HMRC handed red card in £584,000 football referee tax lawsuit May 5, 2026 HMRC has lost a long-running legal battle against the UK’s football refereeing body over the employment status of 60 referees, after the tax authority issued a £584,000 tax bill. In a judgment on Friday, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) upheld that the referees were self-employed and not employed by the body, the Professional Game Match [...]
Elon Musk settles lawsuit over Twitter takeover for $1.5m May 5, 2026 Tech tycoon Elon Musk has finally put one of his longest-running legal battles to rest after reaching a $1.5m (£1.2m) settlement with the US regulator. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil lawsuit against the billionaire, alleging violations of securities laws in the run-up to his 2022 purchase of Twitter. Musk, who [...]
Stephen Fry launches £100k lawsuit against tech conference over fall April 30, 2026 Stephen Fry is suing the organisers of tech conference CogX Festival after falling off the stage at the O2 Arena in London and breaking his leg, pelvis, and ribs. Filed in the High Court, the 68-year-old actor and comedian is alleging in his £100,000 claim that the accident, which happened in 2023, was caused by “negligence” from CogX [...]
City law firms clamp down on the equity cookie jar April 30, 2026 Law firms are tightening access to equity partnerships to protect profits, increasingly reserving the equity pool for top performers, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. As the Big Four giants dominate the headlines with internal changes, the firms are seeking to regain control of their expanded equity pools amid profitability problems. These giants are looking to mirror what [...]
General counsel ‘evolving from traditional legal gatekeepers’, says KPMG’s legal arm April 29, 2026 General counsel responsibilities are evolving beyond just providing legal oversight as regulations “become more complex and demanding”, according to a new report from the Big four giant KPMG’s Law arm. A whopping 75 per cent of the general counsels surveyed by the firm reported to be “frequently providing advice on issues outside of their legal [...]
John Lewis hit with click-and-collect lawsuit April 28, 2026 John Lewis is being sued by the owner of London’s Brent Cross shopping centre over claims it should pay for online sales collected in store on top of its annual turnover, despite the lease being signed decades before the surge of online shopping. Hammerson and Standard Life Investments, the property company which operates the North [...]
Barristers that ‘failed in duties’ to face probe over Post Office scandal April 28, 2026 Barristers who ‘failed in their professional duties’ when representing the Post Office during the Horizon IT scandal will face potential disciplinary action, the watchdog has warned. The Bar Standards Board (BSB), which oversees more than 18,000 English and Welsh barristers, said it currently has ten live investigations into possible misconduct, which are “progressing”, and added [...]
Law firm ‘hopeful’ staff are back in Middle East office in May April 28, 2026 A major US law firm with a large London headcount is ‘hopeful’ staff will be returning to their desks in its Middle East office in less than a week, City AM understands. The firm is keen for lawyers to return to their seats in the Abu Dhabi office from 4 May, and has agreed to [...]
Meet the startup backed by Peter Thiel that wants to ‘hold journalists to account’ April 28, 2026 Founder Aron D’Souza spoke to Maria Ward-Brennan about his Peter Thiel-backed startup, which aims to hold journalists accountable by providing real-time ratings and investigations into their reporting practices. There exists a lively debate about the extent to which AI could replace journalists, but before it does that – could it develop a hold over the [...]
Motor finance lenders warned of ‘gridlock’ as £9bn scandal clogs rearview April 27, 2026 The UK’s top banks are gearing up to put the long-running motor finance scandal in the rearview mirror but warning lights on the dashboard suggest they may still face “gridlock” on the multi-billion pound saga. FTSE 250 lender Vanquis became the latest on Monday to confirm it would not lodge a legal challenge against the [...]