Pulse UK

Simmons' Senior Partner Sees Opportunities Left By BigLaw

Julian Taylor, senior partner at Simmons & Simmons, whose term has been extended to July 2027, discusses the benefits of working part-time, AI transformation and how leading City firms such as his can embrace opportunities opened up by BigLaw.

Person pressing a transparent button that says compliance. Surrounding buttons show icons dealing with compliance and regulation.

LSB Defends Oversight Amid Watchdogs' Poor Ratings

The Legal Services Board defended its supervisory system on Monday, despite the fact that only one of the eight watchdogs passed their annual performance assessment.

'Still Early Days': A Litigation Funder Stays Optimistic

As part of a series of interviews with lawyers, class representatives and litigation-funders to mark the 10-year anniversary of the collective proceedings order regime, Law360 spoke to Neil Purslow of Therium Capital Management about the future of litigation funding for CPOs in the wake of the Supreme Court's PACCAR ruling.

'We Didn't Have A Precedent': Lawyers Test New Regime

As part of a series of interviews with lawyers, class representatives and litigation-funders to mark the 10-year anniversary of the collective proceedings order regime, Law360 spoke to Boris Bronfentrinker and Ricky Versteeg — lawyers on opposite sides of the courtroom — about the watershed Mastercard swipe fees case.

April 01, 2025
BCLP Names New COO And Chief People Officer

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP has hired Newmark Group's former chief human resources officer as its chief people officer and shifted its chief financial officer to also serve as its chief operating officer, the firm announced Tuesday.
April 01, 2025
DWF Avoids Doc Request In Health Data Breach Claim

DWF Law LLP dodged an order in court Tuesday to hand over documents to three people who allege that the law firm unlawfully shared their health data, after a London judge concluded that the request was merely a fishing expedition.
April 01, 2025
Jones Day Hires Energy Pro From Addleshaw Goddard

Jones Day has recruited an energy specialist from Addleshaw Goddard LLP to add to its strengths representing major clients in development projects and transactions across the globe.
April 01, 2025
Kingsley Napley, Other Firms Announce Senior Promotions

Kingsley Napley LLP said Tuesday it has promoted four lawyers to its partnership, as Lawrence Stephens Ltd. and Simkins LLP also said they had boosted their senior ranks.
April 01, 2025
Ex-SFO Bribery Chief Rappo Exits Reed Smith After 21 Months

A former joint head of the Serious Fraud Office's bribery and corruption unit has left Reed Smith LLP after less than two years working as a partner for its global regulatory investigation and enforcement practice.
April 01, 2025
Fieldfisher Promotes 13 Partners Amid European Expansion

Fieldfisher LLP said Tuesday that it has promoted more than a dozen lawyers in Europe to its partnership, an increase of almost a third on the previous year as it expands its business on the Continent.
April 01, 2025
Candey Denies Mishandling Client's Funds In Libel Dispute

Disputes firm Candey Ltd. has denied a claim by a former client that it mishandled her money following a settlement in a trademark dispute, while pressing home its allegation that her one-star Google review of its performance was defamatory.
April 01, 2025
Birketts Promotes 5 Lawyers To Partnership

Birketts LLP said Tuesday that almost all the lawyers it moved up to the partnership in its latest promotions round are women, although it halved its overall intake of new partners.
March 31, 2025
Telecom Manager Can't Use Privileged Exchange In Bias Claim

An employment tribunal has ruled that an ex-staffer can't rely on a privileged document she mistakenly received from her bosses' solicitors because they weren't scheming against her and scrapped her entire case over her "malicious" actions.
March 31, 2025
Judge Sanctioned For Comments To Tribunal Members

Britain's judicial conduct watchdog has sanctioned an employment judge for telling the nonlegal members of a panel that they were there to make the complainant "feel satisfied."
March 31, 2025
Boult Wade Atty Named Chief Of IP Group's UK Arm

