Severe flooding could cost insurers more than £1bn this winter December 12, 2022 Severe flooding this winter could cost UK insurers more than £1bn, according to analysis from PwC. Storm Eunice in February led to insurers losing £200-300m, mainly as a result of disruption to travel and damage to properties and vehicles due to falling trees. However, floods on the same scale as those seen in 2015 [...]
Law firms up billable hours targets as sector’s profits slide December 11, 2022 Top law firms have begun upping pressure on lawyers by hiking targets for the number of billable hours they are expected to work each year, according to new research. UK law firms are increasingly calling on their lawyers to bill more hours as they seek to reverse the sector’s declining profitability and weather the oncoming [...]
EU lawmaker arrested in Qatar corruption probe December 11, 2022 A top-ranking member of the European Parliament has been suspended from her job after being arrested by Belgian police in a Qatar World Cup corruption probe. Greek MEP Eva Kaili was suspended from her job as one of the EU parliament’s fourteen vice-presidents after being detained in the investigation into potential bribes paid by [...]
Linklaters becomes second Magic Circle law firm to launch apprenticeship scheme December 11, 2022 Linklaters has become the second of the UK’s elite ‘Magic Circle’ law firms to offer aspiring solicitors an alternate route to becoming a high-flying lawyer, after launching its own apprenticeship scheme. The City law firm’s new scheme will see six school leavers undergo on-the-job training over a six-year period, following which they will become fully [...]
Knightsbridge fund managers convicted for defrauding Libya’s sovereign fund December 8, 2022 A trio of fund managers have been convicted of carrying a large-scale fraud that saw Libya’s sovereign wealth fund lose £46m. The three men, who managed £822m worth of investments on behalf of the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio (LAIP), defrauded the fund through a series of offshore shell companies. The fraud came after London bankers [...]
Travers Smith calls juniors into the office for four days a week December 8, 2022 Travers Smith has become the latest City law firm to call lawyers back into the office after telling staff to spend 60 per cent of their time at work. The law firm’s new “agile working” policy calls on Travers Smith’s lawyers to come into the office for six days across every two working weeks. [...]
Big Four’s legal ventures could see surge in law firm IPOs, DWF chief says December 8, 2022 The Big Four’s efforts to bolster their legal businesses could lead to a surge in the number of UK law firms listing on the stock exchange, DWF chief Sir Nigel Knowles told City A.M. EY’s global split could see the firm become an “aggressive” legal services behemoth, as it is freed from the conflict-of-interest rules [...]
KPMG’s UK business fined over widespread exam cheating scandal December 8, 2022 The USA’s accounting watchdog has fined KPMG $7.7m (£6.3m) and sanctioned four of its auditors over a series of international offences, including its failure to properly deal with a widespread UK cheating scandal. The watchdog claimed hundreds of KPMG’s UK staff cheated on exams, including the tests auditors are required to pass to maintain their [...]
Lack of enforcement sees fraudsters resort to ‘brute force’ tactics, new report warns December 7, 2022 Fraudsters are increasingly resorting to “brute force” tactics, having been emboldened by a lack of consequences for those who are caught, a new report says. A lack of enforcement has seen fraudsters adopt increasingly unsophisticated methods, the report by Interpol and identity verification company Onfido says. The situation has seen criminals turn to using blanket [...]
City law firms will be ‘key’ to driving UK’s economic growth December 7, 2022 The City’s top law firms will play an “integral” part in securing the country’s long-term growth, one of the the City’s most powerful lobby group has said. Britain’s law firms already play an integral role in ensuring London’s position as a “world leading financial centre” in acting as a “critical platform on which other economic [...]