Wined and dined

A City law firm partner was encouraged to consume alcohol over a lengthy lunch and dinner by private spies posing as prospective clients, in a covert sting the Court of Appeal has condemned as having “no place in litigation in the courts of England and Wales”.
The lengthy judgment published this week

Partner pay hits £1.4 million

Travers Smith has posted record financials across the board, with turnover reaching £229.4 million and profit per equity partner (PEP) climbing to £1.4 million, the highest in the firm’s history.
Turnover rose 9.1% to £229.4 million for the year ended 30 June 2026, the firm’s highest to date, while profit

One quit his training contract after 10 months and never actually qualified

Andy Burnham’s newly announced Cabinet features three lawyers, a former trainee solicitor who didn’t finish his training contract and a non-lawyer who’s been given the role of Lord Chancellor (aka Secretary of State for Justice).
What do their backgrounds tell us about the

Up 9%

Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance partners are now pocketing an average of £2.3 million each, as the firm posted record results for the last financial year.
The 9% PEP bump came alongside revenue climbing 9% to £2.6 billion and partnership profit rising 11% to £1.05 billion, the first time the firm’s partnership profit

Relocating in 2029

Mishcon de Reya is on the move, signing a 20-year lease for four floors at Holborn’s MidCity Place.
The firm will occupy 161,000 sq ft across four floors, including a large client hospitality and events space, once it moves in following a full fit-out in 2029. Mishcon has also secured an option

Barred from profession

A former compliance analyst at Debevoise & Plimpton has been barred from working in the legal profession after pretending to be one of its lawyers in a private tenancy dispute.
Ridita Rahman, who joined the US firm’s London office as an anti-money laundering compliance analyst in July 2024, wrote to a third

Jonathan Reynolds back as Business Sec

A Labour MP who made headlines last year after describing himself as a “solicitor” despite never completing his training contract has reclaimed his old role as Business Secretary in new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s cabinet.
Jonathan Reynolds, MP for Stalybridge