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Pulse UK

  • June 17, 2025

    SRA Hits Firm With £64K Fine Over AML Lapses

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority has hit a firm with a £64,000 ($86,000) fine after finding it failed to comply with anti-money laundering regulations for around six years.

  • June 17, 2025

    Ackroyd Denies A Duty To Warn On Failed £4.5M Property Deal

    Ackroyd Legal has denied failing to warn a Qatari executive and his sister about a property deal that they said cost them £4.5 million ($6.1 million), arguing that it was not obliged to advise them on the "prudency" of the transaction.

  • June 17, 2025

    Profits Surge 29% At Manchester Firm With Four-Day Week

    A Manchester law firm said Tuesday that it has adopted a permanent four-day working week for all staff after a nine-month trial delivered what it described as "phenomenal results," including a 22% rise in productivity.

  • June 17, 2025

    Spanish Law Firm Voids Danish Outfit's 'Legaltech' TM

    A Spanish law firm has persuaded European Union officials to void most of a Danish organization's protections over its "Legaltech" name, proving that the word is too descriptive to function as a trademark.

  • June 17, 2025

    DWF Rolls Out Legora For Its Alternative Legal Services

    DWF LLP said Tuesday it is rolling out Legora's artificial intelligence platform to handle routine legal work outsourced by clients — including other law firms — as more legal providers adopt generative AI to stay competitive.

  • June 17, 2025

    Legal Services Price Spikes May Hit Access To Services

    The Legal Services Board said Tuesday that rising prices for legal services are potentially offsetting the benefits to consumers of shopping around and accessing legal support remotely, including where prices might be lower.

  • June 24, 2025

    Squire Patton Taps V&E For Partner On Construction Team

    Squire Patton Boggs LLP has hired construction and engineering specialist Ciaran Williams as a partner in its litigation practice, as the firm continues to bulk up its global construction team.

  • June 17, 2025

    Anexo Investors Get More Time To Weigh Buying Out Stake

    Anexo Group PLC said on Tuesday that its largest shareholders will have a further two weeks to say whether they plan to buy out the rest of the specialist motor accident credit hire and legal services business.

  • June 16, 2025

    Birketts Launches Employment Support Service, Resolve

    Birketts LLP said Monday that it has launched a new service to provide holistic employment support to clients under one roof as workplace challenges become increasingly complex.

  • June 16, 2025

    McDermott Goes West To Mayfair As London Grows Rapidly

    McDermott Will & Emery LLP said Monday that it will relocate its U.K. headquarters to Mayfair in London in 2028, moving from its current City offices to accommodate future expansion and to be closer to private equity clients.

  • June 16, 2025

    Knights Group Completes £16.6M Birkett Long Deal

    Knights Group Holdings PLC said on Monday that it has completed the acquisition of the Birkett Long law firm and financial advisory company, in a deal estimated to be worth up to £16.6 million ($22.5 million).

  • June 16, 2025

    Gov't Urged To Fund Legal Support For 'Windrush' Victims

    A report urged the government Monday to fund legal support for victims of the "Windrush" scandal after it found that claimants who were wrongly classified as illegal immigrants from the Caribbean received little or no compensation under a Home Office program.

  • June 16, 2025

    DWF's Knowles Steps Down After Driving 60% Revenue Jump

    DWF LLP said Monday that Nigel Knowles will retire as its chief executive at the start of August, ending a five-year tenure as the firm prepares to enter a new phase of growth under fresh leadership.

  • June 13, 2025

    The Revolving Door: Simmons Arbitration Co-Head Departs

    Over the past week, Simmons & Simmons' international arbitration co-head joined Stephenson Harwood, White & Case picked up another investment fund pro from Ropes & Gray, and the A&O Shearman exodus continued with a partner leaving to join Baker McKenzie.

  • June 13, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen Tottenham Hotspur FC kick off against Manchester United co-owner Ineos Automotive following a soured sponsorship deal, Acer and Nokia clash over patents for video coding technology, and two investors reignite litigation against the founders of an AI exercise bike business that unlawfully pocketed $1.2 million in investments to fund their own lifestyles. Here, ¼«ËÙÈü³µ looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • June 13, 2025

    Weightmans Promotes 2 To Equity Partners, Hires IT Director

    Weightmans LLP has promoted two attorneys to its equity partnership, increasing the firm's total equity partnership strength to 45 and the total partner count to 267.

  • June 13, 2025

    Bar Council Pushes Back On LSB's Ethical Conduct Proposals

    The Bar Council has urged the sector's oversight watchdog not to be overly prescriptive as it looks to combat poor ethical conduct by lawyers in the wake of high-profile scandals.

  • June 13, 2025

    Solicitors Owe SRA £1M+ In Fines Amid Financial Struggles

    Solicitors and law firms regulated by the solicitors' watchdog owe more than £1 million ($1.35 million) in unpaid fines, which experts say is linked to financial pressures across the profession.

  • June 13, 2025

    Law Society Says UK Must Act As Employment Claims Grow

    The Law Society urged the government on Friday to ensure that employment tribunals are funded to handle an anticipated deluge of new claims once the Employment Rights Bill becomes law, as official figures show a worsening backlog of unresolved cases.

