The Surge in Financial Services M&A By Zuha Malik At the start of February, NatWest announced its £2.7bn acquisition of wealth management business Evelyn Partners. In the same month, Schroders agreed to a £9.9bn sale to US investor Nuveen. While these may appear to be isolated headline deals, they point to a broader trend of high-value financial services M&A being on the rise in the UK. According to an EY report, the combined value of UK banking deals increased from £6.3bn to

By Jiwon Yu On the 29th of November, 2025, Coupang–South Korea’s dominant e-commerce and delivery platform–found itself at the centre of one of the most consequential data leaks in the country’s history. The breach, conducted by a single former employee, exposed data linked to 33.7 million users–roughly two-thirds of South Korea’s population. This not only triggered public outrage and massive class-action litigation from the South Korean populace, but has also invoked U.S. sh

By Andrea Berkovic In October 2024, a small Australian mining company (GreenX) secured an award of £252 million under the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) and £183 million under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) against the Polish government. Six months earlier, a Canadian mining company had done much the same to Peru - and walked away with a final, binding award of over $68 million that Lima has yet to pay. The are illustrations of one of the most consequential and least publ

By Alex Feeney Article 102 TFEU is one of the foundational pillars of EU competition law. It is designed to prevent powerful companies from abusing their dominant position in a market, its primary goal being to ensure that competition remains fair so that consumers and society benefit from lower prices, better quality, and more innovation. However, this article has operated for over 15 years without formal EU Commission Guidelines. Every dominant company has navigated abuse o

By Naeun Kim Examples of rebranding in light of the proliferation of ESG measures. In the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) era, sustainability has become one of the most powerful currencies in corporate branding. Across industries, businesses increasingly present themselves as environmentally responsible. Terms such as net-zero, planet-positive, and eco-conscious dominate marketing campaigns. As sustainability becomes commercially valuable, a critical question aris

By Rabani Malhotra Should private inheritance disputes be allowed to become public content? Priya Sachdeva Kapur, widow of the late Sunjay Kapur, has initiated a ₹20 crore (approximately £1.6 million) defamation suit against her sister-in-law, Mandhira Kapur Smith, alongside a podcast host whose platform contributed to the public dissemination of the dispute. This case provides a compelling illustration of the intersection between familial conflict, digital media, and contemp

By Velimira Ekova Student budgets are historically unforgiving. Textbook jokes in the academic community rely on mentions of ‘struggle meals’ and a desperate scramble to meet rent each month. Luckily, or not, the British Government provides aid where they can. Since 1990, the system of aid has adjusted to reflect rising inflation and to attract students who would typically be unable to afford higher education. This article will observe a graduate of average income (£30,500) t

By Zohaa Khalid As a legal representative in the UK, solicitors are faced with the constant difficulty of working in a professional capacity with clients, while also ensuring their clients’ needs are met in an adequate and acceptable manner. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) recognises this struggle, and provides principles that solicitors are required to abide by when interacting with potential or existing clients. Examples of principles include affirming the “rule o

Paul Weiss chair resigns due to association with Epstein By Esme Glover The continuing release of documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice, has increasingly drawn public attention to the extensive professional and social networks surrounding the American financier. The most recent release of the Epstein files has had significant implications within the legal sphere, with international law firm Paul Weiss’ chairman having to resign. Brad K

By Zohaa Khalid Juries are an integral part of the UK’s justice system, where the fate of individuals on trial for criminal charges depend largely on the verdict of the jurors. This has been a well-established method to discern one’s innocence for many centuries, even referenced by a charter as old as the Magna Carta :  “ No free man shall be seized, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, exiled or ruined in any way, nor in any way proceeded against, except by the lawful judgeme

By Sarah Wagner In April 2026, a transformative reform of the British welfare system will officially begin. By lifting the two-child benefit cap, the Labour government aims to reverse one of the most controversial cuts made to the welfare state, a policy currently affecting 1.6 million children, roughly one in nine across the United Kingdom. This decision marks a fundamental pivot in the British social contract, moving away from a model of fiscal deterrents toward one focused

By Naeun Kim The gig economy — work mediated by digital platforms such as Uber, Deliveroo — has redefined how people earn and how labour is governed. This transformation raises not only legal but also communicative questions: how do media narratives, political discourse, and public sentiment shape the regulation and reputation of platform work? From London to Seoul, debates over worker classification, rights, and algorithmic management unfold not only in courts but also acros

By Iman Hafeez Across continents and political systems, a troubling pattern has emerged. Governments are systematically restricting civil society organisations under the guise of protecting national sovereignty. Russia, Venezuela, Egypt, and India, spanning authoritarian regimes and democracies alike, have all framed NGOs as threats, particularly when they receive foreign funding. Yet research reveals something more insidious than shared rhetoric. These countries have weaponi

By Darcie Dudding GOV.UK statistics on UK recidivism rates in recent years. Recidivism is a considerable issue within the prison system in the UK. There are numerous factors that may affect the likelihood of reoffending, but the most significant are the lack of proper rehabilitation within prison, lack of employment after prison, coupled often with debt and the limited capacity of the probation facilities. However, there is still hope; with the aid of charities, opportunitie

By Rowan Rutherford The relationship between theatre and law can be traced back to Ancient Greece in the fifth century BC. In a culture rooted in oral poetry, the ability to speak persuasively was essential to public life. This was particularly true in the Athenian legal system, where citizens were required to defend themselves in court rather than rely on professional lawyers. As a result, sophistry emerged as a respected profession, with young men learning rhetoric (the art

Recent Changes to the Competition and Markets Authority By Esme Glover On the 20th of January 2026, proposals were announced to reform the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is an independent department that acts as the UK’s competition regulator. According to the CMA’s Executive Director of Mergers, Joel Bamford, the proposed changes are intended to improve the pace, predictability, proportionality and the overall process of the UK’s merger control regime. Furthe

By Stephane Duponcheele For decades, Toulouse has been at the center of Europe’s aerospace industry. But as the Space sector hurtles towards the new frontier of commercialisation, another star is rising on the horizon: Munich. Known for its beer halls and BMWs, Bavaria’s capital has been making a concerted effort to become a European tech hub, extending its generous funding to the Aerospace industry. Fueled by a potent mix of cutting-edge research, bold startups, and industri

By Alex Feeney In August 2025 Apollo Asset Management loaned SoftBank Vision Fund 2 $5.4 billion in what was the largest Net Asset Value (NAV) loan in history, secured against over 150 companies simultaneously. Deals such as these have led to estimates of the NAV lending market reaching $600 billion by 2030, up from today's $150 billion. But there is one problem: until July 2024, no comprehensive rules existed for these deals, and the first guidance came from an industry asso

By Andrea Berkovic Artificial intelligence has emerged as a critical intersection point for competition law enforcement, raising novel legal questions that challenge traditional antitrust frameworks. From algorithmic pricing collusion to merger control of strategic AI partnerships, regulators worldwide are grappling with how to apply century-old statutes to cutting-edge technologies. A fundamental legal question concerns who bears liability for anticompetitive conduct effectu

Warner Bros Discovery: Competing Acquisition Bids   By Zuha Malik An acquisition is a transaction in which one company purchases a controlling stake in another, allowing it to direct how the business is run. In capital-intensive sectors such as media and technology, acquisitions are often favoured over organic growth because they offer a faster route to scale, as well as intellectual property and market access. Transactions may be agreed with a target’s board in a friendly de