Accounting sector veteran Pauline Wallace named UKEB’s first permanent chair August 31, 2022 Accountancy sector veteran Pauline Wallace has been named as the first permanent chair of the UK Endorsement Board (UKEB). The former PwC partner will start her three-year term as head of the body set up to ensure the UK complies with international accounting standards on 11 September 2022. Following Brexit, the UKEB was set up [...]
Employment lawyer admits making unwanted sexual advances towards junior colleague August 31, 2022 A senior employment lawyer has agreed to stop practicing as a solicitor, after he admitted making unwanted sexual advances towards a junior colleague. Ronald Stephen Simms, a former partner at UK national law firm Capsticks, agreed to remove himself from the roll of solicitors, after admitting to placing his hand on a junior colleague’s thigh [...]
City law firms have youngest partners, new research shows August 31, 2022 The City’s high-paying corporate law firms have more young partners than those working in any other sector of the legal business, new research from legal sector accountancy firm Hazelwoods shows. Almost two fifths (38 per cent) of partners at City of London firms are now under the age of 44, as young lawyers are [...]
Travers Smith’s partners see payouts drop 10 per cent to £1.1m August 30, 2022 Partners at Silver Circle law firm Travers Smith have seen the value of their annual payouts drop by 10 per cent, according to the City law firm’s annual results. Travers Smith’s partners are set to receive payouts worth £1.105m for the financial year ending on 30 June 2022, compared to sums of £1.22m in the [...]
Fraud prosecutions slowed by record Crown Court wait times August 30, 2022 THE UK’s Crown Court backlog is stalling efforts to tackle the UK’s worsening fraud epidemic, according to new research from KPMG. The value of frauds worth more than £100,000 reaching the UK’s Crown Courts increased 288 per cent, from £137.4m in the first half of 2021 to £532.6m in H1 2022, as a series [...]
Generali snaps up Axa’s Malaysian operations in deal worth £130m August 30, 2022 Generali has acquired Axa’s Malaysian operations in line with plans to strengthen its position in the “high potential” Asian economy. The acquisition will see Generali buy Axa’s stakes in its two Malaysian joint venture operations – Axa Affin General Insurance and Axa Affin Life Insurance – for a combined sum of €150m (£131m). Alongside the [...]
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 [...]