Elite English firms face uphill battle in fierce New York market Legal Elite City law firms face major financial and strategic hurdles breaking into the US legal market, as fierce competition for top talent and high partner compensation make organic growth and brand-building especially challenging, writes Maria Ward-Brennan Breaking into the US has been on the agenda of many elite English law firms, most notably four-fifths of [...]
Hacking scandal? Inside Prince Harry’s costly legal battle over privacy Media The phone hacking scandal, which first emerged 15 years ago, has cost the owners of Britain’s most prominent newspapers over a billion pounds in legal damages, keeping law firms and the courts busy for more than a decade, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. The phone hacking saga returned to the headlines in spectacular style this week after [...]
‘Streets ahead’ – London aims to wear the legal AI crown Legal New York may have the money, but London is trying to claim the ‘global capital of legal AI’ crown, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. In the midst of a brutal transatlantic talent war, where US firms are driving salaries through the roof and aggressively poaching top talent across the City, London has quietly secured a major strategic [...]
LLPs remain under watchful eye – especially from the taxman June 18, 2026 Despite dodging Budget day taxes, the UK’s limited liability partnership (LLP) model is still facing intense scrutiny, this time from HMRC, which just had a good result from the top court this week, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. The LLP model, used by professional services such as law firms and accountancy firms, came into force 25 years [...]
Rising salaries for junior lawyers put pressure on senior associates’ pay packages June 11, 2026 US law firms continue to drive a fierce salary war in London, leaving UK firms scrambling to keep up with soaring pay for junior lawyers, but as starting salaries rise, growing pay gaps threaten to unsettle senior associates, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. As of next month, London associates at Quinn Emanuel will see their salaries increase [...]
Millions left unclaimed as public awareness gap exposes flaws in class actions June 4, 2026 While class actions are on the rise, limited public awareness means millions in settlement funds go unclaimed, highlighting the scepticism over who truly benefits from these legal actions, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. Despite the surge in class actions in the London High Court over the last number of years, there remains a large knowledge gap among [...]
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 [...]
Lawyers say fee hikes punishes profession for regulator blunders May 21, 2026 The legal watchdog plans to raise its funding by increasing lawyer fees to address past shortfalls, but the legal profession is frustrated, arguing they are being forced to pay for the regulator’s own failures and legacy issues, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. Lawyers are not chuffed at the regulator’s plan to increase its fees in the upcoming [...]
City law firms put US partner promotions in the spotlight May 7, 2026 As law firms increasingly shift their focus to the US there has been a surge in partner promos across the Atlantic – while London is becoming more selective, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. It’s that time of year when my inbox gets flooded with press releases and Companies House notifications about partner promotions at the City’s finest [...]
City law firms clamp down on the equity cookie jar April 30, 2026 Law firms are tightening access to equity partnerships to protect profits, increasingly reserving the equity pool for top performers, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. As the Big Four giants dominate the headlines with internal changes, the firms are seeking to regain control of their expanded equity pools amid profitability problems. These giants are looking to mirror what [...]