Law Society hits out at government as barristers prepare to strike April 10, 2022 The Law Society has hit out at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) after claiming the government’s £135m a year legal aid investments will not be enough to fix the “crisis in the criminal defence profession.” The comments come as barristers are set to go on strike from tomorrow onwards, after the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) [...]
1MDB: Ex-Goldman Sachs banker found guilty for role in world’s biggest financial scandal April 10, 2022 Former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng faces up to 30 years in prison after being found guilty on two separate counts of bribery and money laundering for his role in the multi-billion-dollar 1MBD scandal. A New York jury convicted Ng on two separate charges of conspiracy, after finding the banker guilty of taking part in [...]
Italian lottery operator Sisal mulls joining Camelot’s High Court challenge April 10, 2022 Italian lottery operator Sisal is considering teaming up with Camelot to challenge the Gambling Commission’s decision to pick Czech firm Allwyn to run the UK’s National Lottery. Sisal is weighing up plans to back Camelot’s High Court bid to overturn the Gambling Commission’s decision, after Camelot lodged a legal challenge against the government agency earlier [...]
Government weighs up plans to float Channel 4 on the stock market April 10, 2022 Culture secretary Nadine Dorries is considering plans to list Channel 4 on the stock market as an alternative to selling it to a rival broadcaster. Officials in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) are working with JP Morgan on plans to float the TV network in London, after Dorries set out plans [...]
London law firm opens new office in Cayman Islands as firm believes tax haven is central to ‘new economy’ April 9, 2022 London law firm Chancery Advisors has opened a new office in the Cayman Islands, describing the location as “critical to the new economy.” The City of London law firm said that opening new offices in what has historically been known as a tax haven will help it facilitate offshore hedge funds and activist investors in [...]
Campaigners win High Court bid to quash planning permission for Holocaust memorial outside Parliament April 8, 2022 Campaigners have won a High Court bid to quash planning permission for a national Holocaust memorial outside Parliament. The London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust is opposed to a new UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre being built in Victoria Tower Gardens, a small triangular Grade II-listed park next to Westminster Abbey and the Palace [...]
Solicitor and bar partner sentenced to years in prison for money laundering in organised crime timeshare scam April 8, 2022 A former British solicitor and his partner, a bar owner on the Costa Del Sol, have been sentenced to a total of four and a half years for laundering organised crime money related to a fraudulent timeshare scheme. Judge Cambell sentenced St Helens based Anthony Lea to 3 years in prison, and Ian Hollis to 18 months, [...]
Internal Conservative spat implodes as party donor issues libel suit against former ‘Baywatch’ Tory MP Charlotte Leslie April 8, 2022 Conservative Party donor Mohamed Amersi said this morning he has issued libel proceedings against the Conservative Middle East Council (CMEC) and former Tory MP Charlotte Leslie, often dubbed the ‘Baywatch’ MP because of her looks. Amersi previously sought, through data protection legislation, to get the High Court to determine whether there is further personal data [...]
Hogan Lovells hikes NQ pay to match London’s Magic Circle April 7, 2022 Anglo-American law firm Hogan Lovells has put itself on par with the Magic Circle in hiking salaries paid out to its newly-qualified lawyers to £107,500 a year. The law firm is set to give its freshly trained lawyers a 7.5 per cent pay boost after upping their salaries from £100,000. The pay hike puts Hogan [...]
High Court judge says it would be unfair to force Ukrainian billionaires to fight $4.2bn fraud trial April 7, 2022 A High Court Judge has halted a $4.2bn fraud trial after claiming it would be unfair to force two of Ukraine’s richest men to fight the court battle due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The High Court Judge adjourned the court battle between Ukraine’s biggest bank, Privatbank, and Ukrainian billionaires Gennadiy Bogolyubov and Ihor Kolomoisky, [...]