Pulse UK

  • May 15, 2026

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

    The past week in London has seen singer Rita Ora be sued by her management company, the billionaire Gertner brothers file a part 8 claim and Stephenson Harwood lodge a debt claim against a member of the Bulgari jewelry dynasty. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • May 15, 2026

    AmTrust Gets OK To Fight Ruling Capping Sompo Claim

    AmTrust persuaded a court Friday to allow it to challenge a decision capping its bid to hold an insurer of two defunct law firms liable for £15 million ($20 million) paid out under a failed litigation funding system.

  • May 15, 2026

    Irwin Mitchell Wraps Up Volume Wills Biz In Private Client Shift

    Irwin Mitchell LLP said Friday that it is winding down its volume wills service to focus on more complex private client matters, with "a small number" of partners exiting the firm as part of a broader shift to higher-value legal work.

  • May 15, 2026

    Legal Tech Roundup: Legora, Docusign

    Several legal technology companies formed new partnerships across the industry this past week.

  • May 15, 2026

    SRA Records 58% Jump In Misconduct Reports In 2 Years

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority said Friday that it has recorded a 58% increase in misconduct reports over the last two years as it seeks higher fees to strengthen its capacity to regulate the profession and improve protection for consumers.

  • May 15, 2026

    Brandsmiths Client Hit With Costs Penalty Over SRA Threat

    A London court has ordered a discount retailer to pay indemnity costs, finding the company's solicitors Brandsmiths misused criminal contempt proceedings and threatened to report their opposition lawyers to the profession's regulator in an attempt to gain leverage in a trademark dispute.

  • May 15, 2026

    The Revolving Door: US Firms Push Ahead With London Hires 

    Over the past week, Vinson & Elkins hired Ashurst's energy M&A head, White & Case tapped a Baker McKenzie infrastructure partner after a string of exits, Joseph Hage Aaronson & Bremen hired a construction partner from Quinn Emanuel, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher added a second restructuring partner from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett this year.

  • May 15, 2026

    Ex-Chair Of Law Firm Group Fights £1.1M Guarantee Claim

    The former executive chair of the collapsed Metamorph Group of law firms has said he does not owe approximately £1.1 million ($1.5 million) to two insurers under personal guarantees, arguing that money he authorized for release to them discharged his obligations.

  • May 15, 2026

    Law Firm Keystone To Return £1.5M To Shareholders

    Keystone Law kicked off a £1.5 million ($2 million) program to repurchase shares from investors on Friday after reporting higher revenue and amid growth in the number of lawyers at the firm.

  • May 14, 2026

    Barrister Loses Bid To Overturn £15K Fine Tied To Tax Row

    A London court has maintained a £15,000 ($20,100) fine imposed on a barrister after he sent a barrage of emails accusing HMRC and a caseworker of colluding to sabotage his tax appeal, backing a disciplinary panel's findings of misconduct.

  • May 14, 2026

    Spurs Hires Lawyer From Sports Boutique Northridge

    Tottenham Hotspur FC has hired a new in-house lawyer from sports boutique Northridge who worked on the sale of Chelsea FC and the partnership between Spotify and FC Barcelona.

  • May 21, 2026

    Reed Smith Adds Ex-Pinsent Masons IP Pro In Munich

    Reed Smith LLP has recruited a former partner at Pinsent Masons LLP in Germany to add to its intellectual property and life sciences offering in Europe.

  • May 14, 2026

    BP Deputy General Counsel To Join Rio Tinto As CLO

    Mining business Rio Tinto said Thursday it has appointed BP's deputy general counsel as its new chief legal officer for governance and corporate affairs.

  • May 14, 2026

    Inside A Legal Team's Push To Cut Law Firm Bills With AI

    The legal department of the European-based private debt firm Park Square Capital slashed review times and outside spending costs for certain documents in early 2026 by turning to an artificial intelligence tool.

  • May 14, 2026

    Pogust Goodhead's Brazil Shipwreck Case Struck Out

    A judge struck out on Thursday a claim brought by Pogust Goodhead on behalf of approximately 18,000 Brazilians over pollution caused by a shipwreck, after the law firm's authority to bring the action was thrown into doubt.

  • May 14, 2026

    Freshfields Taps Private Capital Co-Head For New UK Chief

    Freshfields LLP appointed a new managing partner for the U.K. on Thursday, naming private capital partner Victoria Sigeti as successor to Mark Sansom.

