Ropes & Gray offers junior lawyers 20 per cent billable credit for AI effort Legal US law firm Ropes & Gray has expanded its programme to give junior lawyers 20 per cent of their billable hours to experiment with generative AI to its European offices, including in the City. The ‘TrAIlblazers’ programme was floated across the firm’s US offices last year, but it is now being implemented in Europe for [...]
The six-figure club: Associates at elite US legal firms set for bonus boom Legal 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 [...]
The year in law: Scale, survival, and the surge of the transatlantic titans Legal From the birth of new transatlantic titans to a government-led rescue of the litigation funding market, 2025 has seen the City’s legal landscape rewritten by a relentless pursuit of scale and a newfound reliance on the machine. The legal sector started the year with US President Donald Trump attacking the industry, as Trump vs Big [...]
Shoosmiths to give staff extra £1m after hitting AI target December 16, 2025 Law firm Shoosmiths will give staff an extra £1m in bonuses after they hit the firm’s annual target for 1m Microsoft Copilot prompts more than four months ahead of schedule, City AM can reveal. The firm told City AM in April that it had set a “clear and ambitious annual target” of 1m on its [...]
Rayner resigns: Legal advice excuse falls flat in tax duty scandal September 5, 2025 Angela Rayner threw her lawyers under the bus over her brewing tax scandal, but the lawyers rebutted, citing the “arrows stuck” in their backs, as experts insisted she shouldn’t have hid “behind legal advice”. When it emerged that Rayner had underpaid £40,000 in tax on her £800,000 property in Hove, it prompted calls for her [...]
Angela Rayner under pressure to clarify property questions amid hypocrisy accusations September 1, 2025 Angela Rayner is facing mounting scrutiny over her property portfolio, with accusations that she avoided £40,000 in stamp duty and questions around a house valuation in her constituency. These suggestions are made more embarrassing by her dual roles as deputy prime minister and housing secretary. The Times has reported on the “remarkable coincidence” that, at [...]
AI is on the march but many law firms still don’t have a strategy July 17, 2025 UK law firms are ahead of their international peers in their pace of AI adoption but most firms still don’t have an AI strategy.
Will the building safety levy constrain housebuilding? May 28, 2025 A new tax on the real estate industry risks trading a crisis in building safety for one of housing supply, argue Rick Atha and Amber Wright The building safety levy is due to come into effect in Autumn 2026, a year later than the government had previously indicated. The government aims to raise around £3.4bn [...]
Legal tech this, AI law firm that: But what about jobs and trust? May 15, 2025 AI is the craze, every big business has jumped onto the hype, and the legal sector is no different—but the skepticism wafting around is there for a reason
Newcastle United launch legal action against East Stand owner May 6, 2025 Premier League giants Newcastle United has issued legal proceedings against the Newcastle City Council and St James Terrace Land Ltd