Pulse UK

  • January 13, 2026

    Belgian Firms Join Forces For UPC Litigation

    Jan 13 - possible brief - two Belgian firms have teamed up & combined their UPC services. Don't think it's a full merger - there is probably a press release somewhere but at the very least there is a LinkedIn post from today: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/altius_altius-de-clercq-linkedin-activity-7416737835858403328-sJN2/ and the website is live https://upc-patents.com/ 

  • January 13, 2026

    Carter-Ruck Pro Seeks £914K From SRA Over OneCoin Case

    A Carter-Ruck partner urged a disciplinary tribunal on Tuesday to order the solicitors' regulator to pay her almost £1 million ($1.35 million) in legal costs and tax over its allegation that she had improperly threatened a whistleblower who exposed the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam.

  • January 13, 2026

    Barrister Loses Bid for Costs After Employment Appeal Win

    The Employment Appeal Tribunal has refused a bid by a Garden Court Chambers barrister to get two companies to pay his costs for defending himself against their unsuccessful wasted costs application over his management of a discrimination case brought by a former staffer.

  • January 13, 2026

    Irwin Mitchell's Advice Didn't Bankrupt Ex-Nightclub Boss

    A court largely rejected a claim on Tuesday from a former nightclub boss that Irwin Mitchell LLP owed him about £2 million ($2.7 million) for giving incorrect advice on the sale of his house and causing him to sell it for less than he could have.

  • January 13, 2026

    AI-Powered Patent Service Will Cut Legal Fees, IP Firm Says

    Intellectual property firm EIP said Tuesday that clients will be able to save almost a third on legal fees by using its new patent prosecution service, which relies on artificial intelligence tools.

  • January 13, 2026

    Jo Sidhu Fails To Overturn Disbarment For Sexual Misconduct

    The former chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Jo Sidhu KC, lost his fight on Tuesday to overturn his disbarment for sexual misconduct toward a young aspiring lawyer, as a London court ruled that the sanction was justified.

  • January 13, 2026

    Quinn Emanuel's Revenue Ticks Up To £227M In London

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP said Tuesday that its London office returned to seeing its profits grow in 2025, following a dip the previous year, as its revenue ticked up to £227.1 million ($305.8 million).

  • January 13, 2026

    LSB Names Permanent CEO During 'Critical' Period

    The Legal Services Board said on Tuesday that it has appointed Richard Orpin as permanent chief executive as the oversight regulator navigates what it described as a critical time for the profession.

  • January 13, 2026

    Freeths Hires Private Client Director Amid UK Expansion

    Freeths has bolstered its tax, trusts and estates practice by hiring Suzanne Porter, who is the first recorded female steward of a historic disputes court in Derbyshire, as a director to lead the launch of the firm's practice in the north of England.

  • January 12, 2026

    Clifford Chance Continues US Growth With Freshfields Atty

    Clifford Chance LLP announced Monday that it is continuing to grow in the U.S. with the hiring of a private equity attorney from Freshfields LLP, touting her experience in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, investments, divestitures, joint ventures, equity financings and restructurings.

  • January 12, 2026

    Squire Patton Elects Three New Global Board Members

    Squire Patton Boggs announced the addition of two European partners and one U.S. partner to its global board Monday.

  • January 12, 2026

    Paralegal Banned From Law For Lying About Missing Docs

    A former paralegal has been permanently banned from working for law firms after a tribunal concluded Monday she lied to a firm and a client by falsely claiming documents had been misplaced.

  • January 12, 2026

    City Law Firm Liable For £2M Over Partner's AML Oversight

    A London court ruled Monday that the liquidators of a property company can recover just over £2.1 million ($3 million) from a City law firm after it found a partner had ignored obvious red flags of a client involved in fraud.

  • January 12, 2026

    Make Legal Aid Priority Like Health, Education, Bar Chair Says

    The new chair of the Bar Council called on Monday for legal aid funding to get the same kind of priority as spending on education and health care as she outlined her priorities for the year ahead.

  • January 12, 2026

    Solicitor Accused At Trial Of Stalking Court Blogger

    A solicitor stalked a legal blogger who had covered litigation in which he was involved by sending repeated emails that included threats of litigation and comments about his sexuality, prosecutors said at a London criminal court Monday.

  • January 12, 2026

    Ward Hadaway's Turnover Passes £50M With 12% Growth

    Ward Hadaway LLP said Monday that strong performances across the business have helped its annual turnover jump to more than £50 million ($67 million), an increase of about 12%.

  • January 12, 2026

    Knights Hits £103M In Revenue In First-Half Results

    Knights said Monday that a series of law firm acquisitions and a return to organic growth have helped the group's revenue pass £100 million ($135 million) as it released financial results for the first half of its current financial year.

  • January 12, 2026

    Fixed Costs Regime Unfair To Winners, Law Society Says

    The fixed recoverable costs regime is failing to deliver the certainty it promised to winning parties in civil litigation, the Law Society said Monday in response to an impending government consultation.

  • January 12, 2026

    Master Of The Rolls Geoffrey Vos To Retire

    Master of the Rolls Geoffrey Vos announced Monday that he will step down from his post as the most senior civil judge in England and Wales later in 2026.

  • January 09, 2026

    SDT Clears Two Over Trainee-Run Firm, Fines Others £40K

    A tribunal has fined two individuals a total of more than £41,000 ($55,000) for allowing a trainee to run a firm for nine months, but didn't sanction two others involved after concluding that they were misled about who would be in control. 

  • January 09, 2026

    Ropes & Gray Expands AI Program To Europe

    Ropes & Gray LLP said Friday that it has extended a program to its European offices that allows junior lawyers to spend time experimenting with artificial intelligence, empowering them to develop competency and to help drive the firm's strategy for integrating the new technology.