  • May 14, 2026

    Legal Sector Revenue Hits Record £5.6B High In March

    The U.K. legal industry posted revenue of approximately £5.6 billion ($7.6 billion) in March, according to official statistics released Thursday, making it the highest-ever monthly figure the sector has recorded.

  • May 14, 2026

    Burness Paull Posts Record £100M Turnover On Growth Push

    Burness Paull said Thursday that it has posted record turnover of more than £100 million ($135 million) and that profit and partner profits have also hit new highs in the first 12 months of the Scottish law firm's three-year strategy for growth.

  • May 14, 2026

    Freeths Settles £5M Claim Over Advice On Soured Quarry Deal

    Freeths has reached a settlement in its £5 million ($6.8 million) negligence dispute with a litigation-funder at a London court, swerving claims that its advice caused the owner of a quarrying business to lose his company.

  • May 13, 2026

    Dentons Hires Europe Head Of Legal Tech Enablement

    Ana Burbano, a legal operations and technology expert, announced on Wednesday that she has been hired as head of legal tech enablement for the European region at global law firm Dentons.

  • May 13, 2026

    Akin Adds 4 PE Attys From Sidley, Gains New Practice Head

    Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP announced Wednesday that it has welcomed four private equity attorneys to its New York and London offices, with three returning to the firm, including one who will lead the private equity practice.

  • May 13, 2026

    Carta Buys AI-Native Law Firm Avantia To Target PE Market

    U.S.-based private markets fintech company Carta said Wednesday that it has acquired U.K. law firm Avantia Law Ltd. in a move that enables it to offer artificial intelligence-powered legal and compliance services to private equity and venture capital firms.

  • May 13, 2026

    Ex-BDB Pitmans Client Challenges Denial Of Fee Protections

    A former client of BDB Pitmans urged a London appellate court on Wednesday to overturn rulings that their agreement for contentious work with the firm did not meet the requirements for statutory protections.

  • May 13, 2026

    Gov't Draws Funders' Ire After Avoiding PACCAR Again

    Litigation-funding companies said Wednesday that they were "deeply disappointed" by the absence in the King's Speech of legislation to reverse the effects of a landmark ruling that upended their business model.

  • May 13, 2026

    Stephenson Harwood Sues Bulgari Jewelry Heiress Over Debt

    Stephenson Harwood has sued a member of the Bulgari family, upping the stakes in her fight against another jewelry heiress over a $130 million family trust. 

Expert Analysis

  • 8 Ways Law Firms Can Prepare For SRA's AML Offensive

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    The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s recent plans to intensify anti-money laundering enforcement means firms need to concentrate on strengthening client matter risk assessments, policies and procedures, source of funds checks and firmwide risk assessments, says Harriet Holmes at Thirdfort.

  • How Fostering Well-Being Can Drive Law Firm Profitability

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    To counter the common assumption that prioritizing lawyer’s well-being damages profitability, firms should look at the role itself and build strategies to reduce stress, especially with the current focus on delivering more billable hours in light of artificial intelligence tools creating new capacity, says Charlotte Clegg at The Mindful Business Charter.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Bristows' Robert Burrows

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    Robert Burrows, joint head of patent litigation at Bristows, discusses the challenges of remote working when preparing cases, the need for reform in respect of second medical use patents, and whether recent European Union court decisions could mark the beginning of a shift in European litigation practice.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights: Farrer & Co.'s Kathleen Heycock

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    Kathleen Heycock, leader of the employment practice at Farrer & Co., discusses why challenging cases foster a sense of achievement, how an increase in workplace investigations has affected her practice, and the importance of emotional intelligence when working on both positive and negative employment matters.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Morgan Lewis' Timothy Corbett

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    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

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    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

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    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.

  • Russia Sanctions Spotlight: Divergent Approaches Emerge

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    With indications of greater divergence and uncertainty in Russia sanctions policy between the U.K., European Union and U.S., there are four general principles and a range of compliance steps that businesses should bear in mind when assessing the impact of a potentially shifting landscape, says Alexandra Melia at Steptoe.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Morgan Lewis' Nick Bolter

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    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.

  • FCA Update Eases Private Stock Market Disclosure Rules

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    The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently updated proposals for the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System would result in less onerous disclosure obligations for businesses, reflecting ongoing efforts to balance an attractive trading venue for private companies while maintaining sufficient investor protections, say lawyers at Debevoise.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Mayer Brown's James West

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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