UK legal news on the business of law: firms, deals, people, regulation, courts and legal technology.https://www.lawweek.co.uk/en-gbFri, 11 Sep 2026 06:30:02 GMTeditor@lawweek.co.uk (Law Week)editor@lawweek.co.uk (Law Week)Copyright 2026 Law Week60https://www.lawweek.co.uk/images/lawweek-logo.pnghttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/litigation-funding-explained-how-third-party-funding-works/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/litigation-funding-explained-how-third-party-funding-works/A funder with no stake in the dispute pays the legal bills in exchange for a cut of any win - and a 2023 Supreme Court ruling has left much of the market's paperwork in legal limbo ever since.Fri, 11 Sep 2026 06:30:02 GMTLaw WeekDeals & M&Ahttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/how-the-civil-courts-of-england-and-wales-are-structured/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/how-the-civil-courts-of-england-and-wales-are-structured/From the County Court to the Supreme Court, a guide to the hierarchy that decides civil disputes and how a case moves up it on appeal.Thu, 10 Sep 2026 06:30:01 GMTLaw WeekCourtshttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/magic-circle-and-silver-circle-law-firms-explained/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/magic-circle-and-silver-circle-law-firms-explained/Neither term is an official ranking, but both shape how the City's legal market talks about itself - what the two tiers mean and which firms sit in them.Wed, 09 Sep 2026 06:30:01 GMTLaw WeekFirmshttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/what-the-legal-ombudsman-does/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/what-the-legal-ombudsman-does/When a complaint about a lawyer cannot be resolved with the firm, it can go to the Legal Ombudsman. How the free, independent service works and what it can order.Tue, 08 Sep 2026 06:30:02 GMTLaw WeekRegulationhttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/how-civil-claims-are-allocated-small-claims-fast-and-multi-track/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/how-civil-claims-are-allocated-small-claims-fast-and-multi-track/Since October 2023 there have been four tracks, not three - how the value and complexity of a civil claim decides which procedural path it takes through the courts.Mon, 07 Sep 2026 06:30:02 GMTLaw WeekCourtshttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/how-the-sra-regulates-solicitors-and-law-firms/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/how-the-sra-regulates-solicitors-and-law-firms/The Solicitors Regulation Authority sets the rules for solicitors in England and Wales and enforces them. What its powers are and how discipline works.Sun, 06 Sep 2026 06:30:01 GMTLaw WeekRegulationhttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/what-is-the-sqe-the-route-to-qualifying-as-a-solicitor/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/what-is-the-sqe-the-route-to-qualifying-as-a-solicitor/Since 2021 the path to becoming a solicitor in England and Wales runs through a single national exam. How the SQE works and what it replaced.Sat, 05 Sep 2026 06:30:01 GMTLaw WeekPeople & Moveshttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/barristers-and-solicitors-what-is-the-difference/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/barristers-and-solicitors-what-is-the-difference/England and Wales splits its legal profession in two. What each branch actually does, how they are regulated and where the old dividing lines have blurred.Fri, 04 Sep 2026 06:30:02 GMTLaw WeekPeople & Moveshttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/what-is-judicial-review-explained/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/what-is-judicial-review-explained/Not an appeal against a decision, but a challenge to how it was made - how judicial review holds public bodies to the limits of their own powers.Thu, 03 Sep 2026 06:30:02 GMTLaw WeekCourtshttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/what-legal-due-diligence-in-an-ma-deal-involves/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/what-legal-due-diligence-in-an-ma-deal-involves/Before a company changes hands, lawyers pull it apart on paper. A guide to what due diligence looks for and why it shapes the whole transaction.Wed, 02 Sep 2026 06:30:01 GMTLaw WeekDeals & M&Ahttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/how-solicitors-must-handle-client-money/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/how-solicitors-must-handle-client-money/The SRA Accounts Rules keep the money a firm holds for its clients strictly separate from its own. Here is why that ringfence is one of the profession's most important protections.Tue, 01 Sep 2026 06:30:01 GMTLaw WeekFirmshttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/how-legal-fees-and-costs-work-in-england-and-wales/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/how-legal-fees-and-costs-work-in-england-and-wales/Hourly rates, fixed fees, no-win-no-fee and the loser-pays rule: a plain guide to how lawyers charge and who ends up paying.Mon, 31 Aug 2026 06:30:01 GMTLaw WeekFirmshttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/how-a-uk-llp-law-firm-is-structured/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/how-a-uk-llp-law-firm-is-structured/Most sizeable law firms in England and Wales trade as limited liability partnerships. Here is what that legal form actually means for the people who own and run them.Sun, 30 Aug 2026 07:43:38 GMTLaw WeekFirmshttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/firms-move-generative-ai-from-pilot-to-everyday-practice/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/firms-move-generative-ai-from-pilot-to-everyday-practice/Adoption of generative AI tools is spreading from innovation teams to fee-earners, prompting fresh guidance on supervision, confidentiality and professional competence.Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:25:00 GMTLaw WeekLegal Techhttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/litigation-funders-await-clarity-as-market-reform-nears/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/litigation-funders-await-clarity-as-market-reform-nears/The sector is bracing for the Civil Justice Council's recommendations on third-party funding, two years after the Supreme Court's PACCAR ruling upended standard agreements.Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:30:00 GMTLaw WeekCourtshttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/reputation-is-the-last-moat-in-an-age-of-commoditised-drafting/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/reputation-is-the-last-moat-in-an-age-of-commoditised-drafting/As machines commoditise the mechanics of legal work, trust, brand and named authority become the only differentiators a firm cannot be undercut on.Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:05:00 GMTSam AllcockOpinionhttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/companies-house-identity-checks-become-mandatory/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/companies-house-identity-checks-become-mandatory/New rules under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act require directors and people with significant control to verify their identity, reshaping day-to-day incorporation work.Tue, 25 Aug 2026 07:45:00 GMTLaw WeekRegulationhttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/partner-hiring-market-stays-competitive-into-autumn/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/partner-hiring-market-stays-competitive-into-autumn/Firms continue to pay up for laterals in disputes, restructuring and energy, even as some practices quietly trim less profitable teams to protect partner profits.Mon, 24 Aug 2026 11:15:00 GMTLaw WeekPeople & Moveshttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/city-firms-post-another-year-of-revenue-growth/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/city-firms-post-another-year-of-revenue-growth/The latest reporting season points to a resilient top line across the largest UK practices, though partners warn that rising costs are steadily squeezing margins.Mon, 24 Aug 2026 08:00:00 GMTLaw WeekFirmshttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/the-billable-hour-isnt-dying-but-the-firms-clinging-to-it-are/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/the-billable-hour-isnt-dying-but-the-firms-clinging-to-it-are/AI is collapsing the time it takes to do legal work, and firms that still sell time by the hour are quietly pricing themselves out of their own efficiency.Mon, 24 Aug 2026 07:40:00 GMTSam AllcockOpinionhttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/deal-lawyers-see-ma-pipeline-rebuild-as-rate-cuts-loom/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/deal-lawyers-see-ma-pipeline-rebuild-as-rate-cuts-loom/Corporate teams report a steadier flow of mid-market mandates after a subdued couple of years, with private capital driving much of the renewed activity.Sun, 23 Aug 2026 08:35:00 GMTLaw WeekDeals & M&Ahttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/most-law-firms-still-market-like-its-2005/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/most-law-firms-still-market-like-its-2005/The brochure-and-directory playbook still dominates legal marketing, yet the firms winning the best work have swapped it for something closer to publishing.Sun, 23 Aug 2026 08:15:00 GMTSam AllcockOpinionhttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/sra-widens-anti-money-laundering-crackdown-on-law-firms/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/sra-widens-anti-money-laundering-crackdown-on-law-firms/The regulator has signalled tougher enforcement and more thematic inspections as it presses firms to close persistent gaps in client due diligence and source-of-funds checks.Sat, 22 Aug 2026 13:20:00 GMTLaw WeekRegulationhttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/private-equity-deepens-push-into-legal-services/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/private-equity-deepens-push-into-legal-services/Investors are stepping up acquisitions of consumer-facing firms through alternative business structures, testing how far outside capital can reshape the profession.Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:05:00 GMTLaw WeekDeals & M&Ahttps://www.lawweek.co.uk/restructuring-teams-stay-busy-as-insolvencies-hold-high/https://www.lawweek.co.uk/restructuring-teams-stay-busy-as-insolvencies-hold-high/Elevated company failures and a steady stream of director disqualifications are keeping insolvency and restructuring lawyers among the busiest in the market.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:40:00 GMTLaw WeekFirms