Pulse UK

  • September 02, 2025

    Shoosmiths Hires Ex-DLA Piper Chief As Board Adviser

    Shoosmiths LLP said Tuesday that it has appointed the former international managing partner at DLA Piper to be a strategic adviser to its board as the firm looks to embrace the new technology driving delivery of legal services.

  • September 01, 2025

    AI Use Soars Among UK Lawyers, But Culture Lags Behind

    Law firms and in-house legal teams that fail to engage with artificial intelligence tools risk losing talent as a growing number of lawyers use the new technology to speed through research and administrative tasks, an industry survey revealed Monday.

  • September 01, 2025

    CPS Fights Clerk For Repayment After £1.8M Legal Aid Fraud

    Prosecutors sought to recover money on Monday from a legal clerk convicted of leading a scheme to make £1.8 million (£2.4 million) in bogus legal aid claims for criminal defense costs.

  • September 01, 2025

    Gowling Hires Operations Chief From Womble Bond Dickinson

    Gowling WLG said Monday that it has appointed a Womble Bond Dickinson executive to the position of chief operating officer as the firm continues its expansion.

  • September 01, 2025

    SDT Faults SRA's Probe After Sanction Of Solicitor

    A London tribunal has sanctioned a sole practitioner, even though it found "significant deficiencies" in how the Solicitors Regulation Authority handled the misconduct case against her and ruled that the watchdog had failed to carry out a proper investigation.

  • September 01, 2025

    SFO Official Hopes Pay Boost Will Draw Top-Tier Talent

    It is hoped that the first significant pay rise for lawyers representing the Serious Fraud Office in almost two decades will draw top-tier counsel back into the courtroom as the agency prepares for a packed trial list, a senior executive said on Monday.

  • September 01, 2025

    Clyde & Co. Expands To Netherlands With Merger

    Clyde & Co. said Monday that it has opened for business in the Netherlands by merging with insurance specialist Stadermann Luiten Advocaten, a law firm based in Rotterdam.

  • September 01, 2025

    Burges Salmon's Revenue Hits Record £178M As Profits Surge

    Burges Salmon LLP said Monday that growth in the financial services and property, as well as the energy and utilities sectors, helped the firm to deliver record revenue of £178 million ($241 million) as it also posted its highest-ever net profit.

  • September 01, 2025

    Gateley Buys IP Biz Groom Wilkes & Wright For Up To £9M

    Gateley (Holdings) PLC said Monday that it has bought Groom Wilkes & Wright, a boutique intellectual property firm, in a transaction worth up to £9 million ($12 million) as the professional services group seeks to broaden its business.

  • August 29, 2025

    Sports Silk On Why BigLaw Is Queuing To Get Into The Game

    Nick De Marco KC has acted for clients including Cristiano Ronaldo and Tyson Fury, but representing his beloved Queens Park Rangers in a make-or-break player ownership dispute tops them all. Here, he discusses the Magic Circle’s growing appetite for sports law work, the perils of football regulation and the realities of advising A-list clients.

  • September 05, 2025

    Singapore Chambers Duxton Hill Expands To London Bar

    Duxton Hill Chambers has unveiled the opening of a new operation in London, making it the first Singaporean chambers to establish a presence at the English bar, with the help of a former Allen & Overy LLP arbitration chief.

  • August 29, 2025

    Baker Botts Gets Early $1M Win In $7M Tycoon Fee Fight

    Baker Botts LLP scored a partial early victory in its fight to recover $7 million in fees from an Egyptian energy mogul, with a London court ordering the businessman's company on Friday to pay $1 million ahead of a trial.

  • August 29, 2025

    Ex-BLM Family Law Chief Accused Of Misleading Client

    A former head of family law at Berrymans Lace Mawer LLP has been referred to a tribunal over allegations that he misled a client, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has said.

  • August 29, 2025

    The Revolving Door: Perkins Coie, Proskauer Make Big Hires  

    Over the course of August, Proskauer expanded its leveraged finance capabilities with a White & Case hire, Perkins Coie snagged a technology veteran from Clifford Chance to support its recent growth in the capital, and Addleshaw Goddard launched a tax disputes and investigations practice with five specialists from Pinsent Masons.

  • August 29, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen Prosecco DOC Consortium bring an intellectual property claim against a distributor, the Serious Fraud Office bring a civil recovery claim against the ex-wife of a solicitor jailed over a £19.5 million fraud scheme, and law firm Joseph Hage Aaronson & Bremen LLP sue its former client, the bankrupt Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • August 29, 2025

    Ex-Burness Paull IT Worker Banned For Forging Invoice

    An IT worker at Burness Paull who forged a medical invoice to get an advance on his salary has been banned from working for legal service providers without the consent of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

  • August 28, 2025

    SFO Hikes Lawyers' Rates As New Fraud Offense Takes Effect

    The Serious Fraud Office revealed an increase to lawyers' hourly rates for the first time in almost two decades on Thursday, days before a new fraud offense comes into force.

  • August 28, 2025

    New CLLS Chief Looks To Boost Diversity In London's BigLaw

    The new chief executive of the City of London Law Society acknowledges the challenge of advancing diversity in the legal profession while expanding membership of the trade body. But he told Law360 that he is confident that lawyers have the capacity for progress and change.

  • August 28, 2025

    Livingston FC Defeats Ex-GC's Unfair Dismissal Claim

    The former general counsel at a Scottish Premier League club has lost his employment tribunal claim accusing Livingston FC of forcing him to resign for blowing the whistle about purported financial irregularities and unlawful payments to players.