  • January 09, 2026

    Court Term Starts With Move To Close 'Transparency Gap'

    The start of a new court term on Monday will usher in a pilot program designed to increase the transparency of court documents, but there are unanswered questions about whether it will fulfill a stated aim of informing public understanding of court proceedings.

  • January 09, 2026

    JLG Adds 5 New Partners Amid Pogust Woes

    Johnson Law Group has added five new partners from Pogust Goodhead amid doubts over the litigation boutique's future viability.

  • January 09, 2026

    Jones Day To Help Restore David Bowie's Old London Home

    Jones Day's charitable foundation will help to restore the childhood home of musical icon David Bowie before it opens to the public in late 2027, the historical trust leading the project said Friday.

  • January 09, 2026

    Part Of Barrister's Race Bias Case Dismissed As Speculatory

    A tribunal has tossed out part of a barrister's race discrimination claim against her professional regulator, ruling that the claim was a "fishing expedition" because it was based on speculation and had no realistic prospect of success

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Walkers' Neil McDonald

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    Neil McDonald, head of the corporate and M&A group at Walkers Global in London, discusses the challenges of conducting a multijurisdictional transaction with a pressing timeline, the need for regulation to keep pace with innovation, and why a willingness to go the extra mile to assist clients is so important.

  • Law Firms Can Turn Brand Threats Into Opportunities In 2026

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    If left unchecked, four megatrends — polarization, artificial intelligence, Gen Z and saturation — could threaten law firm growth or even long-term survival, but if well managed may be turned into opportunities to empower a brand, says Leor Franks at Kingsley Napley.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Addleshaw's Paul Medlicott

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    Paul Medlicott, head of private equity at Addleshaw Goddard, discusses the challenges of working on a deal involving five separate acquisitions in one day, why foreign direct investment legislation would benefit from refinement, and how the evolution of private equity has been positive for the industry.

  • Judicial AI Guidance Update Shows Caution Still Prevails

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    The judiciary’s recently updated guidance on the use of artificial intelligence warns judges and tribunal members about misinformation and white text manipulation, providing a reminder that AI tools cannot replace direct engagement with evidence and reflecting a broader concern about their application when handling confidential material, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights: Stephensons' Philip Richardson

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    Philip Richardson, head of employment law at Stephensons Solicitors, discusses the challenges of an emotionally charged case that put his client management skills to the test, whether the Employment Rights Bill strikes the right balance for employees, and how there still needs to be greater focus on quality control for artificial intelligence.

  • Navigating Legal Privilege Issues When Using AI

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    The recent explosion in artificial intelligence has led to prompts and AI outputs that may be susceptible to disclosure in proceedings, and it is important to apply familiar principles to assess whether legal privilege may apply to these interactions, say lawyers at HSF.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Mayer Brown's Kate Ball-Dodd

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    Kate Ball-Dodd, Mayer Brown's head of corporate and securities in London, discusses the challenges of selling a majority stake in Celtic Football Club to its fans, how current dividend rules are a complicated trap for the unwary, and why generative artificial intelligence tools will provide clients with the ability to digest more information in a cost-effective manner.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights: Addleshaw's Michael Leftley

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    Michael Leftley, head of employment at Addleshaw Goddard, discusses the challenges of combining novel legal issues with lawyers' expectations, why he believes the system for workplace conflict resolution is broken, and the importance of possessing a broad skill set that includes good emotional intelligence.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Squire Patton's Ranajoy Basu

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    Ranajoy Basu, global head of structured finance at Squire Patton, discusses the challenges of working on a transaction recognized by the G20 as a "game-changing financial innovation," the benefits of streamlining pretransaction due diligence, and why increased market activity in alternative asset securitizations is likely.

  • Opinion

    Collective Action Reform Can Save UK Court System

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    The crumbling foundations of Britain’s legal system require innovative solutions, such as investment in institutional infrastructure to reduce court backlogs, a widening of the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s remit and legislative clarity over litigation funding underpinning collective actions, says Neil Purslow at the International Legal Finance Association.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights: Baker Botts' Mark Castillo-Bernaus

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    Mark Castillo-Bernaus, global chair of project finance at Baker Botts, discusses the challenges of working on a global project financing in multiple time zones, the need for consistency in regulatory frameworks across different jurisdictions, and why lawyers who work constructively with clients and colleagues tend to deliver better outcomes.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights: Shakespeare's Selina Hinchliffe

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    Selina Hinchliffe, head of commercial services at Shakespeare Martineau, discusses the challenges of advising a large U.S. corporation on complex licensing issues, how copyright law is struggling to keep pace with technology, and why mastering contract drafting and negotiation is so important for IP lawyers.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From RPC's Patrick Brodie

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    Patrick Brodie, head of employment at RPC, discusses the challenges of working with government departments and National Health Service trusts to find common ground between competing interests, the increasing use of AI in recruitment and performance management, and why finding an exceptional mentor is so important.

  • What To Know About Interim Licenses In Global FRAND Cases

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    Recent U.K. court decisions have shaped a framework for interim licenses in global standard-essential patent disputes, under which parties can benefit from operating on temporary terms while a court determines the final fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms — but the future of this developing remedy is in doubt, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Baker Botts' Neil Coulson

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    Neil Coulson, chair of intellectual property at Baker Botts, discusses the challenges of tackling a patent litigation with a short timetable, the post-Brexit delineation between the European Union's and the U.K.'s approaches to trademark examination, and why it is important to be able to discourse with clients easily on technical topics.

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