Consulting giant Accenture to pay £18.5m to settle probe into hiring practices September 15, 2026 New York-listed consultancy giant Accenture has agreed to pay the US government $25m (£18.5m) to settle allegations over its diversity practices. The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that Accenture violated federal anti-discrimination requirements while certifying compliance to secure federal contracts. The US government claims that the Dublin-headquartered firm allocated costs related to these hiring and [...]
Workers’ rights overhaul pushes Employment Tribunal to breaking point September 10, 2026 Employment Tribunal cases in England and Wales hit a record high of 70,000 from April to June this year as the new employment law reforms begin to bite. Single Employment Tribunal Receipts, which are cases brought by an individual against an employer, rose by almost 30 per cent during those three months, compared to the [...]
Businesses urge Healey to reduce cost pressures in pre-Budget campaigns September 10, 2026 The bosses of Britain’s largest industry groups have urged Chancellor John Healey to reduce the cost of business in order to boost growth across the UK economy, City AM has been informed. Several business chiefs sent letters to the Treasury on Wednesday night with demands for the government to relieve pressures on employers. Correspondence landing [...]
Ousted former law firm chief launches bid to wrestle back £36bn BHP lawsuit September 9, 2026 The ousted former chief executive of the law firm leading the largest group claim in UK history against mining giant BHP is behind a bid to wrestle the £36bn case from a firm where he previously served as a director, City AM understands. Thomas Goodhead, who founded Pogust Goodhead (formerly PGMBM) in 2018 with US disputes lawyer Harris [...]
UK firms slash consulting spend amid rising AI adoption September 8, 2026 British businesses are paring back their spending on consulting firms as they turn to AI for problem-solving, according to City AM’s new Business Spend Pulse. Median spending on consulting fees fell by 1.9 per cent in August compared to last year, the tracker found, despite an overall 2.2 per cent increase in corporate spending. That [...]
Lawyer struck off for using fake AI evidence in his own disciplinary case September 4, 2026 An immigration lawyer who was referred to a Tribunal after a criminal conviction has been struck off after using AI-generated evidence as part of his own defence. Abhishek Kumar, 41, a registered foreign lawyer, was referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) after his 2024 criminal conviction at the Central Criminal Court, after he knowingly [...]
Lloyd’s of London profit slides as bond market jitters bite September 3, 2026 The world’s leading insurance and reinsurance market has suffered a slump in profit after being weighed down by bond market jitters. Lloyd’s of London took a 16.7 per cent hit to its pre-tax profit £3.5bn for the first six months of 2026. Gross written premiums leapt 6.9 per cent to £34.7bn, up from £32.5bn last [...]
Millions spent, reputations battered: Fraud watchdog, Dechert and ENRC legal war reaches an end September 2, 2026 Years of bitter litigation, millions of pounds in legal fees, and severe reputational damage: the disastrous, decade-long feud between a Kazakh mining giant, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), and a heavy-hitting City law firm has finally ended with a confidential settlement. Mining firm Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) launched legal action against the law firm [...]
Ditch the ‘usual suspects’: Gov.uk founder urges Labour to look beyond Big Four consultants September 2, 2026 Labour has loudly pledged to slash taxpayer spending on external consultants. However, the founder of a City-based digital consultancy firm told City AM that the government still relies on private firms to plug operational gaps because the civil service previously “got rid of the wrong skills”. Ben Terrett, chief executive and founder of Public Digital, said the [...]
The common sense deficit hitting the City’s professional services firms September 2, 2026 The rise of AI has put serious pressure on professional services firms to figure out hiring and training strategies as an industry built to sell knowledge faces a knowledge gap as a new era enters the workforce with skills very different from the cohort ahead of them, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. Much of the conversation about [...]