Big Four continue to dominate FTSE 100 despite growing pressure March 2, 2020 The dominance of the Big Four serving the FTSE 100 continued in the first quarter despite growing regulatory pressure. The Big Four were the only auditing firms to serve the FTSE 100 last quarter with PwC retaining the top spot with 27 clients, closely followed by KPMG’s 26. Deloitte and EY served 25 and 22 [...]
Car shipping cartel to face UK class action March 1, 2020 Five shipping companies who ran a cartel for importing cars to the UK will face a class action lawsuit. MOL, “K” Line, NYK, WWL/EUKOR and CSAV are being sued for overcharging UK consumers and businesses. The European Commission ruled in 2018 they had breached competition rules by coordinating rates and capacity. Brussels imposed a €395m [...]
Coronavirus: Baker McKenzie clears out London HQ as staff member who went to Italy falls sick February 28, 2020 Law firm Baker McKenzie has ordered all 1,100 staff in its London office to work from home today after fears a member of staff may have contracted the coronavirus. Baker McKenzie told employees to work remotely after the staff member came back from northern Italy, which has seen a spike of hundreds of coronavirus cases [...]
Burford Capital nominates three new male directors for all-male board February 27, 2020 Burford Capital today nominated three new directors for its all-male board, all of who are men. The litigation funder said it was “sensitive to the fact that its board will remain, with these new appointments, entirely male, which is not our desire and is inconsistent with the significant level of gender diversity in the business”. [...]
FRC tells Big Four auditors to accelerate break-up plan February 27, 2020 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has told the Big Four to accelerate the ring-fencing of their audit businesses by strengthening independent governance and improving financial transparency. The regulator wrote to Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC this week to set out details of the ‘operational separation’ blueprint, according to Sky News. The FRC is reported to [...]
US legal giant Latham & Watkins boosts revenue to record $3.7bn February 26, 2020 US law firm Latham & Watkins today announced a revenue boost of 11 per cent to $3.76bn (£2.91bn) for the 2019 calendar year. Latham, which has been heavily investing in its City office in recent years, became the first law firm to surpass the $3bn revenue mark in 2018. Its London revenue is understood to [...]
Ex-Freshfields partner Ryan Beckwith to take sex case fine to High Court February 25, 2020 Ex-Freshfields partner Ryan Beckwith who was fined by the solicitors’ watchdog after a drunken sexual incident with a junior lawyer has lodged an appeal against the decision in the High Court. In October, married restructuring lawyer Beckwith was fined £35,000 and ordered to pay costs of £200,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT). The tribunal [...]
Is the SFO giving executives an easy ride in bribery cases? February 25, 2020 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has developed a lucrative model of targeting large companies in bribery and corruption cases, striking a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) to suspend criminal charges and extracting a sizeable financial penalty. Last month, the SFO agreed a €991m (£831m) DPA with planemaker Airbus as part of a €3.6bn deal with prosecutors [...]
Solicitors’ watchdog will not appeal against decision not to strike off ex-Freshfields partner Ryan Beckwith after ‘inappropriate’ sex case February 24, 2020 Solicitors’ watchdog the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said today it will not seek to appeal against a tribunal decision that allowed former Freshfields partner Ryan Beckwith to remain a member of the profession. In October, restructuring lawyer Ryan Beckwith was fined £35,000 and ordered to pay costs of £200,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT). [...]
Audit watchdog to test how companies and auditors report climate change risk February 20, 2020 Audit watchdog the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today announced a major review of how companies and auditors report on the impact of climate change. The FRC said it will review the extent to which UK companies and auditors are responding to the the impact of climate change on their businesses to ensure reporting requirements are [...]