Vodafone set for £85m court showdown with ex-franchisees Retail An £85m court battle between Vodafone and its former franchisees will kick off on Thursday over claims the telecoms giant imposed cuts on franchises which left managers facing closures and bankruptcy. The 62 ex-franchisees pursuing a civil action against Vodafone – recently renamed VodafoneThree – will launch their case at the High Court for the [...]
Starmer urged to tighten law on Slapps following Mandelson scandal Politics Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to tighten the law to prevent the powerful and wealthy from stopping stories about them, following the Lord Mandelson scandal. A dozen Labour MPs have written to the Prime Minister to ensure that strategic lawsuits against public participation, known as Slapps, is included in the King’s Speech in May. [...]
WFH requests could go to tribunal under Labour’s employment reforms Business Lawyers are warning that Labour’s plans to make flexible working the default could place additional legal and administrative burdens on British businesses. Under the proposed changes employees would be able to appeal an employer’s decision to refuse a flexible working request more easily through the Employment Tribunal. Lawyers at TWM Solicitors explained that the employer’s [...]
The £4m prenup case: A banker, mistress and a court warning February 6, 2026 A recent High Court decision over a banker and heiress's multimillion-pound divorce is a reminder that prenups aren't bulletproof.
Traditional legal model shaken by investor interest and IPO ambitions January 26, 2026 External investment is increasing in mid-size legal firms, according to a new report, which revealed that nearly 70 per cent of firms have been approached by private equity investors or PE-backed entities in the last year. New data from MHA, in conjunction with the Law Society, shared with City AM, shows that the majority of [...]
Trowers & Hamlins partner Sara Bailey: I was told I was ‘too Yorkshire’ January 22, 2026 Sara Bailey, senior partner at Trowers & Hamlins, takes us through her career in law in this week's Square Mile and Me.
Musk-Altman rift widens as judge approves court battle January 16, 2026 OpenAI and Microsoft have lost their final bid to avoid a courtroom battle with Elon Musk, with a US judge ruling that the Tesla and xAI founder can proceed to trial over claims that the start-up breached its original charitable mission. The case, set for a jury trial in late April at the District Court [...]
Revolut, Mastercard, Visa lose legal battle on card fees cap January 15, 2026 Revolut, Mastercard and Visa have lost a legal battle against the UK’s payments watchdog amid plans to introduce a cap on card fees for overseas transactions. The trio of payment giants brought a judicial review to the High Court following a decision by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) in December 2024, confirming that it would consult on the [...]
HSBC to cough up £230m over dividend tax-fraud claims January 8, 2026 European banking juggernaut HSBC is set to cough up nearly £230m to settle an investigation relating to tax-fraud claims. The FTSE 100 titan was accused of helping foreign investors evade taxes on dividends through a sophisticated financial manoeuvre known as ‘cum-cum’ trading. This relates to a series of transactions between 2014 and 2019, which were [...]
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 [...]