World Cup office sweepstakes could leave employers facing legal red cards June 10, 2026 With the World Cup set to kick off on Thursday, many offices across the City will be gearing up to offer employees the chance to participate in competitions – known as sweepstakes – to place informal bets on who might win. Sweepstakes involve participants paying a fee into a cash pot and being randomly assigned [...]
Banks ‘not ready’ for motor finance scheme, says City watchdog June 9, 2026 The City watchdog has warned that motor finance lenders are “not as ready as we would expect” for the introduction of its long-awaited redress scheme. Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has written to the Treasury Committee following inquiries around the legal challenges to its car mis-selling scheme. The regulator published [...]
City law firm Shoosmiths invests extra £1m in firm’s bonus pot June 8, 2026 City law firm Shoosmiths has doubled down on its commitment to AI after setting aside a second £1m for its bonus pot to help staff become AI-fluent through its new internal accreditation programme, City AM can reveal. Last year, the firm exclusively told City AM that it set a “clear and ambitious annual target” of one million [...]
Deputy PM to unveil AI labs to drag legal sector out of ‘analogue’ age June 8, 2026 The UK government is launching a new AI growth project aimed squarely at dragging the UK’s billion-pound legal sector out of its “analogue” age. Ahead of London Tech Week, City AM can reveal that Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy will unveil ‘AI growth labs’, a regulatory safe space designed to cut through bureaucratic red tape [...]
City law firm boosts junior lawyer salaries to £189k in London June 5, 2026 City-based law firm Quinn Emanuel has increased salaries for its most junior lawyers by 5 per cent for the 2026 financial year, as its London office aligns with pay increases at its US counterparts. Effective from 1 July 2026, London associates’ salaries will increase 5 per cent across the board, with newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers set [...]
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 [...]
Betfair to be probed in court over online betting liability June 3, 2026 Betfair is due to be scrutinised in court tomorrow over its duty of care in relation to the dangers of online gambling and betting following a problem gambler’s suicide. The online gambling giant, owned by Irish-American betting giant owned by Flutter Entertainment, will face questions over claims it failed to identify Luke Ashton’s gambling addiction [...]
Staff burnout soars in professional services due to inefficiencies and outdated IT June 3, 2026 More than a quarter of client-facing staff at professional services firms are wasting a large portion of their working week on manual administrative tasks rather than core client work, according to new research by Unit4. The report, commissioned by Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC), on global mid-to-large professional services firms, including those in the UK, revealed [...]
UK law clears hurdle for airlines to ban unruly passengers from travelling June 2, 2026 Airlines and the UK government are eyeing a proposal to create a national blacklist of disruptive passengers using their personal data, potentially curbing their access to flights. The scheme, currently being developed by officials from the Department for Transport and the Home Office, would require airlines to notify the government when a passenger is disruptive. [...]
Patagonia faces PR backlash over trademark lawsuit with drag queen June 2, 2026 Patagonia is in hot water over its legal action against a drag queen, but as lawyers suggest, businesses face a double-edged sword when it comes to protecting their trademarks. A drag queen artist and environmentalist, Wyn Wiley, was sued by the US outdoor retailer Patagonia, which alleged the performer violated its trademark by going professionally [...]