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08 October 2025
Categories: Legal News , Profession , ESG , Diversity , International
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UK firms pull ahead on responsible business

UK law firms have risen up an annual index of responsible business activity, while US firms have regressed amid President Trump’s diversity and equality crackdown

The annual Chambers and Partners’ Lamp House report analyses the websites of 150 firms across the categories of people, planet and governance. Scores for the UK top 100 rose 12% on last year, with more declarations in particular on net zero targets, parental leave policies, social mobility recruitment policies and responsible business boards.

Conversely, the US top 50 average score dropped 30%.

Lisa Hart Shepherd, chief product and innovation officer at Chambers and Partners, said: ‘While UK firms continue to make heartening progress when it comes to responsible business, political headwinds in the US appear to have had a significant effect on what US firms are prepared to disclose. That doesn’t mean the initiatives in place have disappeared overnight, but firms are rethinking and reshaping the public communication and positioning of those efforts in the light of the political risk.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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