DLA Piper elects M&A dealmaker Jon Hayes to replace company lifer Andrew Darwin as head of UK arm March 10, 2022 Anglo-American law giant DLA Piper has said M&A lawyer Jon Hayes will take over from DLA veteran Andrew Darwin as the head of DLA’s London partnership. DLA Piper said Hayes, who joined the firm from Linklaters in 2009, had been elected as co-chair of DLA Piper. Hayes will take over from longtime DLA partner Andrew [...]
Magic Circle law firm Freshfields drops sanctioned Russian bank as client in battle over sacred Jewish manuscripts March 9, 2022 One of London’s oldest law firms, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, has pulled out of representing Russia’s state-backed development bank, VEB.RF, in a legal battle between the Russian bank and a Hasidic Jewish group, over a collection of thousands of sacred Jewish texts that fell into the hands of the Soviet Union during the Bolshevik revolution. Freshfields [...]
London law firm BCL Solicitors sent legal threats to Foreign Office on behalf of Russian oligarch March 9, 2022 London law firm BCL Solicitors has been named as one of the law firms that sent letters to the Foreign Office, on behalf of Russian oligarchs seeking to challenge the government’s sanctions regime. In a written response to Labour MP Margaret Hodge, Conservative minister James Cleverly said BCL Solicitors had sent letters to the Foreign [...]
Eversheds Sutherland pledges to fully exit Russia as law firms face pressure to cut ties March 9, 2022 Anglo-American law firm Eversheds Sutherland has said it will completely cut its ties to Russia, as law firms face mounting pressure to sever all links they have to the country in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a statement, Eversheds said the firm had decided that it will “no longer have a presence in [...]
Russian government rolls back intellectual property rights in response to Western sanctions March 9, 2022 The Russian government is pushing forwards with plans to undermine intellectual property rules and reverse the rights of Western patent holders, in an effort to counter the impacts of Western sanctions. The Russian government this week said Russian companies have no obligation to pay patent holders from countries that sanctioned Russia for use of their [...]
BDO follows Big Four auditors in distancing itself from Russia March 9, 2022 Belgian auditor BDO has become the latest big accountancy firm to distance itself from Russia and Belarus, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a statement, the firm said it would cut all existing ties with sanctioned entities, including Russian and Belarusian state-owned companies and sanctioned individuals. The Belgian auditor noted that its Russian [...]
MPs slam government for ‘meagre ambition’ in plans to cut Crown Court backlog March 9, 2022 A group of MP’s tasked with overseeing government expenditure has said the government’s “meagre ambition” in its plans to cut the court backlogs will mean victims, defendants, and witnesses will continue to face “unacceptable delays” in waiting for trials. In a highly critical report, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) slammed the government for its “meagre [...]
Prudential enjoys bump in new business profit as it cuts off loss-making US operations March 9, 2022 Life insurance and financial services company Prudential enjoyed a bump to new business profit last year, as the pandemic-era drive to get one’s affairs in order rolls on. New business profit lifted 15 per cent to $2.5bn in the year to 31 December, up from $2.2bn in 2020. The London-headquartered company’s gross premiums for 2021 [...]
High Court says investors should have gotten their ‘own advice’ instead of relying on top QC’s opinion memo March 8, 2022 A High Court judge has said a leading barrister cannot be held responsible for any losses suffered by those invested in film financing schemes, with a view to gaining tax benefits, after reading the QC’s advice in memos used to advertise the investment schemes. Mr Justice Zacaroli said Andrew Thronhill QC cannot be held responsible [...]
Former Mishcon de Reya partner fined £17,500 for breaching anti-money laundering laws March 8, 2022 A former partner at London firm Mishcon de Reya has been ordered to pay £21,000 for his role in a money laundering scandal, which in January led to Mishcon being hit with a record £232,500 fine. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) fined former Mischon partner Michael Nouril £17,500 and told the M&A lawyer he must [...]