Monday morning round-up
The top legal affairs news stories from this morning and the weekend Law firm DLA Piper opts to restructure, ditching Swiss verein [Reuters] ‘It lit a fire in me’ – the barrister who was told she’d never amount to much…
Freshfields and Anthropic partner up to build legal AI tools
Multi-year deal Magic Circle law firm Freshfields has teamed up with AI giant Anthropic to develop specialist legal tools. Anthropic, the company behind the Claude family of AI models, will work with Freshfields to build tools to support the firm’s…
Gateley junior lawyer reaches UK pageant final
National finals next month A junior lawyer at Gateley is gearing up for the final of national pageant Miss Grand UK 2026 next month. Chloe Lake, a residential development lawyer based in the firm’s Reading office, will take to the…
42BR Barristers and 4 Brick Court to combine
Tie-up will create super-set of 150+ members 42BR Barristers is set to join forces with 4 Brick Court this summer, in a move that will create one of the largest single-site chambers in the UK. The tie-up will see 34…
‘Will a gap year hurt my training contract chances?’
Law converter looks for advice In our latest Career Conundrums submission, a non-law finalist is seeking guidance on whether taking a gap year before starting the PGDL could harm their chances of securing a training contract. “Hello! I’m a non-law…
Former Magic Circle trainee who built and sold an AI business mid-training contract to deliver LegalEdCon 2026 keynote
Alexander Kardos-Nyheim to address delegates on 14 May A former Magic Circle trainee who built and sold an AI business during his training contract is set to headline LegalEdCon 2026, Legal Cheek’s annual legal education and training conference, taking place…
Sullivan & Cromwell apologises after AI hallucinations appear in court document
Elite firm left red-faced One of the US’s most prestigious law firms has apologised to a New York judge after AI-hallucinated citations were found in a court filing it had submitted. In a letter to Judge Martin Glenn, Andrew Dietderich,…
Junior lawyer development at risk as AI takes over volume work, research warns
Impact critical thinking New research has warned that AI taking on “volume work” could leave the next generation of lawyers without the skills they need to deliver high-quality legal advice. The report draws on interviews with 16 senior leaders from…
Independent reviewer finds improvement in SQE delivery
Positive report The Solicitor Qualifying Examination (SQE) has received a positive verdict from its independent reviewer, with the 2025 running of the SQE described as “good” and showing improvement on previous years. In his annual report, independent reviewer Ricardo Lé…
SRA announces further SQE fees increase
£2,006 for SQE1, £3,086 for SQE2 The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has announced a fourth fee increase for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), to cover inflation and translating the exams into Welsh. Alongside the publication of its annual report, the…