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Firm’s web-surfing employee loses dismissal challenge
A long-serving staff member at a national law firm who rowed with a colleague and had an “unacceptable” level of personal internet use has lost an unfair dismissal challenge.
‘Emotional competency for lawyers’ course launched
Legal mental health and wellbeing charity LawCare has teamed up with the Open University to launch an online resource on emotional competency and professional resilience.
Court wellbeing protocol targets ‘last minute’ culture
Birmingham Family Court will today introduce a wellbeing protocol which aims to end a ‘last minute’ work culture that increases stress on practitioners outside of work hours.
Tribunal overturns unfair dismissal ruling against partner
An employment tribunal has ruled that it was wrong to uphold an unfair dismissal claim against a partner in a law firm closed down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
“Minor error” dooms senior clerk’s unfair dismissal claim
A senior clerk at a London barristers’ chambers cannot bring an unfair dismissal claim because of a “minor error” meaning that it was out of time.
Profession needs “healthier” approach to alcohol
The profession needs to create a healthier culture around alcohol, including never asking people at events why they are not drinking, the Law Society’s Junior Lawyers Division has urged.
Suspended in-house solicitor wins injunction to return to work
An in-house solicitor has won an injunction allowing her to return to work at an NHS trust after a judge found it “strongly arguable” that she had been unreasonably suspended.
Partnership “validly kept alive” to avoid pension liability
A law firm that incorporated its business but kept the partnership alive solely to frustrate a retired partner’s pension entitlement has defeated that partner’s claim in the High Court.
Call for “real inclusion” rather than tick boxes at the Bar
The Bar should focus on “real inclusion” and “actionable, practical steps” to improve diversity rather than tick boxes, a black barrister and human rights activist has argued.
Hale: Gender-biased instructions holding back female barristers
Women not being instructed in the best cases and “traditional assumptions about who gets what sort of judging job” are the main reasons for there being relatively few in the senior judiciary, Lady Hale has argued.
Blog
AI and client confidentiality: the next regulatory faultline
The area most likely to expose firms to regulatory jeopardy in 2026 needs far more guidance: client confidentiality in the age of commercial AI systems.
The UK’s global leadership in lawtech is at risk if women are left behind
Tech has the equivalent of an old boy’s network. That makes it harder for women to break in. It also makes it harder when it comes to networking, finding backers and ultimately clients.
How legal judgement is shifting in in-house practice
Across UK organisations, legal teams are now involved earlier in decision-making, often before proposals have taken a settled shape.
