MP calls for windfall tax on libel lawyers to protect journalists from “lawfare” January 21, 2022 An MP has said a windfall tax on libel lawyers should be used to create a “defamation defence fund” to protect journalists from being silenced by oligarchs. In a debate on Thursday, over the use of “lawfare” and costly libel actions to silence British journalists, Labour Party MP Liam Byrne said “the truth is under [...]
Crown Court wait times hit record highs as government struggles to cut Covid backlog January 21, 2022 Victims, defendants, and witnesses face record long waits for Crown Court trials, as the UK struggles to reduce the backlog faced by the court system due to Covid. A record 23 per cent of outstanding trials have now been outstanding for more than a year, figures from the Ministry of Justice show. At the same [...]
Clyde&Co, Fieldfisher, and Squire Patton Boggs boost lawyers salaries in battle for fresh blood January 21, 2022 Law firms are continuing the competition for new talent by upping trainee salaries, with Clyde & Co, Fieldfisher, and Squire Patton Boggs the latest firms to join the fray. US law firm Squire Patton Boggs told City A.M. that it had raised its trainee lawyers’ salaries by 27 per cent. In an email to City [...]
Goldman, Citi, KPMG and PwC lead office return as workers flock back into the City January 21, 2022 The City of London’s major banks, accountants, law firms, and insurers have called on staff to return offices, after the government scrapped its work-from-home guidance. Major players including PwC, KPMG, Slaughter and May, and Aviva, told City A.M that they have called on staff to come back in. Major banks and financiers including Goldman, Citi, [...]
Military veterans step up to support the jabs effort January 21, 2022 | Sponsored The pandemic, though tough, has brought out the best in Britain – from clapping our NHS staff way back in the first lockdown to volunteers coming forward to help with the vaccination effort. It’s hardly surprising that front of the queue offering to help support the vital booster jabs effort are veterans of the Armed [...]
Education watchdog to crack down on universities offering “poor quality” degrees January 20, 2022 The government’s university watchdog is planning to crack down on “poor quality” degree courses that fail to make graduates employable. The Office for Students (OfS) said universities and colleges that are not up to standard could face fines and restrictions on their access to funding in the form of student loans. The watchdog said courses [...]
PwC names veteran partner as new head of private equity division January 20, 2022 PwC has named veteran PwC partner Hugh Lloyd Ellis as the new leader of its Private Equity business. Ellis, who has worked at PwC for the more than 15 years, graduated with a degree in maths and economics from UCL in 2003 before joining London-based accountancy firm Kingston Smith W1 the same year. Between 2013 [...]
Cyberattacks on the rise as skills shortage sees law firms made easy target January 20, 2022 Law firms, accountants, and consultancies are becoming an easy target for cyberattacks, as they lack the IT skills to protect themselves. Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of IT experts working in professional services companies said they believe their firms are facing a shortage of cybersecurity skills, according to a report from cybersecurity company Keeper. In [...]
McKinsey to face racketeering lawsuit, after case revived in appeal January 20, 2022 A US court has reopened a case against consultancy giant McKinsey, alleging the US firm filed false statements in bankruptcy courts to win lucrative consulting contracts. The US Court of Appeals revived a racketeering case put forward by consulting firm AlixPartners, claiming McKinsey misled the bankruptcy court over its conflicts of interest, meaning it won [...]
Law sector’s toxic work culture is harming productivity January 20, 2022 The legal sector’s toxic workplace culture is pushing lawyers out of jobs and harming their mental health and productivity, new research shows. More than half of people working in the legal sector have left a job because of toxic culture in the workplace, according to a survey from software company Culture Shift. At the same [...]