Chinese using state-backed hackers to attack energy projects in South China Sea August 30, 2022 China is using state-backed hackers to launch cyberattacks against energy projects in the South China Sea, according to new research from cybersecurity firm Proofpoint and consulting firm PwC. Hacking group Red Ladon, also known as TA423, is using a simple phishing scam to attack politically significant targets in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, including defense [...]
The Big Four’s legal ventures should worry mid-tier law firms August 26, 2022 THE BIG Four’s first forays into the legal sector in the 1990s ended in abject failure. Yet over the past decade, the world’s four biggest accounting firms have captured a significant share of the UK’s market for legal services, and have increasingly begun to compete with traditional firms. Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC have used [...]
Law firm sues Ghislaine Maxwell over unpaid legal fees August 25, 2022 A Colorado law firm is suing British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell over claims she failed to pay $878,302.66 (£742,000) in legal fees. Law firm Haddon, Morgan and Forman has filed a claim against Maxwell in a Denver district court, after acting on her behalf in the high-profile sex trial that saw her jailed for 20 years. [...]
Woman wins tribunal against Swiss Re over executive’s sexist comments August 25, 2022 A former underwriter at Swiss Re has won an employment tribunal against the world’s biggest reinsurance company, after a senior executive at the firm told her: “If I had breast like yours, I would be demanding too.” Julia Sommer, a political risk underwriter at the Swiss insurer, is now set to receive a payout, after [...]
Soaring inflation risks creating UK property ‘insurance gap’ August 25, 2022 SOARING inflation in the construction sector threatens to create a major “insurance gap” amongst UK policyholders, London headquartered insurer Chaucer has warned. Sharp increases in the costs of building materials could leave homes and businesses underinsured, as policies fail to cover the cost of repairing and rebuilding damaged properties, research carried out by the Lloyd’s of [...]
Prudential shares continue to slide as Covid hits insurer’s profits August 25, 2022 Shares in Asia-focused insurer Prudential continued to slip over the previous day as investors maintained their scepticism towards the firm’s claims its recent losses are simply the result of Covid. The London listed firm’s shares have lost more than 30 per cent of their value since the start of 2022, as stringent Covid policies across [...]
Germany to launch new enforcement agency to strengthen fight against white-collar crime August 25, 2022 Germany has set out plans to start a new country-wide financial crime authority with a view to strengthening the country’s responses to sanctions breaches and white-collar crime. The plans will see Germany’s finance ministry combine the country’s more than 300 financial crime agencies into a new federal authority, in line with plans to “curb financial [...]
Italian government told to pay oil and gas firm Rockhopper Exploration £160m August 25, 2022 The Italian government has been ordered to pay €190m (£160m) to British oil and gas company Rockhopper Exploration over its decision to block the firm from drilling in the Adriatic Sea. An arbitration hearing ruled in favour of Rockhopper in stating Italy’s 2015 decision to block the Wiltshire fossil fuel company from drilling off its [...]
Raab vows to break barristers’ ‘near-monopoly’ over Crown Court trials August 24, 2022 Justice secretary Dominic Raab is seeking to undermine the barristers’ strike by breaking their “near-monopoly” over crown court trials, government sources told the Daily Mail. As the UK government faces the prospect of an all-out barristers strike from the start of next month, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is weighing up plans to expand the [...]
Solicitors’ watchdog vows to use strike offs instead of fines in sexual misconduct cases August 23, 2022 The UK’s solicitors’ watchdog is set to cease fining lawyers for personal misconduct offences, apart from in exceptional circumstances, with a view to using non-financial sanctions instead. In a statement, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said it is pushing forwards with plans to amend its fining regime, after the UK’s Ministry of Justice (MoJ) upped [...]