A European intellectual property union has named a Boult Wade Tennant LLP partner as the new president of its British group.
March 31, 2025
DAC Beachcroft Hires 3 Real Estate Pros From Macfarlanes

DAC Beachcroft LLP has snapped up a team of three real estate specialists from Macfarlanes LLP to boost its services to clients in commercial development projects.
March 31, 2025
Vardy Accuses Rooney Lawyers Of Misleading Court On Costs

Rebekah Vardy accused Coleen Rooney's lawyers on Monday of understating the amount of costs Rooney had incurred in fighting the high-stakes libel battle between the two footballers wives, as she attempts to reduce the amount of costs for which she is liable.
March 31, 2025
Simmons & Simmons To Move To Bigger Office In London

Simmons & Simmons LLP said Monday that it is relocating to a larger office in London in 2030 in a move to ensure that it is well-placed to meet the future needs of its growing business.
March 31, 2025
Akin Appoints White & Case Lawyer For Middle East Boost

Akin has hired Jennifer Riddle from White & Case as a project finance partner, a move it believes will bolster its growth plans for the Middle East.
March 31, 2025
SRA Gets 1st Red Rating From Legal Services Board

The Legal Services Board turned up the heat on the Solicitors Regulation Authority on Monday, describing the legal watchdog's performance as "insufficient" following its handling of the Axiom Ince Ltd. collapse.
March 28, 2025
Freeths Joins 3-Firm Frasers Group Legal Panel

Freeths LLP said Friday that it has been appointed to Frasers Group PLC's real estate panel, which includes Eversheds Sutherland and Browne Jacobson LLP.
March 28, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen sparkling winemaker Nyetimber hit a rival distillery with an intellectual property claim, Newcastle United's former owner Mike Ashley target the club's ex-vice president for damages tied to a fraudulent investment, and a real estate agency file a legal claim against law firm Winston & Strawn LLP. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
March 28, 2025
Baker McKenzie Boosts M&A Team With Ex-McDermott Pro

Baker McKenzie has boosted its London team with the appointment of a senior corporate lawyer from McDermott Will & Emery LLP who specializes in transactions in the life sciences and technology sectors.
March 28, 2025
Winston & Strawn Ups NQ Lawyers' Pay In London To £160K

Winston & Strawn LLP has raised the salaries of newly qualified lawyers in its London office to £160,000 ($207,000), the law firm said Friday as it steps up its efforts to secure junior talent in a hot hiring market.
March 27, 2025
Oligarch's Ex-Wife Ends Payne Hicks Negligence Case

A Russian oligarch's former wife has ended a negligence action against Payne Hicks Beach LLP over claims it failed to exercise the proper care and skill in a divorce battle involving the oligarch's £200 million ($260 million) yacht.
March 27, 2025
'A Challenge We Have To Rise To': Class Reps Take The Stage

Launching a series of interviews with lawyers, class representatives and litigation-funders to mark the 10-year anniversary of the collective proceedings order regime, Law360 spoke to Justin Gutmann and Rachael Kent about how the role of class reps has evolved in the decade since CPOs were introduced
March 27, 2025
Key Moments That Formed The UK's Class Action Regime

The U.K.'s collective proceedings regime — introduced a decade ago — has grown rapidly after a slow start. Law360 looks here at the biggest moments of the regime so far and what's ahead.
March 27, 2025
Court Backlog To Soar To 100K Cases By 2029, Gov't Warns

The U.K. government announced a record high Crown Court backlog Thursday, warning that if the crisis continues at its current rate then 100,000 cases could be waiting to be heard by the end of 2029.
March 27, 2025
Law Firm Fined £25K For Being 13 Years Late On AML Rules

A law firm has been fined almost £25,000 ($32,400) for not being fully compliant with anti-money laundering regulations for more than a decade, which the Solicitors Regulation Authority has said fell below what the public would expect from a legal business.

