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Pulse UK
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June 10, 2025
CMS Faces £10M Negligence Claim Over Investec Debt Advice
A property developer has alleged that law firm CMS owes him at least £10 million ($14 million) for negligent advice concerning a debt-restructuring plan that he says he never would have agreed to if he had been given proper warning.
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June 10, 2025
Fladgate Eyes Securities Cases With New Group Claims Biz
Fladgate LLP said Tuesday that it has launched a company to help the law firm pursue group securities litigation, as the market for collective legal claims continues to grow in the U.K.
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June 10, 2025
Lawyer Loses Bid To Ax 'Greedy' Label In $11B Ruling
A London appeals court refused Tuesday a solicitor's bid to chuck references to his being "greedy" and "corrupt" in a judgment over a fraudulent $11 billion arbitration award against Nigeria, ruling that the lower court did not violate his right to a fair trial.
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June 10, 2025
Apprenticeship Age Cap Risks Widening Legal Sector Divide
The government's move to restrict funding for solicitor apprenticeships to those under 22 risks widening the gap between large and small law firms, while reigniting concerns over social mobility and diversity in the legal profession.
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June 10, 2025
Hausfeld Hires Scott+Scott's London Co-Head
Hausfeld LLP said Tuesday that it has recruited a co-head of the London office of Scott+Scott UK LLP to boost its antitrust class action practice.
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June 10, 2025
PPE Agent Keeps Sheridans Case Alive After Fraud Settlement
A medical supply agent is continuing its negligence case against London law firm Sheridans, despite settling a linked $10.8 million fraud claim from a British company that accused it of taking secret commissions on COVID-19 pandemic protection equipment orders.
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June 09, 2025
Litigation-Funding Dispute Resumes Amid Uncertain Future
Sony and Apple will challenge the validity of widely used litigation-financing agreements at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday against the backdrop of an influential report calling for legislation to urgently reverse a landmark ruling that shook the funding industry.
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June 09, 2025
Foot Anstey Combines With McKees In Belfast Expansion
Foot Anstey LLP announced Monday that it has combined with Northern Irish law firm McKees Solicitors, the first time it has expanded its business outside England as it looks to generate more work from international clients.
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June 09, 2025
CPS Launches Plan To Return Lawyers To Criminal Practice
The Crown Prosecution Service is offering to support criminal lawyers to return to the workforce following a career break, as problems with recruitment and retention of solicitors and barristers continue to blight the justice system after decades of underinvestment.
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June 09, 2025
Getty's 'Day Of Reckoning' Begins As Stability AI Trial Opens
Getty Images opened its landmark copyright infringement case against Stability AI Monday by accusing the technology company of building its generative AI model on millions of images with "complete indifference" for underlying intellectual property protections.
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June 09, 2025
Law Society Presses For Wider Legal Aid Coverage
The Law Society urged the government Monday to broaden civil legal aid funding beyond housing and immigration to include areas such as domestic abuse, as figures show that seven in 10 people lack access to a community care legal aid provider.
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June 09, 2025
Debevoise Is Latest Firm To Add Non-Equity Partnership Tier
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP said Monday that it has introduced a non-equity partnership tier as more law firms on both sides of the Atlantic consider using the structure to retain talented workers and control costs.
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June 09, 2025
Baker McKenzie Names Int'l Trade Chief As Global Chair
Baker McKenzie said Monday that it has elected the head of its international trade practice to become its new global chair.
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June 09, 2025
Definely Raises £30M Series B To Expand
Definely, a London-based provider of legal document software, announced Monday the closing of a £30 million (around $40 million) Series B funding round aimed at accelerating its global expansion and artificial intelligence product roadmap.
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June 07, 2025
Ex-SG Says Bar Must Toughen Up Penalties To Curb Bullying
The former U.K. solicitor general, now investigating bullying and harassment at the bar, said Saturday that the profession would need to make sure perpetrators face real repercussions to improve the situation.
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June 07, 2025
Minister Calls For Bold Action To Tackle Court Backlogs
The government must take "bold" steps to implement lasting reforms to tackle persistent backlogs in the criminal courts and deteriorating court conditions, a minister warned on Saturday.
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June 06, 2025
The Revolving Door: Addleshaw Hires Cyber Chief From Bird
Over the past week, Addleshaw Goddard LLP hired a new director of cyber investigations from Bird & Bird LLP, Dechert LLP saw two experts in international capital markets transactions move to Baker Botts LLP, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP recruited an expert in secondaries transactions from Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
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June 06, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
The past week in London has seen MGM and the owners of the "Addams Family" trademark sue a private equity firm, two Cambridge colleges file for injunctions against Pro-Palestine student protest groups and a former NBA player brings a claim against Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
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June 06, 2025
CMS Ups NQ Lawyer Pay In London To £120K
CMS said Friday that it has increased salaries for newly qualified solicitors in its London office to £120,000 ($162,000) as part of a wider series of increases for junior lawyers in Britain.
