Junior lawyers earn £44 an hour for 13-hour days September 23, 2025 Junior lawyers at leading City law firms are regularly working well beyond standard hours, with many firms reporting their youngest staff routinely putting in over 12-hour days. According to research by Legal Cheek on over 2,000 trainees and junior lawyers, the London offices of top US law firms are leading the table, which is consistent [...]
Knives are out in Whitehall after Chinese espionage case collapsed September 17, 2025 Whitehall is seething with anger following the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) decision to drop its espionage case against two men accused of spying for China. Christopher Cash (30), a former parliamentary researcher and director of the China Research Group, and Christopher Berry (33), a former English teacher in China, were charged last year with providing [...]
Shortage of skilled lawyers challenges UK life sciences sector September 17, 2025 The UK market is experiencing a shortage of lawyers at life sciences businesses amid a growing need for talent to meet the rising demand for regulatory advice from businesses. A report from recruiter Major, Lindsey & Africa highlights a lack of UK candidates with expertise in legal, regulatory, and compliance matters, intellectual property (IP), and [...]
Has the legal market pulled the brakes on the NQ pay war? September 4, 2025 ‘City lawyers are the new bankers‘. This became a common refrain in the legal market as pay wars ramped up. However, the sentiment within the market suggests that the tide may be changing. Over the past several years, the pay war over newly qualified (NQ) lawyers has been a major talking point in the market, [...]
Employment Bill: Here is everything that has happened since its inception September 3, 2025 The third reading of the Employment Rights Bill, a controversial piece of legislation, commenced at the House of Lords on Wednesday. Rushed out within 100 days of Labour taking office, the Bill has faced fierce debate and criticism from multiple stakeholders. The Bill, which formed a significant part of Labour’s manifesto, was laid before Parliament [...]
Post merger A&O Shearman generates £2.9bn in revenue as partner pay falls short of competitors August 22, 2025 The first results following the anticipated merger of A&O Shearman show that equity partners pocketed £2m, slightly below the figures from its legacy Magic Circle firm
Crypto assets could be lost upon death regardless of wills, warns lawyer August 20, 2025 Crypto assets are not automatically accessible or even traceable through existing methods, it prompts calls for reform to Wills as millions of Brits risk losing assets upon death
Law firm partners’ pay rockets past rest of UK workforce August 20, 2025 Partners at British law firms have seen their income rise over twice as fast as the rest of the UK workforce over the last five years. According to data shared with City AM by Bowmore Wealth Group, the income of law firm partners rose 42 per cent to an average of £307,000 over the last [...]
After the shake-up, is the CMA still a watchdog with teeth? August 14, 2025 Those of us who have regulators' email alerts switched on were familiar with the CMA as an active regulator, but that didn't align with the Labour government's agenda.
Demand for City lawyers surges amid motor finance scandal August 13, 2025 Lawyers are facing questions after the Supreme Court's motor finance ruling left the door open for consumer claims