Pulse UK

  • June 17, 2026

    AI-Driven Spike In Complaints May Not Mean More Sanctions

    Complaints against lawyers in England and Wales have soared over the past year as artificial intelligence equips clients to sound the alarm over potential misconduct that might have previously gone unreported — but as regulators struggle to keep up, experts say the flood doesn't necessarily herald more penalties.

  • June 17, 2026

    Barrister Disbarred For Sexual Comments To Juniors

    A legal watchdog said Wednesday that it has disbarred a barrister over sexual comments he made while on a work-related trip and a series of inappropriate messages he sent to a junior colleague via WhatsApp.

  • June 17, 2026

    Lawmakers Table Twin Anti-SLAPP Bills After Reform Delays

    A Conservative lawmaker was set to introduce a private member's bill in the House of Commons on Wednesday aimed at expanding protection against strategic lawsuits against public participation, known as SLAPPs, a day after similar measures were proposed in the House of Lords.

  • June 17, 2026

    Ex-Novartis, Gilead Atty Joins Danish Biotech Group As GC

    Danish biotech firm Gubra has appointed a former Novartis and Gilead lawyer as its new group general counsel, adding experience leading teams in areas like intellectual property and corporate governance strategy.

  • June 17, 2026

    Pinsent Masons Boosts Tribunal Service With Generative AI

    Pinsent Masons LLP said Wednesday that it has enhanced its employment tribunal service with artificial intelligence and lawyers from its employment and alternative legal services teams to help clients tackle a rise in claims.

  • June 17, 2026

    Barrister Disbarred After Failing To Report DUI Convictions

    A barrister has been disbarred after he failed to disclose to the Bar Standards Board that he had been convicted of driving while disqualified and driving over the legal alcohol limit, the regulator said Wednesday.

  • June 16, 2026

    Working Patterns 'Unsustainable' For Half Of Women In Law

    Half of women in law say their working pattern is unsustainable, and two-thirds have considered quitting amid concerns over their health and wellbeing, according to survey results published on Wednesday by an organization that champions women in the profession.

  • June 16, 2026

    Orrick Adds 4 Structured-Finance Partners In US And UK

    Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has expanded its structured-finance team on both sides of the Atlantic by hiring four attorneys from Morrison & Foerster LLP, Mayer Brown LLP and McDermott Will & Schulte as partners, Orrick announced Tuesday.

  • June 16, 2026

    Hill Dickinson Promotes 4 To Partner In UK, Singapore

    Hill Dickinson LLP said Tuesday that it has promoted four lawyers from offices in the U.K. and Singapore to its partnership, taking the total number at the firm to 180.

  • June 16, 2026

    For 6th Time Since 2022, Wolters Kluwer Prices Eurobond

    Wolters Kluwer priced a new seven-year, €500 million (about $580 million) senior unsecured Eurobond on Monday, marking the fifth consecutive year the professional information software and services giant has relied on this debt instrument.

  • June 16, 2026

    KC Defends Gardener Trust Deal In £2M Evasion Trial

    A senior barrister accused of cheating the public purse out of almost £2 million ($2.7 million) argued Tuesday that his former gardener perfectly understood that an agreement to be compensated for his services via a trust was not binding.

  • June 16, 2026

    Swedish AI Patent Co. Lightbringer Raises $10M Series A

    Swedish startup Lightbringer announced on Tuesday the raising of a $10 million Series A funding round to expand into the U.S. while further developing its artificial intelligence patent platform.

  • June 16, 2026

    Travers Smith Names 3 New Partners As Promotions Dip

    Travers Smith LLP named three lawyers on Tuesday who have made the grade to become partners at the firm, the smallest promotions round in more than a decade. 

  • June 16, 2026

    Fieldfisher Fights Unfair Dismissal Ruling Over Assault Probe

    Fieldfisher urged an appeals court on Tuesday to overturn a ruling that it unfairly dismissed an associate after an internal investigation into sexual assault allegations, arguing that a judge impermissibly found that the woman who accused the lawyer had lied.

  • June 16, 2026

    Family Lawyer Fined For Using PI To Get Litigant's Info

    A solicitor has been fined after a tribunal ruled that he hired a private investigator to obtain the contact details of a litigant-in-person while he was representing her former partner in family court proceedings.

  • June 15, 2026

    BSB, Bar Council Agree To Protocol For Bullying Reports

    The Bar Standards Board and Bar Council said Monday that they have agreed on a defined process for handling reports of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment to improve support for barristers and other people working within the profession.

  • June 15, 2026

    Baker McKenzie Picks 1st Woman To Lead London Office

    Baker McKenzie said Monday that it has appointed Joanna Hewitt, a senior specialist in corporate reorganizations, to lead its office in London — making her the first woman to take up the role.