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June 06, 2025
Poor Productivity Driving Crown Court Backlog, Study Says
Poor productivity has been a "major factor" in the growth of the Crown Court's case backlog since the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic think tank said in a study published Friday.
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June 06, 2025
Debevoise Names 11 New Partners In Transatlantic Boost
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP said Friday that it has elevated 11 lawyers to the partnership, with two new partners added in its London office in its latest promotion round, strengthening its capabilities in data strategy and finance across the Atlantic.
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June 06, 2025
Court Rebukes Lawyers For Fake AI-Generated Citations
A London court referred a barrister and solicitor to their professional regulators on Friday for citing cases that do not exist and warned that freely available generative artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT are not capable of conducting reliable legal research.
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June 06, 2025
SRA Shuts Regional Law Firm Over Manager's Dishonesty
The Solicitors Regulation Authority said Friday that it has shuttered a law firm in the southwest of England because it suspects dishonesty by its manager.
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June 06, 2025
Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz
The legal industry began June with another action-packed week as BigLaw firms expanded their presence and offerings. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse’s weekly quiz.
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June 06, 2025
AI-Powered Law Firm Sparks Debate On Legal Sector's Future
The country's first approved artificial intelligence law firm could be a turning point, making it easier for individuals and small businesses to get legal support. But the proliferation of artificial intelligence in the legal sector could also put considerable pressure on small firms and solo practitioners.
Expert Analysis
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How Lawyers' Behavior Can Affect Opponents' Mental Health
Acts of unreasonable behavior of lawyers working on opposite sides can take their toll, and with mental health and stress never higher in the national consciousness than right now, such conduct should be reported to help the firm understand the treatment its solicitors are receiving and better manage the situation, says Libby Payne at Withers.
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The Challenges Of Presenting To Clients In The Hybrid World
As a sector that is guided heavily by the demands of its client base, the legal industry will have to overcome various obstacles to make stylish, convincing and successful in-the-room, virtual and hybrid presentations in the post-pandemic blend of home and office, says Gavin Brown at Speak with Impact.
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5 Challenges General Counsel Are Set To Face
With an ever-broadening role, general counsel are being tasked to do more with less, with a need for caution and a requirement to leverage time wisely to anticipate and identify emerging industry challenges, says Jerry Temko at Major Lindsey.
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How SRA Workplace Culture Guidance May Help Legal Sector
Whether or not the Solicitors Regulation Authority acts on its recently released guidance on toxic workplace environments in law firms and imposes harsh sanctions, it will hopefully encourage some positive top-down changes, and should give individuals confidence to demand acceptable behavior, says Georgina Calvert-Lee at Bellevue Law.
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Beyond ChatGPT: AI Considerations For Law Firms
The use of artificial intelligence is likely to become increasingly mainstream in the legal sector, and firms should not remain complacent in the current limitations of ChatGPT, but develop policies to ensure that AI-generated liability and regulatory issues are addressed sooner rather than later, say Corinne Staves and Andrew Pavlovic at CM Murray.
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Reflecting On The Benefits Of Direct Access To Barristers
At close to 20 years since public access to barristers came into being, it is a good time to take a look at its impact on the U.K. legal profession and the more collaborative approach between barristers and solicitors we have seen develop since its introduction, say Amani Mohammed and Sean Gould at Westgate Chambers.
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How Apprenticeships Are Transforming The Legal Sector
As more legal employers recognize the benefits of creating apprenticeship opportunities, they are likely to grow in popularity, ensuring that the best and brightest minds are available to meet the challenges of an ever complex and changing legal environment, says Aisha Saeed at Addleshaw Goddard.
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Pitfalls Lawyers Should Avoid When Correcting Their Mistakes
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.
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Translating The Plan For English-Language German Courts
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.
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A Breakdown Of The SRA's Proposed New Fining Powers
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.
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Russian Bank Ruling Clarifies UK Sanctions Regime
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.
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Preparing For EU's Pay Gap Reporting Directive
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.
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Has The Liberalization Of Legal Services Achieved Its Aims?
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.
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How Overseas Property Verification Poses Risks To Attorneys
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.
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What To Expect From UK's New Economic Crime Bill
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.