Pulse UK

  • October 04, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen GMB Union sued by the makers of Tetley Tea after a staff walkout in September, boxer Mike Tyson hit with legal action from a marketing company and the Met Police face a misuse of private data claim from a woman who had a relationship with an undercover police officer. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • October 04, 2024

    A&O Shearman Set To Expand New Office Space By A Third

    A&O Shearman is set to expand its footprint significantly when it relocates to its new London offices by early 2027, boosting the space it plans to lease by a third.

  • October 04, 2024

    McDermott Taps Big 4 Partner As Senior Tax Pro In London

    McDermott Will & Emery LLP announced it has recruited a former U.K. partner from KPMG to join its firm as a tax partner, bringing an expert in private equity to its London office.

  • October 04, 2024

    Judge Sanctioned For 'Overfamiliar' Talk With Court Employee

    A judge has been issued with formal advice after an investigation found that he had been "overfamiliar" in his conversations with a female member of court staff, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office has said.

  • October 11, 2024

    Dechert Hires Fund Finance Pro From DLA Piper

    Dechert LLP has recruited a fund finance specialist as a partner from DLA Piper to boost its offerings for asset management firms, financial institutions and alternative lenders.

  • October 03, 2024

    Linklaters Teams Up With King's College For GenAI Training

    Linklaters LLP, in collaboration with the Dickson Poon School of Law at King's College London, announced on Thursday the launch of a new generative artificial intelligence training course to help its lawyers better understand generative artificial intelligence as the firm moves to adopt such technology this year.

  • October 03, 2024

    Watson Farley To Move To New London Base After 30 Years

    Watson Farley & Williams LLP will be relocating to a smaller office in London's financial district to better reflect the needs of a modern working environment, ending a stay of more than 30 years at its current base in the English capital, the law firm announced Thursday. 

  • October 03, 2024

    Osborne Clarke Keeps 1st Apprentices Amid Latest NQ Class

    Osborne Clarke LLP said Thursday that 38 of the 44 trainees who qualified in September will stay on as newly qualified solicitors — an 86% retention rate that also includes the firm's first two qualifying solicitor apprentices.

  • October 03, 2024

    Kennedys Raises Pay For NQ Lawyers In London To £85K

    Kennedys Law LLP said Thursday that newly qualified lawyers at its office in London are now earning a salary of £85,000 ($111,400) as it hikes rates to keep up with changing market dynamics.

  • October 03, 2024

    Travers Smith Launches Solicitor Apprentice Scheme

    Travers Smith LLP said Thursday that it had begun recruiting its first group of solicitor apprentices, joining the growing number of big law firms with similar initiatives to diversify their intake of future lawyers.

  • October 03, 2024

    Freeths Says Developer At Fault In £7M Warehouse Value Row

    Freeths has hit back at a developer's £7.5 million ($9.8 million) negligence claim accusing the law firm of tanking the value of a warehouse, arguing that it had no prospect of avoiding the imposition of noise conditions when it started demolishing the building.

  • October 02, 2024

    Lawyers Fail To Overturn EU Ban On Legal Services To Russia

    The European General Court on Wednesday dismissed an attempt by French and Belgian lawyers to overturn prohibitions on providing legal advice to Russia, clarifying that the ban only applies when the advice has no link to judicial proceedings.

  • October 02, 2024

    Ex-DWF Partner Banned Over Child Sex Solicitation

    A former partner at DWF LLP has been banned from practicing as a solicitor after he was convicted of attempting to communicate with a child for his sexual gratification following a sting operation.

  • October 09, 2024

    Shoosmiths Adds Privacy & Data Partner From BCLP

    Shoosmiths LLP has hired a new partner to its privacy and data unit in London from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, with the new arrival saying Wednesday that an immediate rapport with Shoosmiths' partners led her to jump ship.

  • October 02, 2024

    Ex-Osborne Clarke Employee Banned Over Mock Exam Lie

    A former assistant accountant at Osborne Clarke LLP has been barred from working for a law firm after he misled the legal business about whether he had submitted a mandatory mock exam, the solicitors' watchdog has said.

  • October 02, 2024

    BMW Appoints New UK And Ireland Compliance Chief

    BMW has promoted a lawyer with expertise across German and international law firms to its top compliance job covering the U.K. and Ireland.

  • October 02, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Says It Can't Give Source Of Deripaska Report

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP told a court Wednesday that the source of a report suggesting that Russian industrialist Oleg Deripaska misled arbitrators during a dispute with a former business partner was privileged information.

  • October 02, 2024

    TLT Hires 8-Partner Team From BDB Pitmans

    TLT LLP has recruited a group of eight partners from BDB Pitmans LLP to ramp up its legal services in the renewable energy, infrastructure and government sectors.

  • October 02, 2024

    SRA Bets On Data Mining To Avert Law Firm Failures

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority detailed plans on Wednesday to use data mining and analytics to protect consumers from spectacular failures of law firms such as Axiom Ince Ltd., including potential artificial intelligence solutions.

  • October 01, 2024

    Covington Announces 14 New Partners

    Covington & Burling LLP said Tuesday that it promoted 14 lawyers to partner in its Brussels, Los Angeles, London, New York and Washington offices.

  • October 01, 2024

    Hamlins Buys Commercial Boutique In Media And Tech Push

    Hamlins LLP has acquired commercial law firm Swan Turton LLP as part of a plan to add complementary practices to the business to help drive growth.

  • October 01, 2024

    McFaddens Dodges Client's Late Claim Over Loan Advice

    A court said Tuesday that a City of London law firm can sidestep a client's claim that she received negligent advice over a loan, ruling that there was no good reason for her filing key details of the claim too late.

