KPMG dishes out record pay to partners and £100m bonuses to staff February 1, 2022 Partners at KPMG have voted to invest £300m into a “once-in-a-generation” transformation of KPMG’s business, after handing out £100m in bonuses on the back of a “resilient” performance last year. The professional services firm said it would be handing out £100m in bonuses to its 14,700 staff, as it said KPMG partners were handed their [...]
Rishi Sunak urged to allow National Crime Agency to probe ‘astronomical levels’ of Covid loan fraud February 1, 2022 Chancellor Rishi Sunak should allow the National Crime Agency (NCA) to investigate “astronomical levels of fraud” that was allegedly committed during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Labour party. The party will use an opposition day debate in the Commons later today to attempt to get Government backing for an investigation after it was revealed [...]
Judge seeks Prince Andrew ex-assistant’s testimony in US case February 1, 2022 Prince Andrew’s former assistant may reportedly give a sworn statement about his relationship with late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in his upcoming sexual assault case in the US. Judge Lewis A Kaplan for the New York trial has asked London’s High Court to assist with the request for former aide Robert Olney’s testimony regarding the Duke [...]
Rio Tinto: Workplace review reveals bullying, sexual harassment and racism February 1, 2022 Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto has published a damning external review of its workplace culture suggesting widespread issues at the company.
Millions moved via shell companies: Laundered fortune linked to chair of UK-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Committee forfeited January 31, 2022 Millions of pounds derived from the Azerbaijan laundromat – a sophisticated international money laundering scheme – have been seized following a National Crime Agency investigation into money held in bank accounts linked to an Azeri politician, the NCA said this morning. Financial investigators secured a Forfeiture Order for £5.6m in UK bank accounts belonging to [...]
US law firms return to the office blocked by Omicron variant January 31, 2022 Law firms’ plans to return to offices have been scuppered by the spread of the omicron variant in the US. Several US law firms have postponed plans to return to offices until February, having originally planned for a January return. The delays come as the highly-infectious omicron variant continues to spread through the US, despite [...]
Online hearings are harming junior lawyers, top judge says January 31, 2022 A senior British Judge has warned that virtual hearings are stunting junior lawyers’ development. Chancellor of the High Court Sir Julian Flux warned that “junior barristers and solicitors’ participation is limited to being a tile without picture or sound on a Teams screen.” The top Judge warned that the rise of remote hearings has seen [...]
Top UK lawyer leaves New York litigator to launch ‘modern’ firm – taking 27 of 33 lawyers with her January 31, 2022 A top British lawyer at Boies, Schiller & Flexner’s London office has said she is leaving the much talked about firm to set up a rival litigator, and that she will be taking more than 80 per cent of her former employer’s London-based staff with her. Natasha Harrison, a managing partner at Boies, Schiller & [...]
Slaughter & May hires first COO in shakeup of management structure January 31, 2022 Magic Circle law firm Slaughter and May has poached Freshfields chief operating officer (COO) Jill Hoseason as its first ever COO. Hoseason will join Slaughter & May following almost 14-years of tenure at its rival, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where she served as the Magic Circle firm’s Global COO. In her new role, Hoseason will take [...]
Tilney Smith & Williamson moves to Belfast’s £85m Ewart building in vote of confidence for Northern Ireland January 31, 2022 London professional services firm Tilney Smith & Williamson is set to move its Northern Irish staff into Belfast’s newly renovated Ewart building, as it pushes forwards with plans to expand its business in Northern Ireland. The move will see the Mayfair-headquartered firm occupy the 13th floor of the 17-story tall Ewart building – a former [...]