Pulse UK

  • November 18, 2025

    Ashurst, Perkins Coie Deal Underscores US Legal Dominance

    A wave of transatlantic tie-ups is reshaping the U.K. legal market, underscoring a hard truth that scale and profitability increasingly hinge on U.S. access — and organic growth alone won't cut it.

  • November 18, 2025

    Capsticks Taps Employment Head For New Managing Partner

    Capsticks Solicitors LLP has appointed the head of its national employment and pensions team to serve as the next managing partner of the firm.

  • November 18, 2025

    Perkins Coie's Trump Fight Doesn't Scare Off UK Suitor

    Perkins Coie LLP's ongoing fight with the Trump administration did not deter a proposed combination with British law firm Ashurst, signaling that the legal community is not worried about fallout from the president's suspension of the firm's security clearances.

  • November 18, 2025

    Ex-Mishcon Client's Contempt Of Court Bid Challenged

    A London judge challenged a former client of Mishcon de Reya LLP who alleges that the firm's lawyers gave false statements to court, telling her Tuesday that she has put forward no simple or straightforward charge of contempt of court.

  • November 18, 2025

    CILEX Seeks To Appeal Against Mazur Amid Fears Over Jobs

    The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives said Tuesday that it has applied for permission to appeal against the Mazur decision that restricts which employees within a law firm can conduct litigation, citing the disruption it has caused in the legal sector.

  • November 17, 2025

    UK Firms Drive Transatlantic Appetite For M&A Dealmaking

    The merger announced Monday between British legal giant Ashurst LLP and American law firm Perkins Coie LLP is the latest in a spate of deals driven, in part, by an appetite among global firms to gain a strong presence in the U.S.

  • November 17, 2025

    Solicitor Faces Tribunal Over Allegations Of Misleading Client

    A criminal defense solicitor fought allegations in a London disciplinary tribunal Monday that he had instructed a client to falsely deny allegations of corruption and to fabricate a narrative for their high-profile trial.

  • November 17, 2025

    Irwin Mitchell To Ax Litigation Assistant Role Amid Restructure

    Irwin Mitchell is planning to scrap the role of litigation assistant, a move that will affect dozens of staff at the firm and could lead to redundancies.

  • November 17, 2025

    Lawyers' Groups Seek 100% Clarity On Proposed LLP Tax

    Lawyers' groups were still seeking assurances from the government on Monday that it will not move ahead with plans to increase the tax burden on limited liability partnerships in the upcoming budget, despite reports suggesting the key plank of the proposal has been dropped.

  • November 17, 2025

    Scottish Veteran Raymond Doherty To Join UK Supreme Court

    Raymond Doherty, one of Scotland's most senior judges, has been appointed as a justice of the U.K. Supreme Court.

  • November 17, 2025

    Ex-McFaddens Client Can't Revive Late Loan Advice Claim

    A former client of McFaddens LLP cannot revive her claim that the law firm gave her negligent advice over a missold loan, after a judge ruled Monday that her filing key details of the case late was "a serious and significant" breach.

  • November 17, 2025

    Solicitor Barred For Impersonating Director To Secure Loan

    A disciplinary tribunal has banned a solicitor from practicing in the legal profession after he provided false information to a loan provider to secure a loan of £5,000 ($6,600) for a company where he was a director.

  • November 17, 2025

    Ex-Council Lawyer Wins Claim Over Revealing WhatsApp Pic

    A tribunal has ruled that a local authority racially harassed its former legal director after an executive sent a revealing picture of a black woman in carnival dress to a WhatsApp group chat.

  • November 17, 2025

    Gowling Faces £23M Negligence Case Over UK Gov't Lease

    The U.K. government has sued Gowling WLG for almost £23 million ($30 million), accusing the law firm of bungling the renewal of an office block lease and leaving it to pay the amount to its landlord when it exercised a break clause.

  • November 17, 2025

    Ashurst, Perkins Coie To Form $2.7B Giant In US-UK Deal

    The U.K.'s Ashurst LLP and U.S.-based Perkins Coie LLP said Monday that they have agreed to merge to form a new firm with combined revenue of $2.7 billion, the latest in a string of transatlantic law firm tie-ups.

  • November 14, 2025

    HCR Legal Acquires Wright Hassall Amid Financial Struggles

    Regional law firm HCR Legal LLP said Friday it has acquired U.K. law business Wright Hassall through a pre-pack administration, underscoring growing consolidation in the legal sector.

  • November 14, 2025

    McDermott's London Chief Talks Merger, PE And Expansion

    Just over 100 days after its merger, the London chief of McDermott Will & Schulte LLP already sees the benefits of the combination of hiring senior lawyers and getting new business as the firm prepares to move its offices from the City to Mayfair to be closer its private equity clientele.

  • November 14, 2025

    Billionaire Used Spy To Extract Privileged Info From Solicitor

    Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego used a private intelligence agent to dupe a law firm partner into divulging privileged and confidential information about a man Salinas claims defrauded him out of more than $415 million, a London court has found.

