United Kingdom

Non-lawyer ownership laws in UK allow some firms to thrive

While the debate over non-lawyer ownership of law firms continues to rage in the United States, several lawyers in the U.K. seem to be pleased with the way outside investments have helped their firms. Two UK firms have thrived since a 2011 law went into effect allowing law firms to…

Aug 10, 2016 1:30 PM CDT

Pay freeze at London law firm brought on by Brexit ‘uncertainty’

Despite recently posting its second highest profit per equity partner, London law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner has frozen pay and bonuses for its UK-based staff until November, according to Reuters and The Lawyer. This decision comes after Britain voted last month to leave the European Union. The law firm’s managing…

Jul 18, 2016 2:45 PM CDT

Haynes and Boone merges with London-based law firm

The United Kingdom may have voted to leave the European Union, but that has not stopped Haynes and Boone from choosing to come to London. In a Thursday press release, Haynes and Boone announced it had merged with London-based firm Curtis Davis Garrard. According to the press release, the merger…

Jul 1, 2016 9:30 AM CDT

UK law firms scramble to provide answers for Brexit questions

The uncertainty surrounding life and laws in the United Kingdom following the vote to leave the European Union has left law firms scrambling, and at the moment there are more questions than answers. While U.K. voters decided on Thursday to leave the EU in a nationwide referendum by 51.9 percent…

Jun 27, 2016 2:35 PM CDT

Law firms run 24-hour hotlines for client questions after Britain votes to leave European Union

Law firms are sending out client advisories, planning client briefings and running 24-hour hotlines to answer clients’ questions after Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. Britain’s exit isn’t expected to occur for at least two years, but it’s already causing uncertainty and turmoil, report the American Lawyer International, Law.com,…

Jun 24, 2016 9:40 AM CDT

Womble Carlyle announces strategic alliance with UK firm

A strategic alliance announced Wednesday by Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice and the United Kingdom-based Bond Dickinson is intended to help each of the well-known firms expand its footprint in the other’s home country. The two plan to refer business to each other, collaborate in pitching business to clients, provide…

Jun 15, 2016 1:15 PM CDT

Clients drop firm after lawyer uses Twitter to celebrate ‘win’ against parents of disabled children

A British law firm suffered a sudden loss of business over the last few days, after a series of tweets by a founding partner who serves as its managing director ignited a firestorm. Mark Small of Baker Small heads a law firm known for its leading niche representation of local…

Jun 15, 2016 10:55 AM CDT

Norton Rose Fulbright raids Sidley for 17-lawyer practice group and opens new San Francisco office

Megafirm Norton Rose Fulbright announced Thursday that it has hired Sidley Austin’s entire public finance practice group. The group includes six partners, and seven of the lawyers will establish a new San Francisco office for Norton Rose Fulbright—the 3,800-attorney megafirm’s 12th in the U.S. and 53rd worldwide, according to the…

Jun 3, 2016 9:47 AM CDT

Clyde & Co. to acquire 18-lawyer Miami firm, seeks to be top US insurance coverage shop

A London-based international law firm plans to open its sixth U.S. office by acquiring an 18-attorney Miami, Florida, corporate litigation boutique. Clyde & Co. announced the deal with Thornton Davis Fein on Thursday, and expects it to be complete by July 1. “Our ambition in the United States is to…

May 26, 2016 9:35 AM CDT

Law student prevails against Marvel and DC Comics over use of word ‘superhero’ in book title

A British businessman who is also a law student got some real-world legal experience over the last few years when the title of his self-help book, Business Zero to Superhero, caught the attention of major comic-book publishers. Although competitors in the publishing world, Marvel Comics and DC Comics band together…

May 25, 2016 11:20 AM CDT

Solving Mysteries: Lawyers play detective in legal writing

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. begins his dissenting opinion from a denial of cert in Pennsylvania v. Dunlap this way:

May 1, 2016 2:00 AM CDT

Slater and Gordon could be on the brink after reporting huge losses in the second half of 2015

The first law firm to go public may be on the verge of collapse after reporting a loss of nearly $700 million during the second half of 2015. On Monday, the Herald Sun (sub. req.) reported that Australia-based firm Slater and Gordon must present a plan to several banks in…

Feb 29, 2016 12:05 PM CST

2 brothers got no time in drug case until they mocked judge in crude Facebook posts after sentencing

Two brothers initially got no jail time in a British drug case, because the judge suspended their two-year sentences when their lawyers said they were remorseful about the crime. But after they mocked the trial judge in Facebook posts within two hours of exiting a Feb. 3 hearing at Burnley…

Feb 26, 2016 10:10 AM CST

As Canada’s Gowlings completes 1,400-attorney merger with UK firm, more growth is already planned

With Monday’s announcement of the completed merger of equivalent Canadian and United Kingdom law firms, the nearly 1,400-attorney combination is already looking for more merger prospects. “It’s an exciting time for us at Gowling WLG, and this is only just the beginning,” said Peter Lukasiewicz, who serves as chief executive…

Feb 22, 2016 10:10 AM CST

Court rejects effort to trademark shape of KitKat candy bar

If the KitKat name wasn’t printed on the four connected “fingers” of a well-known candy bar, would customers know it was a KitKat without seeing the wrapper? The answer to that question in the United Kingdom is no, according to a Wednesday ruling by the High Court of Justice of…

Jan 21, 2016 11:45 AM CST