Editor's Picks

The Revolving Door: Baker McKenzie Hires McDermott, Euclid Pros

Over the past week, Baker McKenzie brought on M&A and antitrust pros, Lionsgate's former general counsel joined Gunnercooke as partner, and White & Case lost an international team to Paul Hastings.
Sidhu Ban Shows Tougher Takes On Sexual Misconduct

The disbarment of the former head of the Criminal Bar Association is the latest example of professional disciplinary tribunals increasingly handing down the harshest penalties for sexual misconduct, even when the behavior in question does not cross the line into criminal conduct.
Spencer West Hunts Growth Via 'Collaborative' Fee-Sharing

Spencer West LLP is pursuing growth through its fee-sharing model, enabling expansion across the pond and into far-flung jurisdictions where traditional law firms have struggled, all the while maintaining a collaborative ethos

Expert Analysis

Series

Practice Leader Insights From Broadfield's Sajjad Khan

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

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

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

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

In this Law360 U.K. Expert Analysis series, leaders of employment, intellectual property, insurance and transactions practice groups share thoughts on keeping the pulse on legal trends, tackling difficult cases and what it takes to make a mark in their area.
Series

Practice Leader Insights: Bird & Bird's Rebecca O'Kelly-Gillard

Rebecca O'Kelly-Gillard, who co-heads Bird & Bird's international copyright group, discusses the challenges of working on long cases with complex issues, whether current copyright law is fit for purpose in light of artificial intelligence, and why understanding technology makes it easier to argue the nuances of the law.
Series

Practice Leader Insights From Birketts' Maria Peyman

Maria Peyman, who heads Birketts' intellectual property team, discusses the challenges of cases involving multiple patents, the need to reform legislative provisions in light of artificial intelligence, and why junior lawyers should take opportunities to get a broad range of experience before specializing.
Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

“No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.
Series

Practice Leader Insights: Mishcon de Reya's Daniel Naftalin

Daniel Naftalin, who chairs the employment practice at Mishcon de Reya, discusses the challenges of working on multijurisdictional litigation, the need to show consideration for lawyers' well-being, and why employment law offers unique opportunities to specialize in a commercial field with a high degree of human interest.
Series

Practice Leader Insights From Baker McKenzie's David Scott

David Scott, head of the London mergers and acquisitions practice at Baker McKenzie, discusses the excitement of working on a highly complex transaction, the need for a harmonized approach to deal regulatory scrutiny, and why deal work can become addictive.
Transatlantic Law Firm Mergers Are Transforming UK Market

With the current prevalence for high-profile U.K.-U.S. law firm mergers likely to continue, a new type of firm could emerge that strikes a balance between U.K. culture and working style, but with the global ambition that U.S. firms offer, says Ria Karnik at Major Lindsey.
Series

Practice Leader Insights: Taylor Wessing's Paul Callaghan

Paul Callaghan, who leads Taylor Wessing's employment, pensions and mobility group, discusses the challenges of clients who take matters personally, why discrimination based on socioeconomic background needs to be addressed by the law, and how being contracted as an independent investigator is becoming a new trend for senior employment lawyers.
Series

Practice Leader Insights From BCLP's Benjamin Lee

Benjamin Lee, who co-leads BCLP's global corporate transactions practice, discusses the value of face-to-face meetings, how aspects of English company law could align with a more global approach, and what junior lawyers can learn by observing their senior colleagues.
Opinion

Defunding Lawyer Apprenticeships Could Have Hidden Costs

In proposing to reform the U.K. apprenticeship system, it is crucial that the government gives sufficient consideration to how funding changes could reduce opportunities for underrepresented groups and negatively affect firms' ability to deliver effective training, says Carrie Laws at The Family Law Co.
Series

Practice Leader Insights From Eversheds' Diane Gilhooley

Diane Gilhooley, who leads Eversheds Sutherland's employment, labor and pensions practice, looks at the multifaceted challenges of advising clients during pandemic lockdowns, the need to reform U.K.'s whistleblowing law, and why it's important for lawyers to enjoy their work.