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22 January 2015
Issue: 7637 / Categories: Legal News
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Stonewall rates lawyers

Law firms did well in gay rights organisation Stonewall’s annual list of top 100 employers.

In the top ten lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) friendly employers, Baker & McKenzie achieved sixth place, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service reached eighth place, and Pinsent Masons and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer were joint ninth. Freshfields was also the biggest climber in the ranks, rising 57 places from 66 last year.

Herbert Smith Freehills is at 22 in the ranking, while CMS Cameron McKenna reached 40 and Hogan Lovells are at 48. The Crown Prosecution Service is at 65, Eversheds is at 67, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is at 72, Norton Rose Fulbright is at 75, and K&L Gates is at 88.

Many firms in the top 100, which is known as the Workplace Equality Index, have LGB staff networks or Allies programmes for those who wish to support their LGB colleagues.

Baker & McKenzie partner Harry Small, says: “The ranking reflects the culture of the firm and the enthusiasm, efforts and commitment of our London office LGBT and Allies network.”

Issue: 7637 / Categories: Legal News
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

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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