Kremlin threatens legal action if Russia is forced to default on sovereign debt April 12, 2022 The Kremlin has threatened to sue Western countries if they try and force Russia to default on its sovereign debt. In an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestia, Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov said Russia had “taken all necessary steps” to pay its creditors, after the US Treasury blocked the country from paying its bond holders [...]
London lawyer denies charges of tipping off client ahead of money-laundering probe April 12, 2022 A City of London solicitor, accused of forging a legal letter and tipping off a client about a money laundering investigation, is set to stand on trial after denying both counts. William Osmond, founder of City of London law firm Osmond Solicitors, entered not guilty pleas on one count of forgery and one count of [...]
EU court expands scope of flight refund policy to non-EU airlines April 12, 2022 The EU’s highest court has expanded the scope of its flight refund policy, by allowing passengers to claim refunds from non-EU airlines. The European Court of Justice ruled in favour of plaintiffs suing Chicago headquartered firm United Airlines in allowing them to claim a refund for a 223-minute delay between Brussels and San Jose, [...]
UK’s audit watchdog set to reclaim control over licensing of major accountancy firms April 12, 2022 The UK’s audit watchdog is preparing to strengthen its powers to sanction Britain’s major accountancy firms. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is readying itself to take back control over the registration of the UK’s auditing firms, sources told the Financial Times. In doing so, the FRC would be given new powers to strip licenses from [...]
Barrister numbers plummeted during Covid-19 as earnings dropped 23 per cent April 11, 2022 The Bar Council has said urgent investment is needed to “keep the criminal justice system afloat” after publishing new data showing barristers suffered heavily during Covid-19. The total number of barristers working in full-time publicly funded positions dropped by more than 10 per cent from 2,670 in 2019-20 to 2,400 in 2020-21, the Bar Council [...]
Lawyers struggle to get government permission to let sanctioned Russians pay legal fees April 11, 2022 LAWYERS working for sanctioned oligarchs are floundering in their efforts to get paid for their work, due to struggles in obtaining permission from the UK government to let their sanctioned clients pay. The UK government has received 15 separate applications for permission to temporarily lift sanctions so that sanctioned Russian clients are able to pay their [...]
Mishcon de Reya strikes deal with UCL to fund research into Artificial Intelligence (AI) April 11, 2022 London law firm Mishcon de Reya has struck a deal with UCL to fund research into use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal sector. Mishcon’s decision to fund research into AI comes as the firm now believes AI technology will revolutionise the legal sector and transform the ways that lawyers work. In striking a [...]
Tory backbencher calls on government to close ‘loopholes’ letting London firms work for the Kremlin April 11, 2022 Tory backbencher Kevin Hollinrake has called on the government to close the “loopholes” that have allowed UK professional services firms to continue carrying out bankruptcy proceedings on behalf of the Russian state. In a letter to Rishi Sunak, the Conservative party MP accused accountancy giant Grant Thornton, litigation funder Harbour, and London law firm CMS [...]
Shares in Asia focused companies dip as Chinese inflation soars April 11, 2022 Shares in London listed companies with Asia focused businesses dropped today after Chinese government data showed outbreaks of Covid and the war in Ukraine had caused inflation in China to soar. The dips come after figures from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed factory gate prices are up 8.3 per cent compared to [...]
London lawyers expect boom in legal disputes on the back of Brexit and Covid-19 April 11, 2022 London litigators are readying themselves for a new wave of litigation lawsuits on the back of Brexit and Covid-19. In a survey carried out by the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA), 84 per cent of lawyers polled said they expect a surge in the number of Covid related contractual disputes. Another 70 per cent of [...]