Clifford Chance undecided on plans to ditch Canary Wharf HQ and slash size of offices February 8, 2022 Clifford Chance is weighing up plans to slash the size of its London offices, with a view to leaving its Canary Wharf headquarters and moving back into the City. However, City A.M. understands the London law firm has not yet come to a decision on whether to leave its docklands HQ or get rid of [...]
DLA Piper hikes pay for newly qualified lawyers in its London offices to £95k February 8, 2022 DLA Piper has said it will give its London lawyers an eight per cent pay rise in upping salaries paid to its newly qualified solicitors from £88,000 to £95,000. The law firm also said it will hike pay for freshly qualified lawyers by 35 per cent, by upping salaries for solicitors in its Birmingham, Leeds, [...]
Royal family’s law firm hires first apprentice solicitors February 8, 2022 Farrer & Co, the London law firm that represents the Queen on legal matters, has said it will hire its first apprentice solicitors to start in Autumn this year. The law firm told City A.M. that it will be taking on two apprentice solicitors to start in September this year. Apprentice solicitors hired by the [...]
Freshfields to support staff through the menopause with paid-for benefits February 7, 2022 Magic Circle law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has adopted a new policy to support employees through the menopause. The City of London law firm is also offering specialist care to any employees experiencing symptoms of the menopause, through its private healthcare provider. Employees working in Freshfields UK offices will be able to book appointments with [...]
High-flying barrister Nicola Cain struck off for forging judge’s signature in Steele dossier lawsuit February 7, 2022 A high-flying barrister has been struck off for forging a judge’s signature, while defending former MI6 agent Christopher Steele against a libel action filed by Russian tech tycoon Aleksej Gubarev. Veteran barrister Nicola Cain was disbarred for giving her client, Christopher Steele, a fake High Court order, on which she had cut-and-pasted a copy of [...]
White male barristers earn twice as much as female, ethnic minority colleagues February 7, 2022 White male barristers earn more than twice as much as female barristers from ethnic minority backgrounds, figures from the Bar Standards Board (BSB) show. White men working as barristers earned £238,241 in 2020, while women from ethnic minority backgrounds earned just £98,324 over the same period of time. On average, female barristers earned just more [...]
UK government should upskill managers to level up the country, CMI says February 7, 2022 The UK government should invest in efforts to upskill Britain’s managers in its bid to tackle regional inequality, according to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). The trade body for managers said the government should fund schemes to improve Britain’s leadership skills, in order to increase productivity and level up the country. CMI chief executive Ann [...]
UK accounting watchdog probes PwC over Kier and Galliford Try audits February 7, 2022 The UK’s accounting watchdog is investigating PwC’s audits of two of Britain’s biggest construction companies. Big Four accountancy firm PwC is being investigated by the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) over its audits of construction giants, Kier and Galliford Try, according to The Financial Times. The FRC’s probe into PwC’s audit of Galliford Try comes [...]
HMRC’s investigations into UK’s biggest firms generate £69 in extra tax revenue for every £1 invested February 7, 2022 HMRC investigations into big firms generate significantly higher returns than investigations into small and mid-sized businesses, according to figures from Pinsent Masons, which said the investigative unit’s high returns will see the taxman focus on large corporate tax dodgers going forwards. The UK tax collector’s investigations into big firms generated £69 in extra tax revenues [...]
Abrdn forced to delay £1.5bn Interactive Investor takeover due to global paper shortages February 6, 2022 Edinburgh headquartered asset manager Abrdn has been forced to delay a shareholder ballot on its plans to launch a £1.5bn takeover of online investment platform Interactive Investor, because of an international paper shortage. Abrdn had hoped to let shareholders vote on its plans to takeover Interactive Investor ahead of its results. However, the Scottish asset [...]