  • November 14, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen Freeths face a professional negligence claim from a Scottish car dealership, Rolls-Royce sue logistics giant Kuehne + Nagel, and a team of Oberon Investments Group investment managers sued by their former employer.  

  • November 14, 2025

    Burges Salmon Hikes NQ Pay In Bristol, Edinburgh Offices

    Burges Salmon LLP has boosted salaries of newly qualified solicitors in its office in Bristol to £76,000 ($100,017) as a part of a series of increases for those at an early stage of their careers.

  • November 14, 2025

    Ex-Irwin Mitchell Paralegal Barred For Misleading Clients

    A former paralegal at Irwin Mitchell LLP has been barred from working for another law firm after he admitted to the Solicitors Regulation Authority that he misled two clients during his time there.

  • November 14, 2025

    How Mishcon Helped Uncover £5.6B Money Laundering Plot

    Law360 examines here how a suspicious activity report raised by Mishcon de Reya about a client's attempted transactions served as the catalyst for one of the biggest cryptocurrency seizures in British history.

  • November 14, 2025

    Wolters Kluwer To Buy Legal AI Assistant Biz For €90M

    Dutch information services giant Wolters Kluwer NV said Friday it will acquire German legal tech company Libra Technology GmbH for up to €90 million ($105 million) to provide products aimed at helping law firms with their research and document analysis.

  • November 14, 2025

    The Revolving Door: Proskauer Bags Restructuring Pro

    Over the past week, Proskauer Rose brought a Singapore-based restructuring specialist from Linklaters to London, Flint Bishop bagged a managing partner from Walker Morris, and Ward Hadaway hired a partner to head its corporate practice following its merger with The Endeavour Partnership.

  • November 14, 2025

    Harvey Teams With UK Law Schools To Advance AI Education

    Legal AI company Harvey has announced partnerships with four leading law schools in the U.K. to integrate generative artificial intelligence into legal education and professional training.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Gibson Dunn's Sandy Bhogal

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    Sandy Bhogal, co-chair of Gibson Dunn's tax practice, discusses the challenges of working on a complicated restructuring during the financial crisis, the difficulty of dealing with rules that are adjusted by nonbinding guidance, and why tax lawyers need to know the law as well as they possibly can.

  • SRA Ruling Raises Issue Of Jurisdiction Over Private Conduct

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    The recent Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ruling, suspending a former Orrick associate after determining that a criminal offense of nonconsensual touching had occurred, serves as a cautionary tale that the regulator's jurisdiction may extend into private social settings, even where no abuse of power is proven, says Nick Brett at Brett Wilson.

  • Why Leveson Review Is Significant For UK Court System

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    Brian Leveson’s recent review into the U.K. criminal justice system calls for judge-only trials in serious and complex fraud cases, a controversial recommendation that is sparking debate over the future of jury trials, says Louise Hodges at Kingsley Napley.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From V&E's Ben Higson

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    Ben Higson, head of Vinson & Elkins' London transactions practice, discusses the complexities of knitting together businesses across the world into a joint venture, how warranty and indemnity insurance has altered the way deals are conducted, and why discipline and resilience are key for M&A lawyers.

  • Challenges Law Firms Face In Recruiting Competitor Teams

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    Since the movement of lawyer teams from a competitor can bring legal considerations and commercial risks into play, both the target and recruiting firms should be familiar with the relevant limited liability partnership deed to protect their business, say lawyers at Fox & Partners.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights: Travers Smith's Louisa Chambers

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    Louisa Chambers, head of technology and commercial transactions at Travers Smith, discusses the challenges of working on a series of deals under time pressure, why data subject access requests can be a disproportionate burden on businesses, and how a career in technology and intellectual property will suit a lawyer with energy and creativity.

  • Practice Leader Insights From Bristows' Gareth Wadley

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    Gareth Wadley, head of the employment and immigration team at Bristows, discusses the challenges of resolving disputes where compensation is not the primary driver, why employment status law needs to better reflect the realities of modern work, and how neurodiversity is reshaping the workforce in a positive way.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Linklaters' Julia Schönbohm

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    Julia Schönbohm, global head of technology, media and telecommunications and intellectual property at Linklaters, discusses the challenges of deciding patent validity in complex litigation cases, why the enforcement of standard essential patents is an area in need of reform, and how the advent of the Unified Patent Court is having a significant impact on patent litigation in Europe.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Walker Morris' Andrew Rayment

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    Andrew Rayment, head of employment at Walker Morris, discusses the challenges of dismissing employees at a coal mine, how the proposed employment law reforms could create logistical burdens for businesses, and why prioritizing effectively is key for a lawyer.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Kennedys' Matthew Poli

    Matthew Poli, head of Kennedys' corporate M&A transactions team, discusses the challenges of rushing to close transactions ahead of possible budgetary changes, why reform is needed in the way a company's statutory books can be altered at Companies House, and that client service needs to be a lawyer's watchword.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Broadfield's Caroline Yarrow

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    Caroline Yarrow, head of Broadfield's employment practice, discusses the challenges of analyzing huge volumes of data in a service provider transfer of 2,000 employees, why the employment tribunal system needs urgent review, and why being pragmatic and commercial when giving advice is important.

  • 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.

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