Autumn Budget: Professional services sector dodged ‘damaging’ tax hikes November 26, 2025 The professional services sector breathed a sigh of relief after dodging tax hikes on LLPs in Rachel Reeves’s Autumn Budget. It was rumoured that Reeves was looking to add a layer of tax on limited liability partnerships (LLPs), a move that sparked a flurry of anger from the broader professional services industry, including the legal [...]
Robert Jenrick leads pushback against David Lammy’s plans to scrap jury trials November 25, 2025 The justice secretary is facing accusations of hypocrisy over his proposed scrapping of jury trials, after his Tory opposite number Robert Jenrick said it was a system David Lammy once ‘proudly defended’ before coming to power. Jenrick stated, “Now [Lammy is] in office, he’s getting rid of them in virtually every case. “Scrapping this pillar [...]
David Lammy proposing to scrap some jury trials to tackle backlog November 25, 2025 As the criminal justice system continues to crumble, the justice secretary David Lammy is reportedly proposing a major shake-up that would scrap some jury trials. Currently, all criminal trials are heard in front of a jury that decides on the accused’s fate; however, Lammy’s proposal will see jury trials only for murder, rape or manslaughter [...]
New York law firm Cohen & Gresser in talks over £30m private equity deal November 24, 2025 New York law firm Cohen & Gresser is in talks to sell a stake to a private equity group, weeks after McDermott Will & Schulte expressed interest in restructuring the firm to secure outside funding. The firm has been in talks around the sale of a $40m (£30.5m) convertible note that would ultimately be swapped [...]
Clifford Chance AI-driven redundancies hit London business service roles November 21, 2025 Law firm Clifford Chance is preparing for dozens of redundancies after launching a restructuring of its London business services team. Around 10 per cent of the 550 employees are set to lose their jobs, according to the Financial Times. It was reported that the magic circle firm told staff last month that greater use of [...]
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 [...]
Backlogs and political attacks risk erosion of rule of law, Lords claim November 20, 2025 The rule of law in the UK is being weakened, and everyone must take steps to protect it against further erosion, says a damming House of Lords report. The ‘Rule of law: holding the line between anarchy and tyranny’ report, published on Thursday, identified three areas contributing to the decline: social/cultural erosion, institutional failings in [...]
Holly Willoughby’s company survives HMRC tax battle November 19, 2025 A media company run by TV presenter Holly Willoughby has survived the latest round of a tax battle with HMRC. Roxy Media was facing a winding-up petition in the Insolvency and Companies Court over a tax debt reported to total £377,000. The petition, a serious statement of intent by a creditor to shut down a [...]
Uplift in patrols: West End businesses fund major Christmas crime crackdown November 19, 2025 The largest single private-sector investment in enhanced security and policing in London’s West End was launched, involving over 600 businesses in the busy section of the capital. Operation West End, an initiative from the New West End Company, which represents over 600 West End businesses, including on Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, works [...]
HP pursues Lynch estate for £1.35bn as tech giant forks out £150m in legal bills November 18, 2025 The High Court heard that the estate of British technology tycoon Mike Lynch should be liable to pay more than £1.35bn to Hewlett-Packard (HP) over fraud linked to the sale of Autonomy. Lynch, who founded software firm Autonomy in 1996, sold it to HP in 2012 for $11.1bn, but after a bust-up over allegations of [...]