The United States has announced a deal in principle to move TikTok’s American operations under majority US ownership as part of a wider trade agreement with China. Officials say it’s about national security and controlling where data from US users is stored and accessed. But Beijing has stayed vague, promising only to “properly resolve” the issue while avoiding details of any confirmed ownership change.

This isn’t a normal corporate acquisition. It’s a geopolitical chess match disguised as a business deal. What happens when trade policy meets technology? Could this reshape global data regulation? And where do lawyers fit into a negotiation that blends politics, commerce, and security?

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A single court case has redrawn the line between supporting and conducting litigation. In Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys, the High Court confirmed that only authorised individuals can conduct litigation, a term that stretches from issuing proceedings to managing related tasks and crucially, supervision by a solicitor does not create authorisation.
This ruling has shaken up the profession massively. Firms are rethinking delegation, trainees are questioning what they can sign, and clients may soon challenge bills if work was done by someone without the proper status. Could this reshape litigation teams? Will costs rise? And how will firms keep compliance airtight without slowing the pace of work?

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High-profile allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate workplace relationships have dominated the headlines, from the Greg Wallace investigation at the BBC to the Coldplay kiss-cam scandal involving Andy Byron and Kristen Cabot. These cases expose the messy intersection of reputation, compliance, and culture, while also underscoring the legal risks that employers face.

In the UK, a statutory duty to prevent harassment in the workplace means employers must prove they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent misconduct, or risk heavy tribunal awards and reputational fallout. 

Which behaviours count as harassment, and where do tribunals draw the line? How can businesses protect themselves from vicarious liability? And when a scandal goes viral, what strategies keep clients out of legal and reputational crisis?

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Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, are in the crosshairs of US regulators, accused of colluding with ticket resellers to inflate prices and profit from fans eager to see their favourite artists live. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), joined by multiple US states, claims they helped brokers make billions through artificial scarcity and sky-high resale fees.
This isn’t just about a few overpriced gigs. It’s a challenge to Ticketmaster’s grip on an industry it dominates, raising questions of market abuse, consumer fairness, and reputational fallout. Could this lawsuit break up a monopoly? How will regulators in the UK and EU respond? And what exactly are lawyers doing behind the scenes?

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The Employment Rights Bill would reshape unfair dismissal by reducing the current two-year qualifying period and introducing an “initial period of employment” that functions like a statutory probation.
The headline proposal is unfair dismissal protection from day one, although recent parliamentary debate has floated alternatives such as a shorter qualifying period (e.g., six months).
How might a statutory probation affect hiring and exit practices? Could tribunals handle a likely rise in claims? Would employers turn to agency labour or fixed-term contracts to manage risk?

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The UK’s Online Safety Act has officially come into force and with it, a sweeping overhaul of how digital platforms must operate. Tech companies are under pressure to redesign their systems and policies to comply, implementing mandatory age verification checks. Behind the political headlines lies a commercial and legal challenge that could expose platforms to multimillion-pound fines, reputational damage, and even criminal liability for senior executives.
What happens when technology moves faster than regulation? Can platforms ensure compliance without weakening user privacy? And how will lawyers need to navigate this growing tension?

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Adidas has announced it will raise prices for U.S. consumers after new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration increased its supply chain costs by €200 million. This steep increase is owed to the fact that nearly half of Adidas’s production is based in Vietnam and Indonesia, two regions now facing higher import taxes when goods enter the U.S. The market’s reaction was immediate: Adidas shares dropped sharply, underscoring how trade policy can instantly affect global brands.
But this is more than just a story about rising prices. Legal teams are being pulled into urgent strategy meetings, combing through supply contracts and assessing litigation risks. With global supply chains under strain and political volatility on the rise, international businesses are entering an era where tariffs can dictate corporate strategy.
So how can a supplier’s location change the terms of a multimillion-euro deal? What clauses protect a business when the rules shift overnight? And how can law firms help clients adapt, diversify, and prepare for the next political curveball?

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Pladis, the owner of household favourites like McVitie’s, Jacob’s and Jaffa Cakes, is investing £68 million to modernise its UK manufacturing base. The plan includes automated production lines, upgraded infrastructure, and reduced carbon emissions across sites in Liverpool, Stockport, and Carlisle. By the end of 2026, the company expects not only to boost productivity and capacity but also to create new jobs. 

This is more than an upgrade of snack production. It touches on themes of automation, environmental compliance, and the future of UK manufacturing under a new government. Where do lawyers fit into projects of this scale? How are environmental, social and governance (ESG) obligations shaping corporate decision-making? And what should contracts look like when the future of technology is uncertain? 

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Artificial intelligence is no longer a novelty. It is rewriting the rules of intellectual property. Established copyright principles are colliding with AI-generated creations, forcing governments, businesses and lawyers to question who owns what and who should bear the risk when things go wrong. Name, image and likeness rights, patents in biotech, and ownership of AI outputs are all live battlegrounds.

The legal world is responding fast, with almost 1 in 10 new partners in UK law firms now working in IP. But are the rules keeping pace? And when content created by AI mirrors someone else’s work, who is truly on the hook? What happens when an AI tool learns from a client’s IP? How do you contract around ownership disputes before they explode? And can innovation be encouraged without leaving rights holders exposed?

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Company insolvencies in England and Wales have taken an unexpected dip. In June 2025, the Insolvency Service recorded 2,043 cases, 8% lower than May and 16% lower than the same month last year. For a country still grappling with rising costs and fragile supply chains, the fall is striking.

Yet one month of data does not guarantee a trend. Are companies genuinely becoming more resilient, or simply delaying the inevitable? Which industries remain most at risk, and how can lawyers advise clients to protect themselves from sudden shocks?

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