  • June 15, 2026

    Wright Hassall Not Liable For £13M Housing Loss, QBE Says

    Wright Hassall bears no liability for a failed housing project because the developer's claimed £13 million ($17 million) loss resulted from the developer's mismanagement, not Wright Hassall's legal advice, the law firm's insurer has said.

  • June 15, 2026

    Simpson Thacher Launches PE-Focused Training Contract

    U.S. law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP launched a training contract program on Monday that focuses on private equity as it looks to expand its pipeline of talent in the London legal market.

  • June 15, 2026

    King & Spalding Hires WilmerHale IA Head, Plus 4 Colleagues

    A renowned international arbitration lawyer who founded the international arbitration practice of WilmerHale LLP and had been with the firm for nearly four decades has joined King & Spalding LLP, bringing four other colleagues with him.

  • June 15, 2026

    KC Says He Was Entitled To Cut Tax Bill In £2M Evasion Case

    A senior barrister accused of cheating the public purse out of almost £2 million ($2.7 million) told a court on Monday that he was "morally entitled" to pursue a strategy to reduce his tax liability.

  • June 15, 2026

    Addleshaw Goddard Enters Dutch Market Through Merger

    Addleshaw Goddard LLP said Monday that it is expanding into the Netherlands via a merger with Amsterdam-based Florent as part of its plan to build a stronger European platform and reach £1 billion ($1.34 billion) in annual revenue by 2030.

  • June 12, 2026

    Court Of Appeal Gets IP, Property Pros Among 7 New Justices

    The Court of Appeal is expanding with seven new justices, including experts in intellectual property, planning and environment, and immigration.

  • June 12, 2026

    Cleary Senior Partner Sees Decision Fatigue Setting In On AI

    For Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP's senior partner, the biggest obstacle to the firm's plans for artificial intelligence isn't model hallucination or vendor risk, but something far more human — decision-making fatigue.

  • June 19, 2026

    Finnegan Taps Partner From Kirkland To Boost IP Team

    Finnegan has hired a new life sciences litigator from Kirkland & Ellis LLP with experience leading cases in the FRAND space, as it builds a stronger intercontinental team to deal with increasingly global disputes.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • What Age Bias Ruling Means For Law Firm Retirement Policies

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    The recent employment tribunal age discrimination decision in Scott v. Walker Morris demonstrates that while law firms may implement mandatory retirement schemes, the policy must pursue a legitimate aim via proportionate means to pass the objective justification test, says Chris Hadrill at Redmans Solicitors.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From HFW's Christopher Foster

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    Christopher Foster, global head of insurance and reinsurance at HFW, discusses the challenges of conducting complex arbitration, why arbitration rules should be amended, and how learning about the market makes working in insurance law easier.

  • Opinion

    UK Gov't Needs To Take Action To Support Whistleblowing Bill

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    With a proposed Office of the Whistleblower Bill making its way through the U.K. Parliament, whistleblowing is starting to receive the attention it deserves, but the key to unlocking real change is for the government to take ownership of reform proposals and appoint an overarching whistleblowing champion, says Baroness Susan Kramer at the House of Lords.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Broadfield's Sajjad Khan

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    Sajjad Khan, head of Broadfield's intellectual property practice, discusses how trademark matters that appear to be simple can end up being complex, why the regulatory framework for artificial intelligence and copyright is in clear need of reform, and how junior lawyers should persevere if interested in this competitive area of law.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Cleary's Gareth Kristensen

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    Gareth Kristensen, head of the Europe, Middle East and Africa intellectual property practice group at Cleary, discusses the challenges when data laws are not adapted to frontier artificial intelligence, why IP rights can have such significant value, and how nothing beats a deep understanding of what you enjoy within the realm of tech, IP and data.

  • Series

    PR Perspectives: 3 Misconceptions Around Law Firm Brands

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    Despite an implicit understanding of the value of brand, misconceptions around logo and financial value have resulted in law firms being slow to manage and build this valuable asset, without which it becomes difficult to attract the same caliber of client or recruit the best lawyers, says Daniela Conte at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Covington's Sonia Campbell

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    Sonia Campbell, head of the U.K. insurance recovery practice at Covington, discusses the challenges of working during the COVID-19 pandemic, why cyber underwriting risk will be critical for sector reform, and how junior lawyers need to be resilient and tenacious.

  • Roundup

    Practice Leader Insights

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    Practice group leaders share thoughts on keeping the pulse on legal trends, tackling difficult cases and what it takes to make a mark in their area in this Expert Analysis series.

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