interpretation of material adverse clauses.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Farrer & Co.'s Simon Ward

    Author Photo

    Simon Ward, leader of the private capital practice at Farrer & Co., discusses the challenges of coordinating an acquisition with lawyers from other practice areas, why finding ways to connect education institutions to regulators and decision-makers would be a positive shift, and why young lawyers should get involved in the business world early on.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Morgan Lewis' Nick Bolter

    Author Photo

    Nick Bolter, leader of the London intellectual property practice at Morgan Lewis, discusses the challenges of acting in disputes where the other party is a lay person representing themselves, the need to refocus trademark law on consumer protection, and why IP is a challenging area of law.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Mayer Brown's James West

    Author Photo

    James West, co-leader of Mayer Brown's private equity practice, discusses the challenges of conducting complex deals at pace, the benefits of maintaining a relatively light regulatory framework in the private equity arena, and why the current economic climate has led to a need for the industry to be more flexible in its approach to dealmaking.

  • Practice Leader Insights From Norton Rose's Paul Griffin

    Author Photo

    Paul Griffin, head of employment and labor for Europe, Middle East and Asia at Norton Rose, discusses the challenge of litigating a whistleblowing case with a CEO remaining in post, why the qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal should be reviewed, and the importance of retaining one's authenticity as a lawyer.

  • What Rise Of AI Means For Future Of Junior Lawyer Careers

    Author Photo

    While artificial intelligence is reshaping law firms’ approach to core tasks, it is unlikely to eliminate the need for human oversight, and if junior lawyers can embrace new technologies with integrity, they can focus on more meaningful work and add greater value to their teams, says Valeriya Zinchenko at Teacher Stern.

  • Practice Leader Insights From HFW's Michelle Chance

    Author Photo

    Michelle Chance, head of HFW's London employment practice, discusses the challenges of defending a high-profile race discrimination class action in the civil courts, the need for male employees to take shared parental leave, and the significance of the new employer duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Cleary's Sebastian Sperber

    Author Photo

    Sebastian Sperber, leader of Cleary's EMEA capital markets and debt finance practice, discusses the challenges of working on complex transactions in pre-internet days, why regulators should think carefully before imposing additional disclosure burdens on corporations, and his hope that the recent U.K. listing reforms will encourage more companies to choose to list in London.

  • What Age Bias Ruling Means For Law Firm Retirement Policies

    Author Photo

    The recent employment tribunal age discrimination decision in Scott v. Walker Morris demonstrates that while law firms may implement mandatory retirement schemes, the policy must pursue a legitimate aim via proportionate means to pass the objective justification test, says Chris Hadrill at Redmans Solicitors.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From HFW's Christopher Foster

    Author Photo

    Christopher Foster, global head of insurance and reinsurance at HFW, discusses the challenges of conducting complex arbitration, why arbitration rules should be amended, and how learning about the market makes working in insurance law easier.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Broadfield's Sajjad Khan

    Author Photo

    Sajjad Khan, head of Broadfield's intellectual property practice, discusses how trademark matters that appear to be simple can end up being complex, why the regulatory framework for artificial intelligence and copyright is in clear need of reform, and how junior lawyers should persevere if interested in this competitive area of law.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Cleary's Gareth Kristensen

    Author Photo

    Gareth Kristensen, head of the Europe, Middle East and Africa intellectual property practice group at Cleary, discusses the challenges when data laws are not adapted to frontier artificial intelligence, why IP rights can have such significant value, and how nothing beats a deep understanding of what you enjoy within the realm of tech, IP and data.

  • Series

    PR Perspectives: 3 Misconceptions Around Law Firm Brands

    Author Photo

    Despite an implicit understanding of the value of brand, misconceptions around logo and financial value have resulted in law firms being slow to manage and build this valuable asset, without which it becomes difficult to attract the same caliber of client or recruit the best lawyers, says Daniela Conte at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Covington's Sonia Campbell

    Author Photo

    Sonia Campbell, head of the U.K. insurance recovery practice at Covington, discusses the challenges of working during the COVID-19 pandemic, why cyber underwriting risk will be critical for sector reform, and how junior lawyers need to be resilient and tenacious.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Pulse UK archive.