FTSE 350 firms up spending on ‘carbon offsets’ in race to net zero January 8, 2023 The UK’s top listed companies are increasingly using carbon offsets to achieve their net zero goals, new research shows. The vast majority (96 per cent) of Britain’s FTSE 350 companies have already upped expenditure on carbon credits over the past 24 months, while almost half (47 per cent) intend to increase spending dramatically over the [...]
Putin: Raab to host London conference on Russian ‘war crimes’ in Ukraine January 7, 2023 London will host a major international conference led by Dominic Raab on Russia’s alleged war crimes during Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The meeting will see justice secretary Dominic Raab join forces with Dutch justice minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius to co-host the conference in London’s Lancaster House. The conference aims to coordinate efforts to ensure the [...]
Divorce Day: As couples prepare to lawyer-up, we ask an expert how to separate well January 6, 2023 As if the first Monday back after Christmas wasn’t depressing enough, 9 January is also known in family law circles as “Divorce Day”. The stresses of Christmas prove too much for some relationships and this is the time of year when couples lawyer up and begin working on their marriage exit strategies. Still, there are [...]
Use of AI apps is fuelling plagiarism, as barrister warns more needs to be done to stop online exam cheating January 6, 2023 Artificial intelligence apps, such as the chatbot ChatGPT, could make the UK’s exam cheating problem worse, a top barrister who works on student appeals has warned. Increasingly sophisticated AI models are now able to produce “decent, plagiarism-free answers to a wide range of questions,” Daniel Sokol, a barrister at 12 King’s Bench Walk, said in [...]
Boom in law firm partner hires set to subside in 2023 as recession hits January 5, 2023 The boom in law firm partner hires seen over the previous year is set to subside in 2023 as the UK economy slides into recession, according to a new report. The global economic downturn is set to hit law firm’s revenues, in a shift that is in turn set to cool the partner hiring market, [...]
Data on firms that took UK Covid loans to remain secret, tribunal rules January 5, 2023 Information on thousands of small businesses that received taxpayer-backed loans during Covid-19 will remain confidential, a tribunal has ruled. The decision to keep the names of companies that took support during Covid a secret comes after a tribunal blocked an anti-corruption campaign group’s bid to obtain the data through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request. [...]
Lack of prosecutors threatens to worsen England and Wales’ Crown Court backlogs, Criminal Bar Association warns January 5, 2023 A shortage of prosecutors in the UK’s criminal justice system threatens to worsen the backlogs in the country’s Crown Courts, the head of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) has warned. A record number of criminal cases are now being halted due to a lack of prosecutors willing and able to work, CBA chair Kirsty Brimelow [...]
Cost of living crisis: UK lawyers braced for talent war and surge in fraud cases January 5, 2023 Lawyers working in top British companies are anticipating a hike in fraud, disputes, and debt recovery cases over 2023 as the UK’s economy takes a turn for the worse, a new survey shows. In-house lawyers expect they will be forced to deal with the fallout of the UK’s cost-of-living crisis as the economic downturn sets [...]
Dentons poaches top SFO lawyer in push to bolster investigations team January 5, 2023 Dentons has poached one of the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO’s) top lawyers, as it pushes forwards with efforts to bolster its ranks with public sector hires. SFO deputy general counsel Rebecca Dix will take on a new position at Dentons’ London office, switching from the public sector crime agency to the fourth largest law firm [...]
Hogan Lovells and Shearman & Sterling in ‘merger’ rumours that would create world’s fifth largest law firm January 4, 2023 Law giants Hogan Lovells and Shearman & Sterling have hinted a potential merger could be on the table, after stating they are open to opportunities including “discussions with different firms”. The two law firms both acknowledged market rumours they are engaged in early stage talks for a merger that could see them create the fifth [...]