London’s legal elites bask in booming pay packets Legal While London shivers through a January cold snap, the city’s legal elite are basking in an earnings heatwave as salaries for City lawyers at major law firms have edged up over the last year. Over the 2024/2025 financial year, the average profit per equity partner (PEP) at the big firms, including Linklaters, A&O Shearman, Herbert [...]
The year in law: Scale, survival, and the surge of the transatlantic titans Legal From the birth of new transatlantic titans to a government-led rescue of the litigation funding market, 2025 has seen the City’s legal landscape rewritten by a relentless pursuit of scale and a newfound reliance on the machine. The legal sector started the year with US President Donald Trump attacking the industry, as Trump vs Big [...]
Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader join the transatlantic wave of mergers Legal London-based Hogan Lovells has announced its intention to merge with Wall Street’s oldest law firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, to create a nearly £2.7bn law firm, as the trend of mega-mergers continues in the market. The firm, which will be known as Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, is subject to customary closing conditions, including a vote by [...]
Money talks, but culture counts in transatlantic law firm tie-ups November 20, 2025 A merger between a notable US outfit and a UK-headquartered legal firm used to be a rare event, but with the focus on global dominance, these strategic moves are now attracting more attention – as more firms begin to follow suit. This week, London-based Ashurst agreed to merge with Seattle-based Perkins Coie, and overnight it [...]
Yet another Transatlantic tie-up: Ashurst and Perkins Coie announce $2.7bn merger November 17, 2025 UK law firm Ashurst has agreed to merge with the US law firm Perkins Coie, the latest move in a series of large transatlantic tie-ups in the legal sector. After a week of speculation about Ashurst being in merger talks, the firm agreed a deal with Settle-based Perkins Coie to become a $2.7bn law firm, [...]
Ex-CEO faces trial for allegedly urging MPs to block Chinese-backed acquisition November 5, 2025 The High Court is set to hear a case over an allegation against a former interim CEO of an aerospace firm who is accused of secretly lobbying MPs and the UK government to sabotage a Chinese-backed deal. The case follows a national security review by the UK government into a deal that could have led [...]
The Gulf gamble: American and British law firms racing to Saudi Arabia October 30, 2025 Saudi Arabia is rapidly becoming the focus of global legal attention. But this shift is not merely speculative; it is part of a calculated move by the Kingdom to attract world-class expertise. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia changed its law two years ago to allow foreign law firms to operate independently, as part of its [...]
Massa £64m damages case against F1 and Ecclestone set for court this week October 28, 2025 Legal action over the controversy of the F1 2008 crash, dubbed ‘crashgate’, is set for the English High Court this week, where a judge will hear allegations from Felipe Massa that the aftermath cost him the 2008 Championship. Brazilian driver Massa competed in F1 from 2002 to 2017, serving with several teams, notably Ferrari. During [...]
Macdonald Hotels counts cost of huge legal bill after High Court loss October 20, 2025 Luxury chain Macdonald Hotels slumped into the red before being order to pay a huge legal bill after losing a case to the Bank of Scotland. Macdonald Hotels sued the Scottish subsidiary of Lloyds Bank claiming it was “seriously wronged’ by the lender which resulted in it losing out on millions of pounds. Chairman and [...]
Reed Smith latest to enter fledgling Saudi legal market October 20, 2025 Transatlantic law firm Reed Smith has stormed into Saudi Arabia, becoming the latest international law firm to plant its flag in the Kingdom’s new legal market. Two years ago, Saudi Arabia changed its law to allow foreign law firms to operate independently. The Saudi government’s strategy was to attract international business and legal expertise for [...]