  • October 01, 2024

    Ex-Police Officer Denies Seeking Probe Against NI Lawyers

    A senior English police officer denied at a tribunal Tuesday of attempting to make Northern Ireland's legal regulator take action against journalists' legal counsel over litigation connected to his investigation into leaked information about alleged collusion by the local police with terrorists.

  • October 08, 2024

    Eversheds Sutherland Taps Rutgers & Posch For Finance Trio

    Eversheds Sutherland said Tuesday it has hired three finance lawyers from Dutch law firm Rutgers & Posch as it looks to grow its partner cohort in the Benelux region.

  • October 01, 2024

    Tribunal Member Warned Over 'Clumsy' Racial Harassment

    A tribunal member has been issued a warning after an HM Courts and Tribunals Service employee accused him of making racist comments at a work social event, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said.

Expert Analysis

  • Pitfalls Lawyers Should Avoid When Correcting Their Mistakes

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    When solicitors make mistakes that cause prejudice to their clients, they will need to carefully consider whether they should try to fix their mistake, as trying to put things right may expose them to potential regulatory action, says Andrew Pavlovic at CM Murray.

  • Translating The Plan For English-Language German Courts

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    The German Ministry of Justice is aiming to do away with the mistakes of the past and overhaul the German civil procedure in order to accommodate English-language disputes, but the success of these proceedings will depend very much on factors that the proposal does not address, say Jan Schaefer and Rüdiger Morbach at King & Spalding.

  • A Breakdown Of The SRA's Proposed New Fining Powers

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    Thanks to the Solicitors Regulation Authority's pending new fining framework, which includes guidance on unsuitable fines and a fixed penalties scheme for low-level breaches, firms can expect to see more disciplinary findings leading to an SRA fine rather than referral to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, say Graham Reid and Shanice Holder at RPC.

  • Russian Bank Ruling Clarifies UK Sanctions Regime

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    The recent U.K. High Court judgment of PJSC National Bank Trust v. Mints, a case brought by two Russian banks, is significant in clarifying that the U.K. sanctions regime does not deprive designated persons of their fundamental common law right to bring a claim in an English court, despite their assets being frozen, says Zoe O’Sullivan KC at Serle Court.

  • Preparing For EU's Pay Gap Reporting Directive

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    An agreement has been reached on the European Union Pay Transparency Directive, paving the way for gender pay gap reporting to become compulsory for many employers across Europe, introducing a more proactive approach than the similar U.K. regime and leading the way on new global standards for equal pay, say attorneys at Lewis Silkin.

  • Has The Liberalization Of Legal Services Achieved Its Aims?

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    Although there is still some way to go, alternative business structures are now an increasingly prominent feature of the legal services landscape, and clients can expect greater choice, improved quality and more manageable costs, as was intended by this shake-up of the profession's regulatory frameworks 15 years ago, says Dana Denis-Smith at Obelisk Support.

  • How Overseas Property Verification Poses Risks To Attorneys

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    The recently launched register of overseas entities, requiring verification of foreign owners hoping to purchase U.K. property, could expose attorneys to criminal prosecution, professional negligence claims and reputational damage if they do not complete these checks to the required standard, which nevertheless remains murky, says Harriet Holmes at Thirdfort.

  • What To Expect From UK's New Economic Crime Bill

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    The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency bill, if passed, will reform aspects of Companies House and strengthen government anti-money laundering efforts, but it is also raising questions about how new information sharing requirements will affect businesses, say attorneys at Signature Litigation.

  • A Trusted Cybersecurity Framework Is Imperative For Lawyers

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    The recent increased risk of cyberattacks has a number of profound implications for law firms, and complying with government guidance by embedding a cyber-savvy culture and adhering to a security framework will enable lawyers to add extra layers of defense and present their clients with higher levels of protection, says Marion Stewart at Red Helix.

  • Opinion

    Law School Admissions Shouldn't Hinge On Test Scores

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    The American Bar Association recently granted law schools some latitude on which tests it can consider in admissions decisions, but its continued emphasis on test scores harms student diversity and is an obstacle to holistic admissions strategies, says Aaron Taylor at AccessLex.

  • New FCA Listing Rules May Start Regulatory Shift On Diversity

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    Listed companies that fail to meet new Financial Conduct Authority rules for minimum executive board diversity currently risk reputational damage mainly through social scrutiny, but should prepare for potential regulatory enforcement actions, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • What UK Professional Regulation Looks Like In A #MeToo Era

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    Two recent rulings from U.K. courts and tribunals reveal the increasingly shifting line between professional misbehavior and bad actions that would previously have been considered outside the scope of professional regulators, says Andrew Katzen at Hickman & Rose.

  • How Immune Are State Agents From Foreign Courts?

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    The ongoing case of Basfar v. Wong is the latest to raise questions about the boundary between commercial or private activity and the exercise of sovereign authority that shields state agents from foreign judicial scrutiny — and the U.K. Supreme Court's upcoming decision in the matter will likely bring clarity on exceptions to the immunity doctrine, say Andrew Stafford QC and Oleg Shaulko at Kobre & Kim.

  • Opinion

    Justice Gap Demands Look At New Legal Service Models

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    Current restrictions on how lawyers structure their businesses stand in the way of meaningful access to justice for many Americans, so states should follow the lead of Utah and Florida and test out innovative law firm business models through regulatory sandboxes, says Zachariah DeMeola at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.

  • Opinion

    New NJ Fed. Rule On Litigation Funding Should Be Welcomed

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    The District of New Jersey's new local civil rule on litigation funding disclosure has faced exaggerated criticisms when it is a logical extension of the current practices in many U.S. jurisdictions, leads to greater transparency for the parties and the court without unduly burdening the parties, and is a positive development particularly in product liability cases, say attorneys at Dechert.

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