Three-quarters of new FRC panel members being ex-Big Four causes interest concerns May 5, 2021 The majority of individuals recently recruited to the FRC’s advisory panel have at some point worked for a Big Four firm, raising concerns about their objectivity when it comes to making recommendations that are in the public interest. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) recently announced 19 new appointments to its advisory panel, a body established [...]
Ex-Irwin Mitchell duo set up London boutique employment firm May 4, 2021 Former Irwin Mitchell partners Emilie Cole and Shazia Khan have launched a boutique law firm specialising in employment and professional discipline law. The firm, Cole Khan, is located in Chancery Lane, London’s legal heartland, across the road from the Law Society. Currently the firm is all-female, with just the founding partners, though it is looking [...]
Government spends £624m on consultancy contracts during pandemic May 4, 2021 The government has awarded contracts worth at least £624m to private firms for consulting, marketing and research purposes during the pandemic, despite criticism it has been too reliant on private firms during the crisis. In total some £30.2bn in contracts have now been awarded by the UK government in response to Covid-19, the latest figures [...]
ETL Global doubles UK legal footprint with London law firm buy May 4, 2021 International professional services group ETL Global has acquired Laytons, in a deal that will double the company’s footprint in the UK legal sector. Laytons, located just down the road from Liverpool Street station, is a 30-partner firm and employs a further 66 people. ETL has not disclosed how much it paid for the London firm, [...]
Listed law firm Knights buys Yorkshire firm May 4, 2021 Knights has agreed to acquire Keebles, a century-old Sheffield-based law firm, for £11.54m. The acquisition will see 138 lawyers join Knights, and will provide the listed law firm with entry into Sheffield. Knights will buy Keebles from its ten existing equity partners for a total of £11.54m, subject to working capital adjustments at the [...]
Clifford Chance to work minimum of 50 per cent in the office post-pandemic April 30, 2021 Clifford Chance will expect staff to be in the office for at least 50 per cent of the week post-pandemic, as the law firm moves to a more flexible way of working. The new approach means staff at the Magic Circle law firm could work remotely for up to 50 per cent of the time. [...]
EY hands £1,100 pandemic ‘thank you’ bonus to non-partners April 30, 2021 EY will hand out payments of around £1,100 to non-partners next month as a thank you for the work carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some 17,000 UK staff will receive the one-off payment, which is in addition to EY’s normal salary review and bonus that take place in October. EY is the second of [...]
Linklaters promotes Alex Beidas to global head of employment & incentives April 29, 2021 Magic Circle firm Linklaters has made Alex Beidas global head of employment & incentives, taking over from Nicola Rabson, whose tenure in the role ends on 30 April. Beidas will stay in the new role for four years, where she will be in charge of supporting clients. Rabson will return to her role as partner, [...]
Interim KPMG CEO quits after being passed over for permanent role April 29, 2021 Interim KPMG CEO Mary O’Connor, the first woman to lead the Big Four firm, has quit after she was passed up for the permanent role. O’Connor took over as chief executive of KPMG UK following the sudden departure of Bill Michael earlier this year, after he made controversial comments about unconscious bias training during a video call [...]
Keystone Law CEO: ‘There’s always been a culture of presenteeism in law firms – but that makes less sense now’ April 29, 2021 AIM-listed Keystone Law has enjoyed a good financial year, with profits and revenue at the firm up, something it attributes to being accidentally pandemic-ready thanks to its flexible approach to work. Revenue for the year jumped nearly 11 per cent to £55m, while profit before tax rose to £5.4m, some £200,000 more than the previous [...]