  • August 28, 2025

    Kennedys Admits Data Breach In Church Abuse Email

    Kennedys Law LLP said Thursday that it has reported itself to regulators after it inadvertently left the email addresses of almost 200 survivors and law firms visible to all the recipients of an update on redress for abuse in the Church of England.

  • August 28, 2025

    SRA Fines Law Firm For Lapses In AML Compliance

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority has fined a Bournemouth-based law firm £14,509 ($19,589) after it failed to properly assess money laundering risks in client transactions for more than seven years. 

  • August 28, 2025

    SRA Reports Record 82% Pass Rate For SQE2

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority has reported that the pass rate for aspiring lawyers sitting the second stage of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination has hit a record high of 82%.

  • August 27, 2025

    Weightmans Posts Revenue Of £145M As Profit Dips Slightly

    Weightmans LLP said Wednesday that its net profit dipped slightly but revenue hit an all-time high of £145 million ($196 million) in the final year that its managing partner of 12 years oversaw the firm.

  • August 27, 2025

    Call For FCA Oversight On Portfolio Funding Sparks Concerns

    Litigation-funding experts have warned that a recent government-backed report could have unintended consequences for the sector by calling on the Financial Conduct Authority to regulate portfolio funding — without clearly defining what that entails.

  • August 27, 2025

    Consultant's Dishonesty Over Fake Signature Leads To Ban

    The solicitors' regulator has sanctioned an immigration consultant for falsely signing a document to support a client's visa application.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Covington's Sonia Campbell

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    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.

  • Roundup

    Practice Leader Insights

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    In this Law360 U.K. Expert Analysis series, leaders of employment, intellectual property, insurance and transactions practice groups share thoughts on keeping the pulse on legal trends, tackling difficult cases and what it takes to make a mark in their area.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights: Bird & Bird's Rebecca O'Kelly-Gillard

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    Rebecca O'Kelly-Gillard, who co-heads Bird & Bird's international copyright group, discusses the challenges of working on long cases with complex issues, whether current copyright law is fit for purpose in light of artificial intelligence, ​​​​​​​and why understanding technology makes it easier to argue the nuances of the law.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Birketts' Maria Peyman

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    Maria Peyman, who heads Birketts' intellectual property team, discusses the challenges of cases involving multiple patents, the need to reform legislative provisions in light of artificial intelligence, and why junior lawyers should take opportunities to get a broad range of experience before specializing.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights: Mishcon de Reya's Daniel Naftalin

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    Daniel Naftalin, who chairs the employment practice at Mishcon de Reya, discusses the challenges of working on multijurisdictional litigation, the need to show consideration for lawyers' well-being, and why employment law offers unique opportunities to specialize in a commercial field with a high degree of human interest.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Baker McKenzie's David Scott

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    David Scott, head of the London mergers and acquisitions practice at Baker McKenzie, discusses the excitement of working on a highly complex transaction, the need for a harmonized approach to deal regulatory scrutiny, and why deal work can become addictive.

  • Transatlantic Law Firm Mergers Are Transforming UK Market

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    With the current prevalence for high-profile U.K.-U.S. law firm mergers likely to continue, a new type of firm could emerge that strikes a balance between U.K. culture and working style, but with the global ambition that U.S. firms offer, says Ria Karnik at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights: Taylor Wessing's Paul Callaghan

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    Paul Callaghan, who leads Taylor Wessing's employment, pensions and mobility group, discusses the challenges of clients who take matters personally, why discrimination based on socioeconomic background needs to be addressed by the law, and how being contracted as an independent investigator is becoming a new trend for senior employment lawyers.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From BCLP's Benjamin Lee

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    Benjamin Lee, who co-leads BCLP's global corporate transactions practice, discusses the value of face-to-face meetings, how aspects of English company law could align with a more global approach, and what junior lawyers can learn by observing their senior colleagues.

  • Opinion

    Defunding Lawyer Apprenticeships Could Have Hidden Costs

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    In proposing to reform the U.K. apprenticeship system, it is crucial that the government gives sufficient consideration to how funding changes could reduce opportunities for underrepresented groups and negatively affect firms' ability to deliver effective training, says Carrie Laws at The Family Law Co.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Eversheds' Diane Gilhooley

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    Diane Gilhooley, who leads Eversheds Sutherland's employment, labor and pensions practice, looks at the multifaceted challenges of advising clients during pandemic lockdowns, the need to reform U.K.'s whistleblowing law, and why it's important for lawyers to enjoy their work.

  • 'Revolving Door' Model Can Help Bridge Legal Sector Gaps

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    The ability for lawyers to move freely between private and public sectors, a long-time feature of the U.S. legal landscape that was recently embraced by the U.K. Government Legal Department, offers valuable career experience and an effective way to close talent gaps at either end, say James Lavan and Thomas Hanlon at Buchanan.

  • Pros And Cons Of Nonequity Partnership For English Firms

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    With Cleary recently announcing a new nonequity partner category, it is an opportune time for firms governed by English law to examine the advantages and disadvantages of this position from the perspective of both the firm and the lawyer, says John Gould at Russell-Cooke.

  • Global Law Firms: The Challenge Of Where To Do Business

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    As the world becomes less predictable and operational risks present greater challenges, global law firms must contend with a range of pressures, yet financial considerations still drive much of the process when deciding where to plant a flag, say Bethaney Durkin and Liam McCafferty at Byfield Consultancy.

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