Business services staff face redundancies at City law firm May 29, 2026 City-based law firm Clyde & Co has launched a restructuring consultation for its business service staff as part of its ongoing strategy to centralise support operations into regional hubs. The firm is proposing to move certain services currently performed by teams within legal support, purchase-to-pay, and IT to its service centres in Glasgow and its [...]
Private equity boom slows down as the deal bar rises for City firms May 29, 2026 Private equity interest in professional services remains, but the era of easy deals is over as most attractive targets have already been acquired, and investors are now more selective, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. The bubble around private equity interest in the professional services industry has started to deflate, as most of the “low-hanging fruit” has already [...]
Workplace NDA ban may lead to more tribunals May 28, 2026 A government proposal to ban the use of non-disclosure agreements in cases of workplace harassment or discrimination may make it harder for disputes to be settled outside of tribunals. The proposal, ‘Make Work Pay’, which is open for consultation until 8 July and part of the recent overhaul of the Employment Rights Act, would ban [...]
Emma Sleep agrees to change ‘illegal’ sales practices following court settlement May 28, 2026 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has agreed a partial settlement with mattress company Emma Sleep after it admitted to breaking consumer law over its pricing tactics. The settlement is legally binding, so if Emma Sleep fails to comply, it “could result in contempt of court proceedings, potentially leading to significant penalties,” the CMA said. [...]
Elite law firm to splash £370m on building own AI tool May 28, 2026 The world’s largest law firm by revenue, Kirkland & Ellis, is investing £370m ($500m) to develop its own custom-built AI platform, challenging competitors that rely on widely used third-party AI tools. The US-based firm, which has a large office in the City, said it plans to spend hundreds of millions over the next three to [...]
Pinsent Masons is not the only City law firm walking a dangerous AI tightrope May 28, 2026 A junior lawyer at Pinsent Masons used AI to draft misleading emails for a High Court case, highlighting how generational attitudes and lack of training risk new mistakes as law firms rush to adopt new technology, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. It has been a slow burner, but we finally have the first notable UK law firm [...]
Octopus acquires legal team to boost bereavement services with AI May 27, 2026 Octopus Legacy, a bereavement service owned by Octopus Group, has acquired a private client team from a large UK-based law firm as part of a push to speed up its services using AI. The company’s legal arm, Octopus Legal Services, has taken on a team of 50 legal professionals from NewLaw Solicitors in “a significant [...]
Gen Z craze toy maker Jellycat launches legal action against Next and Hamleys May 26, 2026 Jellycat, the British soft toy company that took Gen-Z by storm, has filed several legal actions in the London High Court over trademark allegations. Lawyers at Stephenson Harwood filed three separate lawsuits last week against retail giants over passing off and trademark allegations, as seen by City AM. The firm, founded by Thomas Gatacre in [...]
Starmer confirms teen rape case sent to Court of Appeal after public outcry May 26, 2026 The Attorney General has sent a rape case, which saw two teenage boys spared jail, to the Court of Appeal following a political backlash over the weekend against the judge’s ruling. Two teenage boys raped two girls in separate attacks in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in 2024 and 2025. The third boy, who aided and abetted the [...]
David Lammy rejects higher pay rise for judges amid recruitment crisis May 26, 2026 David Lammy turned down an independent recommendation for a higher judicial pay increase, instead approving a 3.5 per cent rise amid government efforts to tackle recruitment challenges for senior judges. The Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) report, published last week, recommended a 3.8 per cent pay increase across the judiciary, estimated to cost taxpayers around [...]