Think you’re up to date with the biggest legal stories of the year? Take our quiz and put your knowledge to the test! 
As 2026 approaches, it’s time to reflect on what has been a busy year for legal news. From blockbuster mergers like HSF Kramer, McDermott Schulte and Ashurst Perkins Coie, to NQ pay hikes across the City, 2025 has certainly been one to remember.
We’ve revisited some of the biggest legal headlines of the past year to remind you all of what has gone on. And now we’re going to test you on just how well-read you’ve been.
So, take off those santa hats, put your thinking caps on, and take on The Big Legal Cheek News Quiz 2025. How much do you really remember about this year in law? Let’s find out.
January
Which firm set a regional record by increasing its Bristol NQ solicitor salary by 25% to £96,000?
A) Pinsent Masons
B) Simmons & Simmons
C) Burges Salmon
D) Osborne Clarke
February
Which Magic Circle firm appointed a new managing partner — David Johnson, who has been with the firm since his training contract?
A) Slaughter and May
B) Freshfields
C) Clifford Chance
D) Linklaters
March
Kirkland & Ellis reported record-breaking global revenue in 2025, making it the world’s highest-grossing law firm. What was the revenue figure (in pounds) they reported?
A) £6.8 billion
B) £1.2 billion
C) £11.3 billion
D) £300 million
April
In response to Donald Trump’s executive orders restricting certain law firms from doing government legal work (inter alia), which of the following was amongst the first of the global elite firms to support the legal challenge against those orders?
A) Freshfields
B) A&O Shearman
C) Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
D) Sullivan & Cromwell
May
Earlier this year, Everton announced its new stadium will be named after which corporate law firm?
A) Walker Morris
B) Hill Dickinson
C) Weightmans
D) Brabners
June
Former Prime Minister David Cameron was announced in June to have joined which international law firm as a consultant?
A) CMS
B) DLA Piper
C) Dentons
D) Clyde & Co
July
Which firm completed a refit and moved into Twitter’s former West End office –complete with pizza ovens and an in-house sushi restaurant?
A) Davis Polk & Wardwell
B) Paul Hastings
C) Paul Weiss
D) Fried Frank
August
A former senior associate at Irwin Mitchell was struck off after grossly over-recording how many hours of chargeable client work in a single day?
A) 23 hours
B) 16 hours
C) 19 hours
D) 21 hours
September
Which firm unveiled refreshed branding — its first major update since 2000 — including a new logo and the slogan “creating advantage for clients”?
A) Akin
B) Baker McKenzie
C) Clifford Chance
D) Shoosmiths
October
In the “Law’s Rich List” published in October, which of these firms did not feature in the top 5 by profit per equity partner?
A) Milbank
B) Davis Polk & Wardwell
C) Latham & Watkins
D) Gibson Dunn
November
In November, Ashurst announced its intention to merge with an American firm, creating a new transatlantic “megafirm” called:
A) Ashurst Proskauer Rose
B) Ashurst Perkins Coie
C) Ashurst Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
D) Ashurst Covington & Burling
December
According to a December 2025 announcement by Justice Secretary David Lammy MP, jury trials will be scrapped for which group of offences?
A) Those carrying sentences of fewer than three years
B) Those carrying sentences of fewer than ten years
C) Theft cases where the total misappropriated is worth less than £5,000
D) Only minor assault cases
A very merry Christmas and a happy New Year from the entire Legal Cheek team! Thanks for reading and commenting, and we’ll see you in 2026…