Interpath and beyond: The surge of private equity investment in professional services Prof Services It was revealed this morning that Big Four giant KPMG’s former restructuring division, Interpath Advisory, was in exclusive negotiations with Bridgepoint to acquire a majority stake in its business, the latest in a string of private equity deals in the professional services sector. KPMG sold the arm to private equity group HIG Capital in 2021 for £400m. [...]
Football-style firings in SMEs: A risky game for business owners Business HR professionals are seeing SMEs start to copy football’s “sack the boss” culture when things go south for the company, but warn that this strategy could turn into an “expensive legal headache”. Managers of major football teams, especially those in the Premier League, can operate like a revolving door when the team is in a [...]
US law firms lead London hiring, fuelled by private capital growth Legal Legal recruiters for big law firms in the City had a busy 2025 as hiring for the most senior lawyers surged, with the trend expected to continue into the new year. As employment figures rose in the UK to above the 5 per cent mark in 2025, according to figures by legal recruiter Edwards Gibson, [...]
Three sport law disputes to watch for in 2026 January 3, 2026 Joel Leigh and Rufus Scholefield take a look at the sectors that could define sport law in 2026 The left over mince pies are running out and the sporting world is looking ahead and bracing for a year that promises thrilling competition but also, significant legal and regulatory challenges. 2026 looks certain to be remembered [...]
The six-figure club: Associates at elite US legal firms set for bonus boom December 30, 2025 More than 60 per cent of UK workers aren’t expecting a Christmas bonus this year, but that’s not the case for City lawyers, some of who will receive generous six-figure payouts. Many US law firms operate under the Cravath Scale, named after the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, a transparent lockstep system of associate [...]
Lawyers warn farmers: Labour’s U-turn on IHT threshold “not an all-clear” December 24, 2025 Lawyers warned that, despite Labour’s U-turn on the inheritance tax relief threshold for farms, many agricultural families may still be impacted, and significant tax burdens may remain for some estates. In a whiplash U-turn, the Labour government revealed on Tuesday that, after a year of backlash from rural communities, it would increase the Agricultural and [...]
The year in law: Scale, survival, and the surge of the transatlantic titans December 23, 2025 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 December 19, 2025 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 [...]
Rugby league woes as Oldham RLFC faces winding-up by HMRC December 17, 2025 Oldham RLFC, a club in rugby league’s Championship, was hit with formal legal action by the British tax authority this week, City AM can reveal. In the High Court system, HMRC filed a winding-up petition against Oldham Rugby League Football Club 1876 (Oldham RLFC) on Tuesday. A winding-up petition is a formal notice by a [...]
Labour government moves to protect litigation funding December 17, 2025 The UK government plans to legislate to reverse the impact of a Supreme Court judgment on the litigation funding industry. The top court ruled in a 2023 case, known as PACCAR, that percentages of damage recovered were not enforceable. This ruling threw the litigation funding industry into uncertainty, as it brought its funding into the [...]