  • June 13, 2025

    Ashurst Raises NQ Pay To £140K Amid Legal Sector Pay Race

    Ashurst LLP said Friday that it has raised the salaries of its newly qualified lawyers in London by 12%, as leading law firms in the capital continue to offer inflation-busting pay increases amid intensifying competition in the legal sector.

  • June 12, 2025

    TLT Names Financial Services Chief As Senior Partner

    TLT LLP said Thursday that it has elected its head of financial services as its next senior partner.

  • June 12, 2025

    UK Legal Sector Revenue Dips 9% As Economy Contracts

    The U.K. legal industry posted revenues of approximately £4.7 billion ($6.4 billion) in April as performance took a dip amid broader contraction in the economy, official statistics showed Thursday.

  • June 12, 2025

    Reed Smith Appoints New Head Of Its Frankfurt Office

    Reed Smith LLP said Thursday that it has appointed debt finance specialist Oliver Hahnelt as the managing partner of its office in Frankfurt following the departure of its previous incumbent.

  • June 12, 2025

    PI Law Specialist Fletchers Buys Clinical Negligence Biz

    Fletchers Group, which specializes in personal injury, said Thursday it has acquired the clinical negligence business of Sheldon Davidson Solicitors, a boutique law firm in Bury in northwest England.

  • June 12, 2025

    DLA Hikes London NQ Pay By Inflation-Busting 18% To £130K

    DLA Piper said Thursday that it has raised salaries for its newly qualified lawyers in London to £130,000 ($177,000) per year, as part of what it describes as a "significant investment" in its U.K. workforce.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • How Partners' Role In Firm Culture Affects Pay Decisions

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    Amid an increased regulatory focus on workplace culture, law firms are more than ever having to grapple with how they can reinforce the right partner behaviors when making decisions as to promotion or remuneration, in a way that is objective and fair, say Andrew Pavlovic and Corinne Staves at CM Murray.

  • 3 Reasons For Popularity Of Pro Bono In UK, Europe BigLaw

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    Several factors have contributed to the rise in organized pro bono work in the legal sector across the U.K. and Europe, and with large law firms looking to distinguish themselves and compete for talent, the trend seems likely to continue, says Paul Yates at Freshfields.

  • UK Election Offers New Opportunity To Promote Rule Of Law

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    With many members of Parliament entering the House of Commons for the first time following the election in July, it is a daunting time for those transitioning into elected legislators, and the input of lawyers is crucial to ensure we see evidence-driven and legally certain legislation, says Tyrone Steele at Justice.

  • The Art Of Storytelling In E-Discovery, And Why It Is Important

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    With document review accounting for a large proportion of legal costs, weaving in a storytelling approach to e-discovery alongside increasingly automated processes allows a more effective way of producing evidence that minimizes inefficiencies and ultimately achieves better outcomes, says Tiana Van Dyk at Epiq Legal Solutions.

  • Tips On Preparing A Business To Navigate A Corporate Crisis

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    The recent CrowdStrike IT issue demonstrates that while it can be difficult to predict when a crisis might hit, there are proactive steps senior executives and their legal advisers can take to be better prepared for such an eventuality and to weather the storm more effectively, says Jenny Afia at Schillings.

  • How Generative AI Is Changing Legal Department Functions

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    Generative artificial intelligence is of much greater consequence than previous legal technologies and is therefore poised to reshape legal functions, redefine the roles of legal professionals, and change how much legal work is delivered — and some key practice areas and legal activities stand to be most transformed, say members of Deloitte Legal.

  • Examining The State Of Paccar Fixes After General Election

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    Following the U.K. Supreme Court's Paccar decision last year, which made many litigation funding agreements for opt-out collective actions in the Competition Appeal Tribunal unenforceable, the judiciary will likely take charge in implementing any fixes — but the general election has created uncertainty, says Ben Knowles at Clyde & Co.

  • PR Perspectives: Judging When To Engage With Politics

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    Parliament's recent return from its summer break brings opportunities for legal public relations professionals to engage with political topics, and although it is less risky to say nothing, deciding to enter the conversation can reap rewards, says Ben Finnis at Greentarget.

  • Opinion

    Gov't Should Offer Support To Improve Firms' Cybersecurity

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    With an escalating sophistication and frequency of cyberattacks in law firms and businesses, there is a need to address potential threats and an opportunity to push the new government for significant legislative change to strengthen the U.K.’s cybersecurity framework, says Scott Kramer at Clio.

  • What M&A Uptick Will Mean For Legal Hiring

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    Thomson Reuters research reveals an improving macroeconomic picture of incoming interest rate cuts, and with market confidence in the new U.K. government, there is a higher corporate demand for transactional advice, leading law firms to increase their hiring in preparation for this heavier workload, says James Lavan at Buchanan Law.

  • How In-House Legal Teams Can Improve Their Reputation

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    In-house legal teams, long believed to create unnecessary hurdles, can reframe themselves as integral business partners by embedding best practices in governance and compliance, engaging directly with key stakeholders and fostering relationships with colleagues, says Sarah Davis at The Legal Director.

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