Pulse UK

  • September 10, 2026

    Travers Smith Hires Baker McKenzie's Arbitration Chair

    Travers Smith LLP has hired Baker McKenzie's global chair of international arbitration as a partner in its dispute resolution practice in London, bringing in more than two decades of experience.

  • September 10, 2026

    Employment Tribunal Backlog Worsens As Reforms Loom

    The backlog of employment tribunal cases grew over a three-month period this year by 9%, according to an analysis of statistics by RSM UK on Thursday, creating concerns that upcoming unfair-dismissal reforms will stretch an overwhelmed tribunal system even further. 

  • September 10, 2026

    Legal AI Co. Harvey Raises $550M, Hitting $15.5B Valuation

    The legal artificial intelligence company Harvey said it has raised $550 million, bringing its valuation to $15.5 billion.

  • September 10, 2026

    Ex-Law Firm Worker Barred Over False Insurance Claims

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority said Thursday it has barred a former employee at Manchester-based Nayyars Solicitors Ltd. from working for law firms it regulates after he made bogus claims to insurers.

  • September 10, 2026

    Pinsent Masons Hikes London NQ Pay To £109K In Talent War

    Pinsent Masons LLP has raised salaries for newly qualified solicitors in its London office to £109,000 ($147,431) as law firms compete for junior talent.

  • September 10, 2026

    2KBW Barrister Fined £18K After Late Tax Filings

    A barrister who primarily practices from 2 King's Bench Walk chambers in London has been fined for filing his tax returns late and for allowing approximately £280,000 ($379,000) in unpaid tax to accumulate over six years, the Bar Standards Board has said.

  • September 10, 2026

    Woodville Paid £37M To Director-Linked Firms Before Collapse

    Motor finance litigation-funder Woodville paid upward of £37 million ($50 million) to companies connected to its directors before it collapsed into administration, according to a report by the administrators.

  • September 10, 2026

    Employment Judge Gets Warning Over 20-Month Case Delays

    A judicial watchdog has formally warned an employment judge over a "pattern of significant delays" of up to 20 months in his cases.

  • September 09, 2026

    Firms Tackle EU Pay Transparency Law Ahead Of UK Reforms

    Preparations by law firms for upcoming reforms to the U.K. pay gap reporting regime might have taken a back seat to more expansive new rules in the European Union, experts say.

  • September 09, 2026

    Solicitor Struck Off Over Failure To Tell BSB Of SRA Curbs

    A non-practicing solicitor has been struck off after a tribunal found he deliberately failed to tell bar authorities that the Solicitors Regulation Authority had imposed conditions on his practicing certificate before he was called to the bar.

  • September 09, 2026

    Ex-Judge Would Have Been Sacked For Sexual Misconduct

    A former employment judge would have been removed from office for sexually harassing a number of junior female tribunal staff had he not retired before the probe concluded, a judicial watchdog said Wednesday.

  • September 09, 2026

    Clyde & Co. Hires Irish Insurance Head From A&L Goodbody

    Clyde & Co. has hired an A&L Goodbody LLP partner to be head of corporate and regulatory insurance for Ireland, a recently launched division the new partner said Wednesday she is "very excited" to grow.

  • September 09, 2026

    Cleary Creates New Role For Ex-Paul Weiss AI Leader

    Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP announced Wednesday that it has brought on the former director of knowledge and innovation at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP to take on the newly created role of chief innovation officer.

  • September 09, 2026

    CMS Hires PwC Director As 1st Chief Growth Officer

    CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP said Wednesday that it has hired a senior PwC director as its first chief growth officer to help broaden and modernize its services.

  • September 09, 2026

    Top Manchester Council Lawyer To Retire In 2027

    The most senior in-house lawyer for Manchester City Council and Salford City Council is set to retire in 2027 after serving as the chief legal adviser for the neighboring authorities under a shared legal services arrangement.

  • September 08, 2026

    AI Adoption Creates Pay Gap Risks — And Opportunity

    The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence technology by law firms could make it harder for them to close their gender pay gaps, experts warn.

  • September 08, 2026

    Clifford Chance, Bird & Bird Retain Over 80% Of Trainees

    Clifford Chance LLP and Bird & Bird LLP both said Tuesday that they had retained more than 80% of trainees at their London offices as newly qualified solicitors in the autumn.

  • September 08, 2026

    Elle Magazine Blocks 'Elle Legal Solution' TM For Legal Tech

    The fashion magazine Elle has blocked a legal technology company from registering the trademark "Elle Legal Solution," after European officials found that consumers could mistake the sign for a subbrand of its beauty and lifestyle content.

  • September 08, 2026

    Birketts Earns 'B Corp' Status For Social Impact Efforts

    Birketts LLP said Tuesday that it has been certified as a B Corporation, making it the latest U.K. law firm to earn the accreditation for businesses meeting high standards for social and environmental performance.

  • September 08, 2026

    Lawfront's FJG, Farleys Add 2 Firms To Continue Growth Push

    Lawfront said Tuesday that its firms Fisher Jones Greenwood and Farleys Solicitors have each bought another legal business as the private equity backed legal services group continues to grow.

  • September 08, 2026

    City Firm Denies Dishonestly Aiding £7M Property Fraud

    A City law firm urged an appeals court Tuesday to overturn a ruling that it dishonestly assisted a £7 million ($9.5 million) fraud, warning that the decision risks turning negligent legal work into dishonesty.

  • September 08, 2026

    Mishcon Faces £1.4M Negligence Claim Over Property Deal

    Mishcon de Reya LLP has been hit with a £1.4 million ($1.9 million) claim accusing it of derailing a property investor's plans to extend his historical townhouse in London by negligently failing to make sure key notices went out to tenants when he bought freeholds for adjacent properties.

  • September 08, 2026

    Law360's 2026 UK Law Firm Gender Pay Gap Report

    Male employees at the U.K.'s highest-earning law firms typically earned 25% more than their female colleagues in 2025 — but disparities within a single firm can vary from 0% to more than 100%, according to Law360's analysis of the gender pay-gap reports from 100 of the biggest law firms in the U.K.

  • September 07, 2026

    Salaried Partnership A New Glass Ceiling For Women In Law

    Salaried partnerships are becoming a new glass ceiling for female lawyers as women are forced to make hard choices between career progression and parenthood.

  • September 07, 2026

    Pogust Sued By Brazil Dam Client Amid Bid To Replace Firm

    A Brazilian indigenous group leader has sued Pogust Goodhead amid a wider legal dispute over an attempt to remove the firm as counsel in the Mariana dam collapse litigation and replace it with a practice led by its former partners.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Freshfields' Kathleen Healy

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    Kathleen Healy, partner in London and co-leader of Freshfields' people and reward practice in Asia, discusses the challenges of advising on employment and industrial relations during the financial crisis, why the employment tribunal system would benefit from additional funding, and how reforming noncompete clauses will create plenty of legal and practical issues.

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